Lawyer's Wake suspension reaffirmed

RALEIGH -- Nearly two years after he cussed at a court clerk, Mark A. Key on Thursday will begin his punishment of a year's suspension from practicing law in Wake County.

The Holly Springs attorney was first held in contempt of court in November 2005, after Wake Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens found that Key had sworn at a court clerk and walked away from a client over a payment dispute before a court hearing.

Key appealed Stephens' ruling, taking the case all the way to the N.C. Supreme Court. In a decision made public Thursday, the Supreme Court indicated that they wouldn't take up Key's case and that he was subject to the suspension.

The high court's decision came as Key defends a murder suspect this week, but the ruling won't affect the trial. Stephens said the year's suspension would go into effect at an agreed-upon time in the near future.

Key said he respected the decision. He has said previously that he plans on asking other attorneys to handle his Wake County cases.

This week, Key is defending George Young, a 23-year-old accused in the June 4, 2006, fatal shooting of Douglas Jamal "D.J." Mangum, 19, while the teenager got a breath of fresh air on the porch of his family's Holly Springs home. Key was hired to represent Young.

The judge in that case is Superior Court Judge Ronald Stephens -- Donald Stephens' brother.

When he was killed, Mangum was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt. Prosecutor Jeff Cruden has presented evidence that Young was a Crips gang member who associated Mangum's sweatshirt color with the Bloods, a rival gang. Mangum is not thought to have any gang affiliation.

Young, testifying in his own defense Thursday, said that a friend of his shot Mangum. The case is continuing, and jurors are expected to hand down a verdict either today or next week.

Key's law license was suspended by the state Bar for 90 days last summer as a result of the contempt proceedings. He was also disciplined in 2003 for assaulting a female client whom he made sexual advances toward and kissed while discussing a case.