“Georgia: The court responds to a petition for voluntary discipline by a lawyer who admits to submitting falsified documents in a pro se case.”

Link: http://www.gasupreme.us/sc-op/pdf/s10y0981.pdf

In re Manning-Wallace 695 S.E.2d 237, the court rejected a petition for voluntary discipline of a Georgia Lawyer, Manning-Wallace who knowingly submitted falsified documents in a pro se case. The Bar Association of Georgia accepted the petition for voluntary panel review, but the court decided that the reprimand was not appropriate for violating both Rule 3.3 (a) (4) and 3.4 (b) (1) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.
The facts show that Manning-Wallace was in a 2003 car accident that resulted in injuries for which medical bills were incurred. While representing herself, the Manning-Wallace knowingly submitted statements of bills that were later proven to be fraudulent by the medical facility that the alleged medical care took place. Although Manning-Wallace claims to have known that the documents were false at the time of submission, she denies ever “creating” them.
Rule 3.3 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, provides specifically that "[a] lawyer shall not knowingly . . . offer evidence that the lawyer knows to be false." This implies that although Manning-Wallace may not be guilty of actually fabricating documents, she was still aware of their invalidity at the time of submission and therefore in violation of Rule 3.3.
Rule 3.4 (b) (1) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, provides that “lawyers owe a similar duty of fairness to opposing parties and their counsel, which specifically includes the obligation not to ‘falsify evidence.’” This specifically illustrates that Manning-Wallace breached the duty of fairness to opposing counsel by knowingly submitting falsified documents.
The maximum punishment for violating both Rule 3.3 and 3.4 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct is disbarment, therefore the courts overrules the State of Georgia Bar Association’s decision to accept the petition for voluntary discipline.