Published Saturday, March 05, 2011
Former judge has court date March 11
The Newnan Times-Herald
Disgraced former senior U.S. District Court judge Jack T. Camp is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11 in Atlanta at a courtroom yet to be determined, according to a spokesperson for Newnan's Lewis Morgan Federal Courthouse.
Camp's sentencing was originally set for Friday at 11 a.m. but was postponed.
Camp, 67, pleaded guilty in November to one count of aiding and abetting the unlawful possession of controlled substances, one count of unlawful possession of controlled substances, and one count of conversion of government property.
Camp's plea agreement also required his resignation.
In a written ruling issued Monday, the Supreme Court of Georgia accepted Camp's voluntary surrender of his license to practice law. He'd been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1975.
The court's Feb. 28 ruling said, in part: "We have reviewed the record and agree to accept Camp's petition for the voluntary surrender of his license. Accordingly, the name of Jack Tarpley Camp hereby is removed from the rolls of persons entitled to practice law in the State of Georgia. Camp is reminded of his duties under Bar Rule 4-219 (c). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur."
Camp, a resident of Coweta County, was arrested Oct. 1, 2010, after attempting to purchase drugs from an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agent posing as a drug dealer. At the time of his arrest, Camp was in the company of an exotic dancer he had allegedly met months earlier at an Atlanta strip club.
As part of his guilty plea, Camp admitted that between May 2010 and Oct. 1, 2010, he unlawfully possessed and used cocaine, marijuana and Roxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance.
Camp also admitted to giving an individual whom he knew had a prior felony drug conviction money to purchase cocaine, Roxycodone and marijuana. Camp admitted that he unlawfully gave the individual a U.S. District Court laptop computer for her personal use.
At the time of his arrest, Camp had two firearms in the front seat of his vehicle, but no firearms charges were pursued.
Camp met the confidential informant, who had recently begun cooperating with the FBI, at the Goldrush Showbar in Atlanta in early 2010. He soon began paying her for sex and buying cocaine from her, according to an affidavit filed after Camp's arrest.
The affidavit said that in June 2010, Camp followed the informant to a drug dealer in Marietta to buy Roxycodone. He was also recorded in a wiretapped telephone call on Sept. 28 talking with her about getting together over the weekend to split more pills and cocaine with her, according to the affidavit.
Camp showed up at a Publix parking lot in northeast Atlanta around 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 1 to meet with an undercover agent posing as a drug dealer. When the informant told her she was worried about his safety, Camp said, "I not only have my little pistol, I've got my big pistol so, uh, we'll take care of any problems that come up," according to the affidavit.
Camp handed over $160 in cash to pay for the drugs around 7:35 p.m. Ten minutes later, authorities arrested the judge and seized the two guns from the front seat of his vehicle.
Court papers filed with Camp's guilty plea say that count one (aiding and abetting the unlawful possession of controlled substances) carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 days imprisonment, a maximum sentence of two years in jail and a fine of $2,500, plus costs of investigation and prosecution.
Count two (unlawful possession of controlled substances) carries a mandatory minimum sentence of a fine of $1,000 and a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment, a fine of $100,000 and a one-year period of supervised release.
Count three (conversion of government property) carries a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment, a fine of $100,000 and one year of supervised release.
During his judicial career, Camp presided over numerous high-profile cases -- some involving drugs -- before taking on a lesser caseload in 2008.
Camp was appointed to the bench in 1987. He was a Newnan attorney with the law firm of Glover and Davis from 1975 until his confirmation by the U.S. Senate in April 1988.
