Kenneth Copeland's attorney suspended for 6 months for previous case
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The Georgia Supreme Court has suspended the attorney for the star prosecution witness in the Young Thug and YSL trial.
However, this action is not related to Jonathan Melnick's representation of Copeland, who is currently on the stand in Fulton County.
The recommendation is based on Melnick’s alleged misconduct while representing a client in a child support modification case in Rockdale County in 2017.
Melnick apparently failed to inform his client about a critical Motion to Enforce a settlement agreement and a subsequent hearing, resulting in a court order that negatively impacted the client. Melnick's actions, which included failing to notify the client and not responding to the motion, were found to be willful and resulted in harm to the client.
According to the Supreme Court's order, Melnick has a history of prior disciplinary actions, including reprimands in 2003 and 2006 for similar violations of Rules 1.3 and 1.4, which require attorneys to act with reasonable diligence and communicate effectively with their clients.
The Special Master in the case recommended a suspension of 90 days to six months, citing Melnick's repeated failures and lack of remorse as aggravating factors. The Review Board agreed that Melnick violated the rules but recommended a public reprimand instead of a suspension, arguing that his prior offenses were too remote to weigh heavily as aggravating factors.
However, the Supreme Court of Georgia ultimately decided that a six-month suspension was appropriate.
The Court found that Melnick’s conduct was willful, noting his failure to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his actions and his attempt to blame the client. The Court also noted that Melnick’s prior disciplinary history, while somewhat remote, still justified a suspension due to the similarity of the past misconduct to the current case.
The State Bar of Georgia's website also shows that the only attorney named Jonathan Melnick in the state of Georgia has been suspended.
Melnick appeared in court with his client, Copeland, on Monday. However, he does not appear to be in the courtroom today.
Last week, Melnick's representation of Copeland was questioned when Copeland was questioned about his willingness to testify again in the Young Thug and YSL trial. Although the state's prosecutors believed he no longer represented Copeland, the court was able to get in touch with the lawyer, and it was confirmed that he was still Copeland's lawyer.
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It is unknown who is representing Copeland at this time.