According to the California Supreme Court, a conviction for possession of child pornography is automatic grounds for disbarment.
The court’s ruling designates possessing child pornography as an “act of moral turpitude” that renders a lawyer unfit for practice. The case involves Gary D. Grant, a former Army lawyer at the Los Alamitos Army Reserve Base, who pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly possessing child pornography. The California Supreme Court overruled the State Bar Review Department’s decision that would have placed Grant on probation for three years and imposed a two-year suspension of his license.
Justice Carol Corrigan writing for the court stated: “The knowing possession of child pornography is ‘a serious breach of the duties of respect and care that all adults owe to all children, and it show[s] such a flagrant disrespect for the law and for societal norms, that continuation of [a convicted attorney’s] State Bar membership would be likely to undermine public confidence in and respect for the legal profession.’”
Read the full court opinion here.
