Pinnacle lawyer and a former judge loses N.C. law license over actions

RALEIGH (Winston-Salem Journal) - The N.C. State Bar has disbarred Mark H. Badgett, a Pinnacle lawyer who was removed as a district-court judge in 2008.

The state bar took the action on April 2, issuing a 10-page ruling. The agency barred Badgett from practicing law in North Carolina and ordered him to surrender his license to the state bar within 30 days.

Badgett could not be reached for comment.

The state bar said in its ruling that Badgett lacked the character necessary to be a lawyer, could not be trusted as an officer of the court and has not shown remorse for his misconduct.

The state bar based its decision around a case that Badgett presided over in Surry County in February 2005. The agency determined that Badgett took inappropriate actions toward the defendant in the domestic-violence case and made biased statements against the defendant.

The state bar also said that Badgett made false statements to an agent with the State Bureau of Investigation who investigated the matter. The N.C. Supreme Court removed Badgett as a judge in October 2008 for his misconduct in that case.