Lakewood Ranch attorney Terra Neshonda Carroll has been suspended until further order following a Jan. 23 Florida Supreme Court order after she was found guilty over an encounter with a police officer, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
"Carroll was found guilty in court of fleeing and eluding a police officer, a felony, and resisting an officer without violence, a misdemeanor," said the Feb. 27 state bar announcement of Carroll's discipline and the Supreme Court's order. Carroll's suspension was effective 30 days from the date of the court's order to allow her time to close out her practice and protect her existing clients' interests, according to the two-page order.
In Florida court orders are not final until time to file a rehearing motion expires. Filing such a motion would not alter the effective date of the Carroll's suspension. Carroll was admitted to the Florida bar Nov. 13, 2008, according to her profile at the state bar website. She has had no other discipline before the state bar, according to her profile.
The Florida Bar filed a notice of determination of judgment of guilt with the state Supreme Court the day prior to the high court's order, according to the referee's report, issued Feb. 1 and signed by bar referee George C. Richards. That determination notice was filed after "a jury found [Carroll] guilty of fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer (sirens and lights activated with high speed or reckless driving) and resisting an officer without violence on Jan. 9, 2018," the referee's report said. "[Carroll] acknowledged she was the person convicted of that offense."
The Supreme Court treated Carroll's objection as a petition to modify or terminate her suspension, according to the referee's order. Richards recommended that Carroll's objection to her suspension and her request for emergency hearing be denied.