| Sources |
- [S104] Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Cocke County Heritage Book Committee, (Walsworth Publishing, 1992), 15, 24, 25.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 20 Sep 2005.
Judge John Bell to be honored as Citizen of the Year
By: KATHY HEMSWORTH
Source: The Newport Plain Talk
09-20-2005
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NEWPORT—The eighth annual Senior Citizens Home Assistance Service, Inc. (SCHAS) luncheon will honor Cocke County Sessions Court Judge and Lt. Col. John Bell at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center at noon on Oct. 6.
Reservations will be accepted until Oct. 4, by calling (423) 623-5231. Payment will be accepted at the door, but advance reservations are required. The luncheon is $30 per plate, with $19 of that being tax-deductible.
SCHAS provides in-home care to the elderly. This luncheon is a fundraiser to help SCHAS to better serve the elderly of the community, along with United Way and city and county allocations.
“I encourage everyone to attend this event to recognize such as upstanding citizen and to support a worthy organization that offers assistance to those in the community,” said SCHAS Public Relations Director Corky Acuff.
“This award recognizes an outstanding person who repeatedly demonstrates his or her care for the community and its citizens,” she added.
Bell serves as sessions judge in Cocke County, but he also holds the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Army National Guard.
During a year-long tour of duty in Iraq, as a member of the 101st Airborne Division, he was chief of the Northern Iraq Office of Judicial Operations, where he supervised the operation of 27 courthouses.
Working out of the largest city in the northern section of Iraq, Mosul, Bell had 112 Iraqi judges working under his supervision.
While there, Bell had to fire 27 of those judges, and many of them had to have their judicial identifications and weapons confiscated.
In recognition of his service in Iraq, Bell was awarded the Bronze Star and the Medal of Excellence in Combat.
"There are many fine men and women deserving of medals of valor in combat, and I am honored to receive these," said Bell.
In addition, he received the Meritorious Service Medal for "exceptionally meritorious service during operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom."
He was also presented with the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.
Bell said that the Meritorious Service Medal was awarded to him because he had "personally supervised the Article 32 hearing for U.S. versus Akbar, held at Ft. Knox, Ky."
Judge Bell and his wife, Vida, are the parents of two children.
The Cocke County SCHAS luncheon is a fundraiser for the non-profit agency, which was chartered by the state in 1970 to help elderly and disabled persons to remain as independent as possible with the highest quality of life possible.
Services provided by the agency include shopping, meal preparation, bed changing, laundry services, cleaning kitchen and bathroom fixtures, sweeping, mopping, and dusting. Help with personal care such as bathing and dressing, companionship, and reminding about medication, is also included.
All proceeds from the luncheon will be used to support the work of the SCHAS of Cocke County. SCHAS programs are designed to assist families in caring for their loved ones; to give family members respite; and to maintain the independence of the frail or disabled person.
SCHAS is the only agency in the State of Tennessee accredited by the National Association of Hospice and HomeCare.
“Hundreds of persons in Cocke County have been able to remain in their own homes during their golden years because of the work of Senior Citizens Home Assistance Services of Cocke County and the generosity of committed citizens. Thank you, Cocke County, for your support of this vital work,” said Acuff.
“We ask for your continued support and assistance,” she added.
According to Acuff, Rae McGuire is now the director of the Cocke County center.
For more information about SCHAS, call (423) 623-5231 or Corky Acuff at (865) 254-0305.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 7 Oct 2005.
Judge Bell given citizenship award
„E2005 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL Dr. Fred M. Valentine Jr., at right, presents the eighth annual Cocke County Citizenship Award to General Sessions Judge John A. Bell on Thursday at Carson Springs Conference Center.
By: KATHY HEMSWORTH
Source: The Newport Plain Talk
10-07-2005
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NEWPORT-The eighth annual Cocke County Citizenship Award was presented to Cocke County Sessions Court Judge John A. Bell on Thursday during the Senior Citizens Home Assistance Service (SCHAS) noon luncheon at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center. Judge Bell holds the rank of Lt. Colonel in the United States Army National Guard.
He has more than 24 years military service. In 2003, Lt. Col. Bell was called to active military duty, and spent a year in Iraq as a member of the 101st Airborne Division, serving as Chief of the Northern Iraq Office of Judicial Operations. There he supervised 27 courthouses and 112 Iraqi judges. A Cocke County native, Bell is the son of Dr. Frank and Una Gay Bell.
He and his wife, Vida Ivy Bell, are the parents of two children, Luke and Meredith. Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan Jr. said, "It is my privilege and honor to be here." He explained that he returned from a business trip to Chattanooga early in order to attend the banquet.
McMahan read a proclamation signed by himself, Newport Mayor Connie Ball, and Parrottsville Mayor Mike Gilbert honoring Bell's accomplishments and service, and declaring Oct. 6, 2005 as "John A. Bell Appreciation Day." Bridgett Baird, of U.S. Congressman William "Bill" Jenkins' office read a letter from the congressman congratulating Bell and thanking him for his service to his community and his country.
Upon accepting the letter, Bell said, "I want to let you know what kind of congressman we have. When I was in Iraq, he called over there to see how I was doing and to ask how things were proceeding.
" State Senator Steve Southerland presented Bell with a proclamation from the State Senate. State Rep. Eddie Yokely presented him with a proclamation from the State House of Representatives.
Three speakers spoke of the different aspects of Bell's service-Cocke County Schools Attendance Supervisor Freddie James, Thomas Testerman-attorney, and Robert Wilkinson-retired military. James explained that since Bell took over the role of sessions court judge, the school drop-out rate has fallen from 22.5 percent, which was the fourth worst rating in the state, to three percent.
"With Judge Bell, dropping out of school is not an acceptable thing. He holds students responsible and accountable for their actions. He is looking out for the children of Cocke County," said James.
Wilkinson said he would like to show his appreciation for Bell's family for supporting their husband and father while he was called to active military duty.
"John Bell is a hardworking compassionate individual who believes very strongly in what he does," said Wilkinson. He said, "In Iraq, Lt. Col. Bell dealt with terrible corruption." He went on further to explain that the judicial system Bell started building in Iraq is now functional and is a model for the entire Middle East.
He read a letter from the U.S. Army that described Bell's battlefield performance as "exemplary." It stated, "He oversaw groundbreaking work. He set the standards throughout Iraq with the creation of the legal system."
"John Bell is both, a warrior and a lawyer, proving his irreplaceable value," said Wilkinson. Testerman brought some laughter to the crowd with humorous stories. When the 2004 Citizenship honoree, Dr. Fred M. Valentine Jr., approached the podium, he said that he had been eating a Jabo's Pharmacy recently while Judge Bell was there.
"Someone pointed at Judge Bell and said, 'That is one of the best things that ever happened to Cocke County'." Valentine said he'd have to agree.
Upon receiving his award from Dr. Valentine, Bell said, "God has seen fit to bless me in more ways than I can count." He went on to say, "But the best thing the Lord ever blessed me with was a good wife."
By presenting the award to him, Bell said his friends, soldiers, church family, juvenile court workers, ladies who work in sessions court, his relatives in attendance and those who could not attend, his children, and his wife were also being honored.
Bell concluded by saying,
"May God bless you and your family as much as He has blessed me and my family."
SCHAS is a non-profit agency chartered by the State of Tennessee in 1970 to help elderly and disabled persons to remain as independent as possible, with the highest quality of life.
Services provided include shopping, meal preparation, bed changing, laundry, cleaning kitchens and bathrooms, sweeping, mopping, and dusting, as well as helping with personal care such as bathing and dressing, companionship, and reminding about mediciation.
All proceeds from the annual luncheon are used to support the work of SCHAS of Cocke County. SCHAS is the only agency in the state that is accredited by the National Association of Hospice and Home Care.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 18 Feb 2006.
