William D. NeSmith III Wrote the Georgia Bar Is “not a public entity”. His Email Reached Federal Court.

September 28, 2026 Updated October 22, 2026

The case: Mignott v. State Bar of Georgia Foundation, Inc., United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and the ADA Matters image of a May 12, 2026 email filed there on September 14, 2026.

SCOREBOARD, AS OF SEPTEMBER 28, 2026
Days from the plaintiff preserving ADA Matters pages to her filing	11 (September 3 to September 14, 2026)
Pages in the filed Exhibit B	2 (a cover sheet and the image)
Live ADA Matters pages that carried the image	4
Parties to the case who are me	0

Answer

On September 14, 2026, an ADA Matters image of William D. NeSmith III’s May 12, 2026 email became Exhibit B in Mignott v. State Bar of Georgia Foundation, Inc., a federal case in the Northern District of Georgia. The plaintiff filed it. I did not, and I am not a party. This story started as a searchable folder I built so my software could find the emails. ADA Matters came later.

A folder I built so my software could find my emails ended up in a federal court file.

What: the email

1. On May 12, 2026, at 2:12 PM ET, William D. NeSmith III, Deputy General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, wrote to me: “The State Bar of Georgia is not a public entity, such as a federal, state or local government department or agency.” In the same paragraph he wrote that the State Bar “serves as an administrative arm of the Supreme Court of Georgia” and “nevertheless remains a private, member-funded, and member-governed organization.” [May 12 email from William D. NeSmith III]

When: what the defendants told the court

2. On May 12, 2026, the defendants, including the State Bar of Georgia Office of General Counsel, told the federal court through their counsel: “As the administrative arm of the Georgia Supreme Court, Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity.” [Defendants’ Renewed Motion to Dismiss, May 12, 2026]

3. On June 9, 2026, the defendants’ reply brief told the court: “the State, through the Georgia Supreme Court, controls the State Bar and its agents and employees.” The same brief wrote: “While the State Bar is funded by member dues, not the State, the Court’s analysis of this factor does not end there.” [Defendants’ Reply Brief, June 9, 2026]

The full side by side of the email and the briefs is on the page linked below, “Georgia Bar Says It’s Not Government. Tell That to Its Court Filing.”

Who: how the site reached the case

4. The plaintiff’s filing states: “Plaintiff located and preserved the relevant pages on September 3, 2026.” [Supplemental response, filed September 14, 2026]

5. On September 14, 2026, the plaintiff filed a motion for leave to file a supplemental response. The response, attached as Exhibit A, described the evidence as correspondence “published by that grievant on the public website ADA Matters, www.adamatters.com.” [Motion for leave and Exhibit A, September 14, 2026]

How: the court attachment

6. Exhibit B to that motion is two pages: a cover sheet, and the ADA Matters image of the May 12 email. Its footer identifies it as an ADA Matters evidence page. [Exhibit B, September 14, 2026]

7. The filed image keeps the black bar redactions over the recipient and over the name of the lawyer my grievance concerned. The filing does not say which ADA Matters page supplied the copy. Four live pages carried the image. [Exhibit B; this site]

Open question

Is the State Bar of Georgia “a private, member-funded, and member-governed organization,” as William D. NeSmith III wrote on May 12, 2026, or does “the State, through the Georgia Supreme Court,” control it, as the defendants’ reply brief told the court on June 9, 2026? Asked of Russell D. Willard on September 22, 2026; unanswered as of September 28, 2026.

Corrections

I have invited the State Bar of Georgia to identify any inaccuracy on this page. As of September 28, 2026, it has identified none.

Disabled Dad