Carlos Moore, a Grenada-based civil rights attorney, has been prohibited from practicing law in the state of Mississippi for one year.
On Dec. 31, the Mississippi Supreme Court complaint tribunal voted to suspend Moore from both operating as a lawyer and collecting for legal services in the state. The attorney cannot present himself as such and is ordered to make his clients aware that he has been suspended, while also advising them to seek new counsel.
Moore, who is having to pay the Mississippi Bar just under $600 in fees, was scrutinized for violating state conduct rules, including putting $300,000 from a death settlement into his personal law account rather than the victim’s estate account.
This was in connection with the wrongful death ruling of Jamaal Mallard, who died in a now-unused downtown Jackson jail. Moore claimed over $110,000 of the settlement funds in legal fees. The rest was to be divvied out among the victim’s mother and brother.
The victim’s brother, Jamuric Mallard, was never notified of his portion of the money. Instead, the mother acquired both her share and Jamuric’s. Though Moore claims he told the mother to guard the brother’s earnings, an estate account was not set up to ensure he received the funds. The mother then used all of the money for personal use.
No stranger to rules enforcement, the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance urged the state supreme court last year to remove Moore from his position as a municipal court judge in Clarksdale and Grenada. Commission chairman Judge Ryan Bruhl argued that Moore displayed a pattern of misconduct that will not stop unless disciplinary action is taken.
Moore ultimately stepped down from his position on the bench before the high court could determine whether or not to remove him from judgeship.