Judge Bell qualifies for May 2 primary
Cocke County General Sessions and Juvenile Judge, John A. Bell has qualified to seek re-election in the upcoming May 2nd Republican Primary. "First, I want to thank God for all He has done for me. Second, I want to thank everyone for their confidence in me and for the opportunity to serve as your Judge. It is an honor, a challenge and my pleasure to serve," said Judge Bell.
When asked to reflect upon some of the accomplishments of his first term in office, Judge Bell said, "I'm proud to be a part of promoting and maintaining a positive image for Cocke County. I am a product of Cocke County and proud of it. I was raised on Cosby, educated in the local school system, spent my summers on the farm, and now I'm honored to serve as your judge. The overwhelming majority of the people in our county are the same as me-hardworking, honest, law abiding citizens who want to see great things happening in our county.
"I want to see and I know others want to see Cocke County prosper. We must work together to move Cocke County forward. Working together in Sessions Court, we have changed the court from a tax burden on the taxpayers of Cocke County to a court that pays its own way. Sessions Court Clerk Peachie Cody and her staff (Brenda, Becky, Trula and Joyce) have worked long and hard with me to turn the court around. We have also seen amazing results in Juvenile Court with a dramatic reduction in the school drop-out rate," he said.
When Bell first became Judge, the drop-out rate was the fourth worst in the State of Tennessee. "Together, the Juvenile Clerk's Office (Jennifer, Joy, Martha and Misty), Freddy James, Larry Blazer and his staff, teachers, principals, the school boards, parents, and I have resolved this problem for our children. Cocke County now has a drop-out rate that has been reduced to the point that it is now one of the best in the State of Tennessee. In fact, other school systems have looked to our success to find ways to improve their drop-out rate," said Judge Bell.
"I am committed to helping every child graduate or obtain his or her GED, stay drug free, live in a safe environment, and succeed in life. You elected me to work hard, be fair, but firm, to do what's right and to get things done. I'm doing the job you elected me to do- one case at a time."
Judge Bell received the Citizenship Award for 2005 and is a combat decorated soldier with more that 25 years of active, reserve and Tennessee Army National Guard service. He served in Iraq as a lieutenant colonel in the JAG. Prior to leaving for Iraq, Judge Bell was appointed as a special federal prosecutor for the Middle District of Tennessee and the Western District of Kentucky prosecuting cases in federal court that occurred on Fort Campbell.
In Iraq, LTC Bell was chief of the Northern Iraqi Office of Judicial Operations responsible for establishing the rule of law as the foundational bedrock of society in Iraq. He supervised 27 courthouses, 112 Iraqi Judges, all prosecutors and more than 3,000 Iraqi Attorneys.
For his service to the nation, LTC Bell received the Bronze Star, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and other medals, decorations and awards.
When asked about his military service, LTC Bell said, "both my Mom and Dad were soldiers and at the age of 17, I completed basic training at Fort Knox. I was taught what it meant to be a good soldier and to love my country from my parents and from some of the best soldiers around when I served as a 2LT Armor Officer with the Troop in Newport. I thank God, that all of us who served in Iraq from Cocke County made it back home safe and sound."
Concluding his remarks, Judge Bell said, "It has been and honor to serve. I ask the people of Cocke County for the privilege of being able to serve them for a second term. I ask for your vote, support and influence."
Judge John Bell is married to Vida Ivy Bell. He is the son of Dr. D. Frank and Una M. Bell of Cosby. The candidate has three brothers, Dallas, Joel and Daniel, and two sisters,Linda and Rebecca. Vida Bell is an attorney and practices law in the Newport firm of Myers and Bell. She is the daughter of Wayne Ivy and Roella (Ball) Ivy and the granddaughter of the late Hubert and Lavada (Crum) Ball. John and Vida Bell reside in the Edwina-Bridgeport Community and have two children, Luke and Meredith. They are active in their church and community.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 18 Mar 2007.
Sessions court handles it all Fines & costs revenue goes to county fund
(c)2007 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL Judge John Bell, who oversees general sessions and juvenile courts, explained his work to the Newport Kiwanis Club at the Newport Holiday Inn last Tuesday, during the club's noon meeting.
By: DAVID POPIEL
Source: The Newport Plain Talk
03-18-2007
When a judge handles more than 9,700 civil and criminal cases in a year, some happen to be bizarre, some sad-and a few have happy endings. It is all part of the routine for Cocke County General Sessions Judge John Bell, who is serving his second eight-year term. He explained what he and the sessions/juvenile courts do when he spoke to the Newport Kiwanis club in March. An example is when Newport police had to huddle with the judge over one most unusual circumstance. It seems that a couple was having an argument and alcohol may have been involved. The woman threw the vehicle's keys into the yard. The man saddled up his horse and rode away. Everything may have ended with that except he came across a car in his path and walked the horse onto and over the car.
He was arrested by police. What would be the charge?"-"Horsing while impaired?" Judge Bell said that because no motor was involved the man could not be charged with a motor vehicle infraction. The judge recommended a charge of vandalism. And when the weather is warmer, the beer flows and sometimes lawnmowers have a bit too much fuel. In separate cases, the judge reviewed evidence against two men who had been drinking and drove their lawnmowers to Wal-Mart.
"What about lawnmowing while impaired?" It was a motorized vehicle so the rider was charged with driving under the influence. In one situation, a handicapped man in a wheelchair had been drinking and collided with a car. It was just another of many strange cases he hears.
Judge Bell and his staff, including a deputy clerk and Cocke County Sessions Clerk Peachie Cody, handled 9,781 cases last year. Of these, 1,294 were civil; 2,178 criminal cases; 4,175 presented by state troopers; 1,073 city issued tickets; and 491 county tickets.
The amount of money collected and handed over to the county trustee is staggering. During the past eight years and several months, more than $5 million was collected by sessions court. The annual average prior to Judge Bell was about $177,000 collected.
Judge Bell explained that all the money is given to the trustee. From there it goes to the county's general fund where it is spent in the way the commissioners see fit. The current annual average collected is about $610,000. In 2006, more than $709,000 in fines and costs were collected and turned over to the trustee, said Judge Bell.
Judge Bell hears many juvenile matters and suggests that people with children could learn a lot be sitting in on a few hearings-such as one case when a 13-year-old admitted he had tried OxyContin and craved more of it. Then there was the teenage girl who had such an anger problem she was prodded by schoolmates to beat up a younger, smaller child. She "stomped" the child and beat her severely. In court, the delinquent's parents didn't understand the need for anger management, said Judge Bell.
Perhaps the improvement in the county schools' drop out rate makes him proudest. He worked closely with former attendance supervisor Freddy James, and Cocke Co. Director of Schools Larry Blazer. At the time, the rate children dropped out of school was more than 25 percent. Cocke County had the worst rate in Tennessee. Stressing cooperation between the court and school board and working together, the dropout rate is now less than 4 percent. That is below the state average of 10 percent.
"There is no reason to drop out of school," he said, pointing to creative ways to address individual problems to keep children in school. However, there are some dropouts that can't be stopped and include children who run away from home. There were about 1,000 juvenile cases last year. The number one problem was child support followed by foster care.
The criminal caseload has increased from about 500 annual criminal cases before Judge Bell took office to more than 2,000 now.
He is also concerned about the jail population and monitors these numbers daily through the jail report. The number of people arrested overnight fluctuates from one to 25 and total jail population swings from about 130 to 160. "We do arraignments every day. We cannot afford to have them sitting in jail," he said. On Mar. 9 the population was 110. Of that number, 69 were from circuit court and 30 from sessions.
Judge Bell said he believes not everyone needs to be in jail because of the expense to the county.
He works directly with East Tenn. Probation, which is the only local state licensed and certified probation agency.
East Tenn. Probation is required to submit a quarterly report to the state and county on its activities including all revenue and expenses. In 2006, East Tenn. Probation collected $246,172 from defendants. Its expenses include doing about 2,000 drug tests, paying salaries, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, plus incidental operation costs.
