"What about actions (suspension, etc.) short of disbarment?"
Like those in most every other state, the Rules and Regulations of the North Carolina State Bar ("N.C. Bar Rules") authorize various remedial actions to be taken in lawyer discipline cases, depending on the severity of the ethical violation committed by the defendant-attorney. According to N.C. Bar Rules Subchap. 1B, Section B.0123(a):
"Upon the final determination of a disciplinary proceeding wherein discipline is imposed, one of the following actions will be taken--
(1) Admonition.
An admonition will be prepared by the chairperson of the Grievance Committee or the chairperson of the hearing committee depending upon the agency ordering the admonition. The admonition will be served upon the defendant. The admonition will not be recorded in the judgment docket of the North Carolina State Bar. Where the admonition is imposed by the Grievance Committee, the complainant will be notified that the defendant has been admonished, but will not be entitled to a copy of the admonition. An order of admonition imposed by the commission will be a public document.
(2) Reprimand.
The chairperson of the Grievance Committee or chairperson of the hearing committee depending upon the body ordering the discipline, will file an order of reprimand with the secretary, who will record the order on the judgment docket of the North Carolina State Bar and will forward a copy to the complainant.
(3) Censure, suspension, or disbarment.
The chairperson of the hearing committee will file the order of censure, order of suspension or disbarment with the secretary, who will record the order on the judgment docket of the North Carolina State Bar and will forward a copy to the complainant. The secretary will also cause a certified copy of the order to be entered upon the judgment docket of the superior court of the county of the defendant's last known address and of any county where the defendant maintains an office. A copy of the order of censure, order of suspension or disbarment will also be sent to the clerk of the superior court in any county where the defendant maintains an office, to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, to the North Carolina Supreme Court, to the United States District Courts in North Carolina, to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and to the United States Supreme Court. Orders of Censures imposed by the Grievance Committee will be filed by the committee chairperson with the secretary. Notice of the censure will be given to the complainant and to the courts in the same manner as orders of censures imposed by the commission."
According to N.C. Bar Rules Subchap. 1B, Section B.0124, only the two most severe of these sanctions, suspension or disbarment, would prevent Nifong from continuing to serve as DA.
Thank you. Your are obviously a copy/paste whiz. I eventually got to what I was looking for -- the answer to the question -- in the final paragraph.