02.08.16 Suspension [ Wake County]

North Carolina State Bar Building Photo Courtesy of the North Carolina State Bar

Joanne M. Denison was suspended from the practice of law in North Carolina for three years on February 8, 2016. Denison was suspended in Illinois for a period of three years or until further order of the Court. The Supreme Court of Illinois determined that Denison had engaged in professional misconduct by posting statements to a public blog in which she accused judges and attorneys involved in a probate matter of being corrupt and accepting bribes. There was no factual basis for her statements. The North Carolina State Bar issued a Notice of Reciprocal Discipline, finding that Denison had violated North Carolina State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct, 8.2(a) and Rules 8.4(c) and (d). Although she objected to the imposition of reciprocal discipline, Denison was sentenced to the identical suspension in North Carolina that she was subject to in Illinois.

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