Every cost is minutely detailed and made public-"They are accountable to the state. . .to the court," said Bell.
East Tenn. Probation also supervised 13,886 hours of community service done by sessions court defendants, and 1,188 hours of studies for those seeking GEDs.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 25 Nov 2007.
I told Judge Bell that I had not seen or heard from his father, Frank Bell, lately. It seems that several weeks ago pastor Bell was riding his lawnmower when it snagged a root and overturned. The mower came back on top of Frank, who escaped the whirling blades. He did suffer injury to his back and is recuperating.
Just Plain Talk - A week of beginnings and endings
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 14 May 2008.
Judge faces complaints
Cocke official accused of several counts of judicial misconduct
By J.J. Stambaugh (Contact)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A longtime Cocke County judge has been charged with several counts of judicial misconduct by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary and will not hear criminal cases until the allegations against him are resolved.
The charges leveled against General Sessions Court Judge John A. Bell were filed after a state investigation into Bell's relationship with East Tennessee Probation Inc., a private probation company incorporated by his brother-in-law, Tommy Large.
If Bell is convicted of the charges against him, he could face "a whole range of sanctions ranging from a private reprimand to actually recommending impeachment or removal from office," said Sue Allison, a spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Bell, who was first elected in 1998, said he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
"I have followed the law, and I have done nothing unethical or improper in this matter," Bell said. "I cannot and will not discuss any specifics at this time. However, I can assure you that I will fully respond to the complaint and file a very detailed answer. … I believe the facts and the law clearly support my position. I believe I have properly followed the law."
The investigation was prompted by a complaint filed in 2006 by Dan Metcalf, a former bail bondsman. The allegations were probed by an investigative panel of three judges who found "reasonable cause to believe" that Bell had committed a slew of judicial offenses.
State officials allege that Bell used his position as judge to sentence defendants to terms of probation where they were forced to pay probation fees to his brother-in-law's company. If defendants didn't pay or comply with the other terms of their probation, they could be sent to jail or forced to pay even more fees to the company operated by Large.
The close relationship between Bell and Large in the courtroom also was a problem, according to documents.
"Judge Bell allows Large to sit on the bench adjacent to him in court sessions," records say. "It is known by the general public in Cocke County that Large has a familial relationship to Judge Bell, and that Large receives compensation as a result of those who are required to undergo supervision by East Tennessee Probation Inc."
Bell awarded the contract to Large's company in 1999, and their relationship became a heated campaign issue in 2006, when Bell won re-election over former Cocke County Law Director Phil Owens.
After Bell was re-elected, he tried to circumvent a 2005 Supreme Court rule prohibiting "nepotism or favoritism" by creating "an artificial barrier for his continued utilization" of Large's company, the charges say.
Bell "created or had created" a Sept. 1, 2006, memorandum "which ostensibly vests the authority for the selection of a private probation company provider with the Cocke County Mayor" although state law doesn't allow for such arrangements, documents show.
"This Memorandum of Agreement was signed by Judge Bell and, at the request of Judge Bell, by Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan in order to create the position of Director of Court Services for Cocke County," the complaint says. "Thereafter, Mayor McMahan, at the direction of Judge Bell, used that appointment for the purpose of selecting" Bell's juvenile probation officer as the court services director.
McMahan declined to comment.
Bell also was charged with misconduct for allegedly threatening to jail Metcalf for criticizing the judge's relationship with the probation company in a conversation outside the courtroom in 2006. Bell allegedly accused Metcalf of making "contemptuous and slanderous" statements and said he would hold him in contempt "if he heard that similar statements were being made by him in the future," the complaint said.
Another charge stemmed from 2004, when Bell allegedly accepted a $100 payment made for a speaking engagement at Grace Missionary Baptist Church in Newport and then failed to report it.
Bell filed an order Monday recusing himself from hearing any General Sessions cases where defendants could face probation.
Senior Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood of Townsend will temporarily assume Bell's duties, state courts spokeswoman Allison said.
While complaints against judges are commonplace, it's rare for a judge to be formally charged with misconduct, Allison said.
"Because courts are places where frequently one side or the other might not be happy with the outcome because that's the nature of litigation, people do file complaints," Allison said. "But the vast majority are investigated and found to not warrant any action."
J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-6307.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 27 Aug 2008.
Judge Bell responds to allegations of judicial misconduct
Published: 12:36 PM, 08/27/2008
Last updated: 12:51 PM, 08/27/2008
Author: Gilbert Soesbee
Source: The Newport Plain Talk
Cocke County General Sessions Judge John A. Bell has provided the long-anticipated answers and explanations to formal charges of judicial misconduct filed against him before the Tennessee Court of The Judiciary.
The judge’s responses came in supporting documents filed Monday afternoon along with a motion for summary judgment in which defense attorney Gordon Ball asks that the formal charges be dismissed in advance of the judge’s September 22 administrative trial before the court of the judiciary in Newport.
Attorney Ball’s motion for summary judgment contends that the charges against Judge Bell should be dismissed because of “the lack of genuine issues of material fact for trial on any of the four counts listed in the [Notice of] Formal Charges and that each of the four counts…are unfounded, entitling Judge Bell to judgment as a matter of law.”
Judge Bell has been formally charged with four counts of “judicial misconduct” by an investigative panel of the court of the judiciary, an action which could result in the judge’s censure or a recommendation for impeachment and removal from office.
The panel also found that Judge Bell was disqualified from hearing cases involving misdemeanor probation, yet continued to hear such cases despite having been informed in writing about a year ago that his actions were improper.
The document listing the formal charges against Judge Bell was filed on May 6 by Disciplinary Counsel Joseph S. Daniel at the direction of the three-judge panel of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary and formally served on Judge Bell on May 8. The members of the panel were judges David G. Hayes, Don R. Ash, and Gregory D. Smith.
The primary issues raised in the notice of formal charges concern alleged nepotism in Judge Bell’s handling of misdemeanor probation cases in sessions court, an incident in February 2006 in which the judge allegedly threatened Newportian Dan Metcalf with a contempt of court citation for remarks he was alleged to have made outside of the courtroom on a courthouse bench, and his alleged acceptance of a $100 appearance fee, which the defense refers to as “a love offering,” for speaking at a local church and did not report the payment as required by law.
In the supporting document to his motion for summary judgment on behalf of Judge Bell, attorney Ball answers each of the formal charges one-by-one. The answers are supported by a series of nine documents totaling more than 150 pages including affidavits, statements, and depositions from county officials and others involved in the actions which led to the formal charges.
The documents include affidavits from Cocke County Director of Court Services Jennifer Shelton, Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan, Cocke County Attorney Fletcher Ervin, East Tennessee Probation Inc. Owner Tommy Large, expert legal consultant Lucian T. Pera, and Grace Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Steven Downard, along with a 103-page sworn deposition from court of the Judiciary Investigator James T. LaRue.
The documents address the formal charges against Judge Bell individually.
CREATION OF THE
DIRECTOR OF COURT SERVICES
The first count of the notice of formal charges alleges that Judge Bell violated a 2005 amendment to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Rules of Judicial Conduct.
Specifically, that canon requires that “when a judge refers litigants to community resources as a condition or requirement relating to litigation, such referrals shall be made impartially and on the basis of merit. A judge shall avoid nepotism and favoritism.”
Newport resident Tommy Large, who is married to Judge Bell’s wife’s sister, incorporated East Tennessee Probation Inc. to provide private probationary services. Shortly after the company was incorporated, “Judge Bell selected the company to provide probationary services for the Cocke County General Sessions Court,” the investigative panel found.
“Large was the executive director/chief operating officer of the corporation from its inception, was [in that position] on July 1, 2005, and has continued to be [in that position] to the present,” according to the notice.
The court’s notice alleges that Judge Bell became aware of the 2005 amendment sometime before the 2006 general election. He was reelected to the position in August 2006 and began a new term of office on September 1, 2006.
