North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Attorney: Gregory A. Newman
Location: Hendersonville
Bar membership: Member since 2000
Disciplinary action: Reprimanded on May 14
Background: While Newman was in private practice, he represented a client who pleaded guilty to felony drug possession charges in 2007. In 2016, another attorney filed a motion for appropriate relief on behalf of the same client, alleging that the client did not knowingly enter the plea, or entered the plea not knowing the full consequences for doing so. The client’s new attorney brought the motion to Newman, who is now the elected district attorney for District 42 (formerly District 29B). Newman signed a document consenting to the motion and striking the plea, and he later signed a dismissal of the charges. The Grievance Committee found that these actions constituted a conflict of interest. It also found that Newman, in his response to a letter of notice, knowingly made a material misrepresentation of fact concerning his knowledge of his prior representation of the client.
Previous discipline: None
