East Tennessee District Attorney Removed From Professional Responsibility Board After Arrest On Federal Charges

Image Credit: TennesseeDA.gov & Canva.

Article by Olivia Lupia, Tennessee Conservative News –

The case of Fourth Judicial District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn, who was indicted in August on a number of federal charges, has become more complex as he was removed from the Supreme Court of Tennessee’s Board of Professional Responsibility and faces an ouster petition filed by a group of residents last week.

79-year-old Dunn, who serves Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson, and Sevier counties, stands charged with two counts of official oppression, official misconduct, retaliation for past action, coercion of a state witness, and civil rights intimidation.

Dunn and 77-year-old Deputy District Attorney General William Brownlow Marsh allegedly conspired in 2023 to have prosecutor Erik Cooper arrested using an incomplete warrant after the Circuit Clerk refused to complete it.

At the time, Cooper was reportedly planning to ask a grand jury to charge another Assistant District Attorney with misconduct, prompting Dunn to order his arrest in retaliation. Dunn has also been a central subject in an ongoing public records lawsuit filed by Cooper over how the Fourth Judicial office handles grand jury proceedings.

Earlier this summer Dunn had planned to end his 20-year tenure as DA, setting his retirement for August 31, well short of the expiration of his term in 2030. But almost immediately after the arrest, Dunn rescinded the retirement, though the Fourth District Public Defender’s Office argued Gov. Lee had already accepted Dunn’s retirement and he should be removed from office.

There is no mechanism in state law that removes an elected official from office purely based on criminal charges, especially as the legal presumption is innocent until proven guilty, allowing Dunn to remain in his post bar a failure to attend court or officially being disqualified from office. 

To further complicate matters, Circuit Court Judge James Gass ruled on Sept. 8 that Dunn can remain in office because his retirement never actually happened. The public defender’s office has appealed that ruling to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

On the same day Gass issued his ruling keeping Dunn in office and allowing him to continue prosecuting cases, the DA was removed from the state Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility, according to the filing date on the order.

“We hereby remove from the Board of Professional Responsibility District Attorney General James (Jimmy) Bruce Dunn to ensure that the ethics rules are administered in a manner that both upholds the integrity of the bar and preserves the public trust in our system of justice. General Dunn’s removal is not, and should not be construed as, a comment upon his guilt or innocence of the criminal charges pending against him. General Dunn is constitutionally entitled to the presumption of innocence. Nor should General Dunn’s removal be construed as undermining any decision he has made as a member of the Board,” the order reads.

The Board also reportedly has the authority to strip a district attorney’s law license, removing the DA’s ability to serve, but it does not appear to have taken that action at this juncture.

Though that matter is apparently being addressed at the hands of citizens instead.

Last Friday, a group of residents including Erik Cooper filed a petition to oust Dunn from office for knowingly engaging in misconduct or neglect of duty, per the state’s Ouster Act. The petition reiterates the DA’s alleged misuse of his position, including using investigators for private collection of a personal deposit and interfering with the district’s grand jury process.

“The ouster petition does not ask a court to remove Mr. Dunn simply because a grand jury has accused him of crimes. It asks a court to examine evidence concerning the underlying conduct and determine whether the requirements of Tennessee’s ouster law have been established,” Cooper said in a statement.

State law dictates that ouster proceedings take precedence over any other civil or criminal matters, and the court will first consider a motion to suspend Dunn while the ouster is resolved. Though no date has been set yet, the petition seeks an expedited hearing and to have Dunn respond within 20 days.

Sources:

TennesseeConservativeNews.com.

CTAS.

Knox News.

WATE.

WKRN.

About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.