Soon after the election, Judge Bell is alleged to have tried to “circumvent the 2005 amended supreme court rule,” Daniel alleges in the notice of formal charges.
“Judge Bell sought to create an artificial barrier for his continued utilization of East Tennessee Probation Inc. as the exclusive probation provider for Cocke County General Sessions Court,” according to the notice.
Daniel alleges that Judge Bell “created or had created a Memorandum of Agreement effective September 1, 2006, which ostensibly vests the authority for the selection of a private probation company provider with the Cocke County mayor.”
This Memorandum of Agreement created a position of “director of court services” for Cocke County, and Juvenile Probation Officer Jennifer Shelton was named “at the direction of Judge Bell” by Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan to fill that position, Daniel alleges in the court record.
The investigative panel alleges that there is no legal authority for this agreement or for the establishment of the position of “director of court services.”
The written purpose of the “director of court services” was “to select, utilize, change, coordinate with, and…make all decisions concerning provider services” for general sessions and juvenile courts in Cocke County.
Despite that stated intent, “no probation provider other than East Tennessee Probation Inc. has been asked to provide probation services…pursuant to this agreement,” the investigative panel found.
As the provider of probation services to general sessions court, East Tennessee Probation collects fees which the court orders be paid by defendants who are on probation.
According to the affidavits of Shelton, Mayor McMahan, and County Attorney Ervin, Judge Bell, who first took office after defeating incumbent Judge Marcus Mooneyham in 1988, met with Ervin and Mayor McMahan in the fall of 2006.
At that meeting, “Judge Bell informed [those present] of a recent change in state law which he said prevented him from selecting the court services in Cocke County General Sessions Court,” according to Ball’s motion.
In an attempt to come into compliance with the new law, “Judge Bell produced a proposed ‘memorandum of agreement’ between the county mayor and himself as general sessions and juvenile judge.
“The proposed memorandum…created a new office within the office of the county mayor, [called] director of court services, and Judge Bell proposed that Jennifer Shelton, youth services officer of the juvenile court, be appointed as director of court services without additional compensation,” the motion continues.
Under that memorandum, the director of court services “is given the discretion to select whichever probation services company she believes is best qualified to handle those services in general sessions court and may invite other companies to provide services to that court.”
In her affidavit that “the position consists of a myriad of responsibilities, primarily selecting and utilizing services for the court. The position did not consist of a pay raise, as I had just been given a raise.”
According to the court documents, Shelton had earlier planned to leave her position of youth services officer in order to accept a position in the office of Circuit Judge Rex Henry Ogle, but that Judge Bell negotiated with the county commission for an $8,000 raise in order to keep her as youth services officer. The raise had nothing to do with her appointment to the new director of court services position.
“I did not know about the creation of this position in advance, nor did I know that I had been selected to be the director of court services,” Shelton swore in her affidavit. “I had not discussed the position with Judge Bell prior to him informing me that I had been selected to fill this position.”
Both Shelton, Ervin, and McMahan say that the only discussion among them about the issue was the question of whether Shelton might eventually be entitled to further financial compensation from an already financially strapped county budget.
According to Mayor McMahan’s affidavit, after informing McMahan and Ervin of the change in state law, “Judge Bell proposed that a new position, a court services officer, be created as part of the executive branch of the county government.
The mayor’s affidavit then abruptly changes to third person, reading, “But Mayor McMahan did not feel comfortable giving Ms. Shelton direction and he requested that she not report directly to him for these duties.”
Jumping back into the first-person, the mayor’s affidavit continues, “I did not want to create a situation where Ms. Shelton might use her additional duties to seek a pay increase, especially since she had recently received an $8,000 salary increase,”
After amending Judge Bell’s proposed memorandum to reflect the mayor’s financial concerns, the three agreed on the terms of the proposal.
Taken together, the affidavits deny that there was any consideration of politics or family relationships in the creation of this position.
POLITICS, NEPOTISIM
The motion before the court of the judiciary denies that Large is related, even by marriage, to Judge Bell and alleges that the decision to contract with East Tennessee Probation was in no way related to politics, nepotism, or as a way to provide financial benefits to either Large or Judge Bell.
“Judge Bell was not involved in Large’s decision to start East Tennessee Probation…and…it was and is the only licensed probation services company in general sessions court in Cocke County,” attorney Ball’s motion reads.
It claims that when Mayor McMahan asked Shelton why she did not contract with the East Tennessee Human Resources Agency (ETHRA), which provides probation services for Cocke County Circuit Court, “she responded that she could not find where [ETHRA was] licensed to provide probation services in Cocke County for adult misdemeanor defendants” and that Cocke County has no written contract with either ETHRA or East Tennessee Probation.
“No one instructed Ms. Shelton to use a particular probation service, including East Tennessee Probation Inc., in her job as director of court services,” it continues.
The motion also claims that, since 2006, Judge Bell “has introduced Ms. Shelton to one other probation services company that provided probation services to other counties and informed her that it was her decision alone whether to hire a probation company.
“Large has neither offered [to] nor paid Judge Bell, directly or indirectly any remuneration for anything related to East Tennessee Probation’s [providing] of probation services in general sessions court,” the motion continues.
In her affidavit, Shelton agrees.
“I have never felt pressure from anyone, including Judge Bell, to use East Tennessee Probation Inc.,” she says in the document.
“Mr. Large’s company was, and is, the only licensed probation services in general sessions court in Cocke County,” Shelton continues. [Mayor McMahan] “asked me why I didn’t use ETHRA for probation services and I responded that I could not find where they were licensed to provide probation services in Cocke County for adult misdemeanor defendants.”
The formal charges filed against Judge Bell by the investigative panel of the court of the judiciary allege that Judge Bell has used his relationship with Large to financially benefit Bell’s brother-in-law by controlling the fees levied through misdemeanor probation.
“Failure to pay these fees, or to report as directed to take drug tests, for which the individual is sePerately charged, is a reason for Judge Bell to revoke the suspended sentence and require the individual to serve a jail sentence or to extend the probation term,” according to the investigative panel’s findings.
Extensions of probation for failure to comply with even the smallest of the terms of probation means more costs to the probationers and more fees paid to East Tennessee Probation.
“These fees provide income to the company, which in turn pays Large a salary,” the panel found.
This “never-ending cycle of probation” has been cited by many defendants as their reason for waiving consideration of relatively minor offenses to the Cocke County Grand Jury, clogging the circuit court docket with speeding, light law, open container, registration law, financial responsibility law, and other misdemeanor violations instead of the more serious felony charges traditionally reserved for circuit court.
“Judge Bell allows Large to sit on the bench adjacent to him in court sessions [and] it is known by the general public in Cocke County that Large has a familial relationship to Judge Bell and that Large receives compensation as a result of those who are required to undergo supervision by East Tennessee Probation Inc.,” the investigative panel found.
The panel alleges that, taken together, these “actions and/or inactions of Judge Bell” are in violation of at least five canons of the Supreme Court Rules of Judicial Conduct and sections of state law.
The panel alleges that Judge Bell’s conduct “does not promote public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary,” that the judge “has allowed family relationships to influence his judicial conduct,” that his probation referrals “are based on partiality and do not avoid favoritism, that the conduct “was and is willful,” and that his actions were “calculated to bring the judiciary into public disrepute and adversely affects the administration of justice.”
The second count of the notice of formal charges alleges that Judge Bell was automatically disqualified from hearing “any and all cases in which Tommy Large and/or East Tennessee Probation Inc. are involved” because of his family relationships.
Defendants should not have been required to file a formal motion of recusal in such cases, the panel alleges.
Further, the panel alleges that Judge Bell continued hearing such cases “even after being specifically informed of the applicable provisions” of the Code of Judicial Conduct by Disciplinary Counsel Daniel by letter on June 18, 2007.
