DeKalb Co DA Candidate was Suspended by State Bar

One of DeKalb County’s two candidates for district attorney has been suspended twice by the State Bar of Georgia.

Decatur attorney Constance Pinson Heard is running against former DeKalb Solicitor-General Robert James.

The two are competing for the seat vacated by Gwen Keyes Fleming, who resigned last month to become a regional administrator with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show Heard was suspended twice for violating State Bar standards. James has no complaints with the Bar, according to its records.

The state Supreme Court found Heard guilty of three Bar standards: dishonesty and fraud; willful abandonment to the detriment of her clients; and commingling clients’ funds with her own.

The director of the National Institute for Teaching Ethics & Professionalism, who is not involved in the DeKalb race, said he would be concerned about any lawyer who violated those specific standards.

“I have no hesitation in saying that someone who has been suspended for violating [these standards] should not be a candidate for district attorney.” said Clark D. Cunningham, who also teaches law and ethics at the Georgia State University College of Law.

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DeKalb DA Candidate was Suspended by State Bar