The documents filed in support of Judge Bell’s motion for summary judgment deny these allegations; in fact, they contend that most of these practices are nothing unusual.
Concerning Large’s practice of sitting on the bench beside Judge Bell in the courtroom, the defense motion contends that “this is not unusual, since it is necessary for an agent of the probation services company to be present in court when a defendant is sentenced to probation.”
“I understand that questions have been raised regarding where Mr. Large sits in the courtroom,” Shelton says in her sworn affidavit. “However, [he] sits in court in the same location as every previous probation services officer has sat, and the same place probation officers sat when Judge Mooneyham was on the bench prior to Judge Bell’s election.”
In previous documents filed in the case, Judge Bell’s attorney has alleged that many of the complaints now facing Judge Bell have been litigated before and not found to be improper.
But that alleged investigation occurred during 1999, before the amendment to state law the judge is now accused if having violated, was adopted by state legal authorities.
Attorney Ball alleges that the issues on the case “have already been litigated and decided by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary in favor of Judge Bell,” according to the response. “Specifically, the [court] found that the facts now alleged…do not rise to the level of an ethical violation.
“The court found that utilization of East Tennessee Probation Inc.’s private misdemeanor probation service in 1999 by Judge Bell was appropriate and that such use did not amount to an ethical violation [and] that an improper relationship did not exist between Judge Bell and East Tennessee Probation Inc.,” according to Judge Bell’s earlier response.
But those judicial proceedings were held in 1999, at a time when the arrangement between sessions court and East Tennessee Probation Inc. may not have been considered improper.
“The Tennessee Court of the judiciary [in 1999] made findings of fact that Judge Bell was not related to Mr. Large by blood or marriage (In fact, Judge Bell and Mr. Large are not related, but are merely connected through two sePerate marriages.),” according to Judge Bell’s response.
“A LOVE GIFT”
In count four of its Notice of Formal Charges against Judge Bell, the court of the judiciary’s investigative panel alleges that in March of 2004, Judge Bell was a guest speaker at Grace Missionary Baptist Church and was paid $100 for the appearance.
“Judge Bell made no report of this extra-judicial compensation on his required Public Disclosure Report of Extra-Judicial Compensation for the year 2004,” the investigative panel found.
Failing to disclose the payment was a violation of another canon of the Code of Judicial Conduct, the panel alleges.
In his sworn affidavit, Pastor Downard testified that the judge spoke at Grace Missionary Church in March 2004 and received “a love gift” collected from the church’ congregation which is listed in the church’s financial ledger as “Speaker John Bell: $100.00.”
“Such gifts were at that time and are currently presented by the church to any speaker,” Downard testified. “in February 2008, the court of the judiciary’s investigator showed up one day and requested information about the $100 gift to Judge Bell in March 2004.
“I explained to the investigator that the $100 check was a ‘love gift’ to Judge Bell [from the church]. Although the investigator asked me for additional information and stated that he would ‘call back,’ I have not heard from him since,” the affidavit continues.
In a deposition taken by attorney Ball in the case, investigator LaRue testified that he was told that “Judge Bell had made a practice prior to the last election of touring about the counties, giving his [Christian] testimony and an account of his service to the United States Army [during the Iraq War] and that he had received income from this.
In following up on this information, which he said came from former Sessions Judge Mooneyham, he said, ‘”I think I went to all the churches in Newport,’ and although there were ‘a lot’ of churches in Newport, he found ‘no evidence that Judge Bell received any checks from any other church,’” according to the defense motion.
“And although Mr. LaRue testified that he had numerous ‘statements’ that Judge Bell had received ‘cash’ at other churches, Mr. LaRue had no information of the amounts of cash purportedly given to Judge Bell, and had scares information regarding the names of ay witnesses who would testify to that effect.”
However, the issue before the court of the judiciary is not whether Judge Bell received any such gifts or appearance fees, but whether he failed to report those fees to state officials under the required Public Disclosure Report of Extra-Judicial Compensation
POLITICS, DAN
METCALF, AND OTHER
ALLEGATIONS
Count three of the Notice of Formal Charges filed against Judge Bell concerns an alleged threat to hold Metcalf in contempt of court for alleged statements made outside of the courtroom.
On February 6, 2007, Metcalf, who worked as a bail bondsman at the time, was sitting on a bench downstairs at the Cocke County Courthouse.
Scottie Ellison, a local man who was facing charges of passing bad checks, reportedly asked Metcalf for advice, telling the bondsman he had been drug tested numerous times while on probation on the bad check charges.
“He asked me what I thought about it, and I told him I thought it was pretty strict to have someone repeatedly drug tested on a bad check charge,” Metcalf has said. “That was the extent of the conversation.”
Apparently, Ellison spoke to someone from East Tennessee Probation and told that person that “he had overheard Dan Metcalf talking to others in a sePerate area of the courthouse about the propriety of private probation services in Cocke County,” according to the three-judge investigative panel’s findings.
The representative of East Tennessee Probation brought the matter to Judge Bell’s attention and the judge called Ellison to the bench in open court.
“In this bench session, which is not recorded, it is the contention of Judge Bell that Ellison stated that Metcalf had earlier told him that ‘probation was crooked [and] you was crooked,’” according to the panel’s findings.
Metcalf was not in the courtroom for this bench conference and denies making statements of that nature to Ellison.
“Accepting these statements as true, Judge Bell had Metcalf immediately brought into open court and sworn,” the panel found. “Judge Bell thereupon admonished Metcalf in open court that he considered Metcalf’s remarks to be ‘contemptuous and slanderous.’”
The judge did not tell Metcalf what comments he was talking about, nor did he give Metcalf an opportunity to respond, but he “threatened Metcalf in open court with contempt if he heard that similar statements were being made by him in the future,” according to the panel’s findings.
“The threat of contempt by Judge Bell in open court under these circumstances was improper and in violation of [specific canons of] the Code of Judicial Conduct” and state law, the investigative panel alleges in count three.
In his motion, attorney Ball alleges that this complaint was politically motivated by the judge’s political adversaries, specifically former Judge Mooneyham, former Cocke County Jail Administrator Michael McCarter, Metcalf, and unnamed others.
The motion also argues that Judge Bell’s actions were not in violation of Tennessee law or even the free speech provisions of the U.S. Constitution: even comments about an elected public official during an election year.
This opinion largely comes from Pera, a Memphis attorney with a seven-page resume who describes his current occupation by saying, “I also counsel and represent lawyers, law firms, and others on questions of legal ad judicial ethics and the professional responsibilities of lawyers and judges.
“I have been retained to serve as an expert in a number of legal malpractice, lawyer disciplinary, and other matters involving the conduct of lawyers and judges,” Pera says in his affidavit.
He says he has “provided Judge Bell my full and complete legal analysis and opinions related to the judicial disciplinary complaint filed [against him] by Dan A. Metcalf in a letter I wrote to Judge Bell dated December 4, 2006.
“In my opinion, Judge Bell’s actions did not violate Tennessee law; rather, they followed an appropriate practice identified by other courts,” Pera says in his affidavit. Mr. Metcalf’s conduct and speech in the courthouse on February 6, 2006, could be seen by a judge in Judge Bell’s position, acting reasonably to fall within the category of conduct that Tennessee contempt law aims to prohibit.
“In my opinion, Judge Bell's response to Mr. Metcalf appears to have been, if anything, restrained and temperate. Rather than attempting to hold Mr. Metcalf in contempt, and rather than then instituting a charge of indirect criminal contempt, Judge Bell instead merely warned Mr. Metcalf, on the record, that his actions could be construed as contempt and warned Mr. Metcalf that, if he continued in his course of conduct, Judge Bell would follow the course of action laid out in [the rules of court]. As stated in my December 2006 letter, I am aware of no authority condemning the practice of issuing such a warning.”
The affidavit and letter both stop short of pointing out that during the hearing when Metcalf was called before the court, Judge Bell never explained to Metcalf what specific comments or behavior, Judge Bell considered improper.
“At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about and he never really explained it to me,” Metcalf said. “I assumed it had something to do with a bail case I was handling or something that had happened in the courtroom. It was only later that I found out what he meant.”
In his December 4, 2006, letter to Judge Bell, which is attached as an exhibit to the motion for summary judgment, Pera has a basic explanation for the situation: politics.
“The incident at issue arose during the course of an election campaign for the position of Cocke County general sessions judge, in which you were challenged in your bid for re-election by Phil Owens,” Pera wrote in 2006.
Mr. Metcalf…was involved in working with and supporting the campaign of your opponent, Phil Owens,” he wrote.
Among the issues during the campaign was the very question which is now the focus of the state disciplinary action.
Although some local residents may disagree, Pera contends that “the physical layout of the courthouse is such that Mr. Metcalf was situated where people going to and from your courtroom were required to pass by, and within earshot of, his location.
“Although you have expressed your opinion that the conduct of Mr. Owens' campaign was inappropriate and unethical, I have not formed an opinion on this topic,” Pera informed Judge Bell.
The letter suggests that Judge Bell believed that there had been several previous incidents which were directly related to “Mr. Metcalf's activities on the first floor of the courthouse,” although Metcalf contends he was at the courthouse to monitor the appearance of his bail bond clients in court, to visit with friends in one of Cocke County’s primary gathering places, and, he concedes, to “talk politics.”
But Judge Bell told Pera, according to his letter, that about two weeks earlier, “Mr. Metcalf was pointed out to you by a litigant as someone who was telling people in the courthouse that “the court [referring to your court] was just a money racket.” The litigant was also confused about Mr. Metcalf’s position, saying that he believed he was one of “your officers,” which Mr. Metcalf was not.
“Mr. Metcalf’s conversation with this particular litigant had made enough of an impression upon the litigant that you were obliged to engage in conversation with him to defend your actions and the court from the charges Mr. Metcalf had made.
“About a week before February 6, 2006, another litigant told you that Mr. Metcalf was slandering the court in the same general location on the first floor of the courthouse, including statements that your court was “a money racket,” that Cocke County General Sessions Court probation was “a racket,” that you were “crooked,” and other such statements.
Another such incident occurred before February 6, 2006, in which you overheard a litigant, in an argument with personnel in the Juvenile Court Clerk's office, asserting that the requirement of certain filing fees was “a money racket,” Pera wrote. “The litigant later told you that he was just repeating something that he had heard downstairs in the courthouse, and he apologized to you for the comments.”
Pera contends that Metcalf’s alleged behavior, “included ‘repeated accusations of corruption and misconduct were being consciously and directly targeted toward litigants before your court and were being made against the court in the courthouse.
“Based upon my review of the facts and law applicable to the situation at hand, it is my opinion that you did not violate the law of Tennessee in warning Mr. Metcalf regarding the contemptuous nature of his conduct and speech.
Under Tennessee law, actions that constitute “abuse of, or unlawful interference with, the process or proceedings of the court” are considered to be criminal contempt.
Even during an election season in which Judge Bell was a candidate and valid election issues were being discussed, “such actions occurring outside of the presence of the court are considered to be indirect criminal contempt,” Pera alleges.
“It is, of course, conceivable that a court reviewing a finding of indirect contempt against Mr. Metcalf for his conduct regarding Mr. Ellison might conclude that his actions and speech were, in fact, protected by the First Amendment [of the U.S. Constitution], and thus reverse such a contempt finding,” Pera points out.
“It is well-settled, however, that First Amendment rights are subject to greater regulation when those rights are exercised in connection with court proceedings, whether by participants in court proceedings or by those whose conduct or speech otherwise has a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding,: he continues. “Thus, while the fact that Mr. Metcalf was part of an electoral campaign for your opponent might be seen by some as meaning that the First Amendment would absolutely protect his conduct and speech, it seems likely to me that, even if such conduct and speech were protected by the First Amendment when undertaken at some location distant from the court and its proceedings, a very different First Amendment analysis would likely apply to identical conduct and speech undertaken in or near the court, especially where the conduct or speech interfered with, or was likely to interfere with, proceedings before the court.
“It appears to me that, in issuing the warning that you did to Mr. Metcalf, you had apparently concluded that his continuing conduct and speech posed a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing proceedings before your court, and it appears to me that such a conclusion was reasonable,” Pera wrote.
“If another judge, brought in later to try a contempt charge on these facts, were to find that, based on whatever factual record emerged, Mr. Metcalf s conduct did not pose a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing proceedings before your court, in my opinion, that would in no way diminish the reasonableness of your action in issuing the warning.
“I have not been provided with, nor have I found in my research, any Tennessee case law that would make it clear that Mr. Metcalf s conduct was immune from contempt based on the First Amendment.”
“Absent such case law, a judge in your position would seem to me wholly justified in taking merely the first step in a possible indirect contempt proceeding.
“Issuing Mr. Metcalf an appropriate warning that his conduct risked such a charge…appears to me that the only potential impropriety of which you might be accused is using the court's power and authority to chill the First Amendment rights of Mr. Metcalf. Given the state of the law, any such accusation would appear to me to be groundless,” Pera concluded.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 19 Sep 2008.
Judge Bell says 1999 probe cleared him
Author: Gilbert Soesbee
Six days before the start of his trial on formal charges of ethics violations, Cocke County General Sessions Judge John A. Bell is seeking the records of a previous investigation, which he alleges cleared him nine years ago of the same charges he is now facing be-fore the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary.
“Judge Bell primarily seeks a copy of a letter from former disciplinary counsel for the court of the judiciary, Judge Jerry Scott, concerning a previous complaint regarding nearly identical allegations as those [currently] charged…recommending that the complaint should be dismissed,” defense attorney Gordon Ball wrote in a motion filed on Sunday before the court of the judiciary in Nashville.
Current Disciplinary Counsel Joseph S. Daniel has objected to producing the documents Judge Bell is seeking, calling them “confidential” and alleging that any actions by the court of the judiciary in a previous case would “have no effect upon the present complaint.”
And in separate motions filed with the court on Tuesday, attorney Ball seeks to limit the evidence admitted during the trial to facts supporting the alleged improper activity specifically listed in the formal complaint filed against Judge Bell last May.
One of the motions filed on Tuesday states that “it has become clear that disciplinary counsel in-tends to present evidence of other putative crimes, wrongs, or acts not alleged within the formal charges.
“Specifically, disciplinary counsel has informed Judge Bell that he intends to present evidence of real estate or commercial building leases entered into by Judge Bell and his wife, although the formal charges do not address such evidence,” the motion continues.
$100 was “love gift”
Attorney Ball also alleges that the prosecution intends to introduce “documentation of Judge Bell’s income, although the only allegation regarding [his] receipt of in-come concerns allegations…that Judge Bell allegedly received a $100 ‘honorarium’ from a Newport church.
“Judge Bell has not disputed and does not dispute that he received a check for $100 as a ‘love gift’ from Grace Baptist Church in 2004,” the motion continues.
Attorney Ball is also seeking “summaries of various interviews conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agents Scott Lott and J.J. Sipos and Tennessee Attorney General Office Investigator Trey King regarding a ‘separate and independent investigation’” of Judge Bell.
Judge Bell has been accused of four counts of “judicial misconduct” by a three-judge panel of the court of the judiciary. The court, which monitors the performance of judges in Tennessee, could acquit Judge Bell or it could take actions ranging from a public censure of the judge to a recommendation to the state legislature for impeachment and removal from office.
The charges focus on the judge’s hearing of cases involving misdemeanor probation because of a family connection with the provider of probation services; the alleged violation of the civil rights of Newport resident Dan Metcalf, who at the time was a local bondsman, with a contempt of court citation for re-marks he was alleged to have made outside of the courtroom on a courthouse bench; and the alleged failure to report accepting a $100 appearance fee for speaking at a local church.
Alleged improper conflict
Tommy Large, Judge Bell’s brother-in-law, operates East Tennessee Probation, the company, which was given the exclusive con-tract to administer the misdemeanor probation in Cocke County. The court of the judiciary’s three-member investigative panel found that this is an improper conflict of interest.
The panel also found that Judge Bell was disqualified from hearing cases involving misdemeanor probation, yet continued to hear such cases despite having been informed in writing almost a year ago that his actions were improper.
The judge’s acceptance of a $100 appearance for speaking at the local church and not reporting the fee is also an issue in the case.
The document listing the formal charges against Judge Bell was filed on May 6 by Court of the Judiciary Disciplinary Counsel Daniel at the direction of the three-judge panel of the court. The members of the panel were judges David G. Hayes, Don R. Ash, and Gregory D. Smith.
The panel found that “there is reasonable cause to believe that the Honorable John A. Bell has com-mitted and continues to commit judicial offenses alleged herein…and directed disciplinary counsel to file formal charges,” according to the document filed before the court in Nashville.
Trial set for Monday
Judge Bell’s trial is scheduled to begin at the Cocke County Court-house on Monday, September 22. In one of Tuesday’s motions, attorney Ball is asking the court to limit testimony to evidence directly relating to the four charges specifically listed in the panel’s notification of formal charges against Judge Bell.
“Judge Bell has been formally charged with four counts of alleged judicial misconduct [and] permit-ting disciplinary counsel to delve into alleged facts which he believes might prove other crimes, wrongs, or acts and without providing Judge Bell sufficient notice of such crimes, wrongs, or acts will unfairly prejudice Judge Bell’s defense to the actual formal charges instituted by disciplinary counsel against him,” attorney Ball argues.
The motion filed on Sunday seeks a copy of a letter from Judge Scott, who previously served as disciplinary counsel, concerning a 1999 investigation of similar com-plaints filed against Judge Bell.
It also addresses Daniel’s contention that the contents of that let-ter are legally confidential.
Attorney Ball argued that the confidentiality rule “is intended to shield respondent judges pending an investigation and disciplinary proceedings and therefore the rule cannot be used here by disciplinary counsel as ‘a sword’ against Judge Bell.”
And even if the confidentiality rule applies in Judge Bell’s case, the formal charges he is currently facing “essentially incorporate the allegations made by Mr. Metcalf in his complaint, [so] Judge Scott’s letter is no longer subject to confidentiality,” the motion contends.
“The formal charges stem from the allegations of the Metcalf com-plaint which was previously dismissed against Judge Bell. Thus, it cannot be reasonably argued that Judge Scott’s letter recommending dismissal of those very charges in his tenure as disciplinary counsel has ‘no effect upon the present complaint’ as it is actually the same complaint,” it continues.
Although Metcalf’s name has been assigned to the complaint as a whole, the question of probation in general sessions court is only a side issue in the complaint actually filed by Metcalf. It deals specifically with the free speech issue and the contempt of court citation Judge Bell allegedly threatened to issue against Metcalf.
Prosecution’s Allegations
Prosecutors in the case argue that the first investigation of the complaint against Bell and his relationship with East Tennessee Probation occurred before 2005, when the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Rules of Judicial Conduct was amended to state that “when a judge refers litigants to community resources as a condition or requirement relating to litigation, such referrals shall be made impartially and on the basis of merit. A judge shall avoid nepotism and favoritism.”
Large, who is married to Judge Bell’s wife’s sister, incorporated East Tennessee Probation Inc. to provide private probationary ser-vices. Shortly after the company was incorporated, “Judge Bell selected the company to provide probationary services for the Cocke County General Sessions Court,” the investigative panel found.
The court’s notice alleges that Judge Bell became aware of the 2005 amendment sometime before the 2006 general election and, soon after the election, is alleged to have tried to “circumvent the 2005 amended supreme court rule,” Daniel alleges in the notice of for-mal charges.
“Judge Bell sought to create an artificial barrier for his continued utilization of East Tennessee Probation Inc. as the exclusive probation provider for Cocke County General Sessions Court,” according to the notice.
Daniel alleges that Judge Bell “created or had created a Memorandum of Agreement effective September 1, 2006, which ostensibly vests the authority for the selection of a private probation company provider with the Cocke County mayor.”
This Memorandum of Agreement created a position of “director of court services” for Cocke County, and Juvenile Probation Officer Jennifer Shelton was named “at the direction of Judge Bell” by Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan to fill that position, Daniel alleges in the court record.
The investigative panel alleges that there is no legal authority for this agreement or for the establishment of the position of “director of court services.”
The hearing panel of the court of the judiciary and its presiding officer have set aside time before the trial begins next week to hear arguments and rule on pending motions in the case.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 19 Sep 2008.
Judge Bell denies allegations of misconduct
Author: Gilbert Soesbee
NEWPORT-In an amended answer filed Thursday in the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary, Cocke County General Sessions Judge John A. Bell denies all of the allegations of misconduct against him and demands that the charges be dismissed.
Judge Bell's "Amended Answer To Formal Charges" was filed just four days before his trial by a hearing panel of the court of the judiciary is set to begin in Cocke County and is among several pre-trial motions and documents that are being filed with the court.
Both sides in the case have been filing pre-trial documents in Nashville in anticipation of the beginning of the trial on Monday in the Cocke County Courthouse.
On the opposing side, Disciplinary Counsel Joseph S. Daniel filed a supplementary response on Thursday to defense attorney Gordon Ball's request for documents relating to the case. In his response, Daniel objects to Ball's earlier request for investigative documents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, calling the material "confidential" and "not to be distributed" outside of the court of the judiciary.
Judge Bell has been accused of four counts of "judicial misconduct" by a three-judge panel of the court of the judiciary. The court, which monitors the performance of judges in Tennessee, could acquit Judge Bell or it could take actions ranging from a public censure of the judge to a recommendation to the state legislature for impeachment and removal from office.
The charges focus on the judge's hearing of cases involving misdemeanor probation because of an alleged family connection with the provider of probation services; the alleged violation of the civil rights of Newport resident Dan Metcalf, who at the time was a local bondsman, with a contempt of court citation for remarks he was alleged to have made outside of the courtroom on a downstairs courthouse bench; and the alleged failure to report accepting $100 for speaking at a local church.
Tommy Large, who is married to Judge Bell's wife's sister, operates East Tennessee Probation Inc., the company which was given the exclusive contract to administer the misdemeanor probation in Cocke County. The court of the judiciary's three-member investigative panel found that this is an improper conflict of interest.
The panel also found that Judge Bell was disqualified from hearing cases involving misdemeanor probation, yet continued to hear such cases despite having been informed in writing about a year ago that his actions were improper.
Daniel filed the formal charges against Judge Bell on May 6 at the direction of the three-judge panel of the court. The members of the panel were judges David G. Hayes, Don R. Ash, and Gregory D. Smith.
The panel found that "there is reasonable cause to believe that the Honorable John A. Bell has committed and continues to commit judicial offenses alleged herein...and directed disciplinary counsel to file formal charges," according to the original document filed before the court in Nashville.
Judge Bell's trial is scheduled to begin at the Cocke County Courthouse on Monday, September 22. Attorney Ball is asking the court to limit testimony to evidence directly relating to the four charges specifically listed in the panel's notification of formal charges against Judge Bell.
The nine-page answer to the charges filed on Thursday contains Judge Bell's specific response to each of the four counts of misconduct filed against him by prosecutor Daniel.
Daniel argues in the first count of the formal charges that Judge Bell violated a 2005 amendment to the Tennessee Supreme Court's Rules of Judicial Conduct, which states "when a judge refers litigants to community resources as a condition or requirement relating to litigation, such referrals shall be made impartially and on the basis of merit. A judge shall avoid nepotism and favoritism."
Large, who is married to Judge Bell's wife's sister, incorporated East Tennessee Probation Inc. to provide private probationary services. Shortly after the company was incorporated, "Judge Bell selected the company to provide probationary services for the Cocke County General Sessions Court," the investigative panel found.
The investigative panel alleges that Judge Bell became aware of the 2005 amendment to the code of judicial conduct sometime before the 2006 general election and, soon after the election, is alleged to have tried to "circumvent the 2005 amended supreme court rule."
"Judge Bell sought to create an artificial barrier for his continued utilization of East Tennessee Probation Inc. as the exclusive probation provider for Cocke County General Sessions Court," the panel alleges.
Daniel alleges that Judge Bell "created or had created a Memorandum of Agreement effective September 1, 2006, which ostensibly vests the authority for the selection of a private probation company provider with the Cocke County mayor."
This Memorandum of Agreement created a position of "director of court services" for Cocke County, and Juvenile Probation Officer Jennifer Shelton was named "at the direction of Judge Bell" by Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan to fill that position, Daniel alleges in the court record.
The investigative panel alleges that there is no legal authority for this agreement or for the establishment of the position of "director of court services."
Judge Bell denies all of the prosecutor's allegations, saying he violated no laws or any provision of the state judicial canon of ethics, and claims that Large and Judge Bell "are not related, but are merely connected through two separate marriages."
In Thursday's answer, "Judge Bell denies that the Uniform Anti-Nepotism Act applies to him and further denies that Mr. Large is related to him by any lawful civil degree of kinship or relationship.
"Judge Bell further denies that he has violated any of the judicial canons or that the prohibitions of kinship contained in the canons apply to the allegations set forth in [the investigative panel's] formal charges," according to the judge's answer.
The document admits that Judge Bell prepared the memorandum creating the director of court services "but that memorandum was made for the purpose of insuring that Cocke County was in compliance with state law and to enable the executive branch of [the] Cocke County government to carry out orders of probation, including the selection of which probation service to utilize.
"It is both categorically and generally denied that the memorandum of agreement creating the position of director of court services was drafted or executed for an improper, illegitimate, unlawful, or otherwise wrongful purpose," according to Judge Bell's answer.
The document also states that "East Tennessee Probation is the only eligible licensed provider of private misdemeanor probation services available to provide such services for the Cocke County General Sessions Court." Probation services in circuit court are provided by the East Tennessee Human Resources Agency (ETHRA).
The court's formal charges against Judge Bell allege that he "allows [Large] to sit on the bench adjacent to him in court sessions." The judge's answer admits that Large's work station is on the bench near the judge, but it is the result of courtroom geography, not anything improper.
"Mr. Large sits at the work station in the courtroom occupied by every other probation officer since the early '90s and preceding Judge Bell's tenure on the bench."
The general sessions courtroom is designed so that there are three similar work stations near the judge in the courtroom: one for the sessions court clerk, one for witnesses, and a third for the probation officer.
"Each work station is connected to the [judge's] bench. However, the judge's bench is partitioned off from the other three work stations and is raised so that it is on a higher level than the other three work stations," according to Judge Bell's answer.
The judge also denies that he has presided over any cases in which he should have stepped down as the presiding judge and states that no "reasonable question of Judge Bell's impartiality exists with respect to criminal cases as alleged in Count II" of the formal charges.
"Judge Bell's decision not to issue a blanket recusal order from all criminal cases is in complete compliance with his obligations as judge and the Tennessee Code of Judicial Conduct," the answer continues.
Count III of the formal charges concerns Judge Bell's alleged threat to issue a contempt of court citation against Metcalf.
On February 6, 2007, Metcalf, who worked as a bail bondsman at the time, was sitting on a bench downstairs at the Cocke County Courthouse.
Scottie Ellison, a local man who was facing charges of passing bad checks, reportedly asked Metcalf for advice, telling the bondsman he had been drug tested numerous times while on probation on the bad check charges.
"He asked me what I thought about it, and I told him I thought it was pretty strict to have someone repeatedly drug tested on a bad check charge," Metcalf said. "That was the extent of the conversation."
Apparently, Ellison spoke to someone from East Tennessee Probation and told that person that "he had overheard Dan Metcalf talking to others in a separate area of the courthouse about the propriety of private probation services in Cocke County," according to the three-judge investigative panel's findings.
The representative of East Tennessee Probation brought the matter to Judge Bell's attention and the judge called Ellison to the bench in open court.
"In this bench session, which is not recorded, it is the contention of Judge Bell that Ellison stated that Metcalf had earlier told him that 'probation was crooked [and] you was crooked,'" according to the panel's findings.
Metcalf was not in the courtroom for this bench conference and denies making statements of that nature to Ellison.
"Accepting these statements as true, Judge Bell had Metcalf immediately brought into open court and sworn," the panel found. "Judge Bell thereupon admonished Metcalf in open court that he considered Metcalf's remarks to be 'contemptuous and slanderous.'"
The judge did not tell Metcalf what comments he was talking about, nor did he give Metcalf an opportunity to respond, but he "threatened Metcalf in open court with contempt if he heard that similar statements were being made by him in the future," according to the panel's findings.
"The threat of contempt by Judge Bell in open court under these circumstances was improper and in violation of [specific canons of] the Code of Judicial Conduct" and state law, the investigative panel alleges in Count III.
In the answer filed on Thursday, Judge Bell contends that "Metcalf was outside of the courtroom (but inside the courthouse) attacking the reputation of the judge, the court, and the judicial system in Cocke County with litigants scheduled to appear before the court.
"It is admitted that Judge Bell summoned Mr. Metcalf into court and merely issued a warning to [him] to the effect that Judge Bell considered Mr. Metcalf's comments contemptuous and that if Mr. Metcalf continued making such comments against the court a petition for contempt would be filed and served on Mr. Metcalf.
"It is denied that Judge Bell's actions relatively to summoning Mr. Metcalf into court to issue a warning, and, in fact, issuing that warning, were improper," according to Judge Bell's answer.
Concerning the final count of the panel's formal notice of charges, Judge Bell agrees that he has spoken to various church groups, civic clubs, legal associations, and schools during his tenure as judge.
But he denies that he has "received or accepted any fee in any amount for speaking before such groups.
"Judge Bell has, however, received numerous unsolicited nominal gifts for speaking such as an ink pen, [a] jar of honey, coffee cups, homemade apple butter, a certificate or letter or appreciation, [a] gift certificate, and a gift in the form of a $100 check from Grace Missionary Baptist Church in Newport," his answer continues.
Judge Bell states that he kept the uncashed check for about five months, "after which, for administrative reasons, he cashed the check and simply re-gifted the $100 as cash to Grace Missionary Baptist Church.
"It is specifically denied that Judge Bell was required to disclose the $100 gift under [a specific canon of judicial ethics] which requires gifts exceeding $150 in value to be reported," according to the judge's response.
Judge Bell also continues to allege that another investigation in 1999 by the court of the judiciary cleared him of any wrongdoing. Since that investigation involved essentially the same allegations against the judge, the prosecution should not be allowed to pursue the same charges again, he contends.
Attorney Ball is also seeking summaries of various interviews conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agents Scott Lott and J.J. Sipos and Tennessee Attorney General Office Investigator Trey King regarding a "separate and independent investigation" of Judge Bell.
In a response filed on Thursday, prosecutor Daniel concedes that his office has the agent's summaries of various interviews but "these summaries have not been signed, adopted, or approved by the interviewees.
"This information was furnished to this office as 'confidential' and 'not to be distributed outside your agency,'" according to Daniel's response. "Accordingly, disciplinary counsel objects to providing these summaries" to the defendant.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 23 Sep 2008.
Judge reaches settlement of probation issue
Cocke County General Sessions Judge John Bell, at right, confers with attorney Gordon Ball during a break in his trial on Monday. The trial ended abruptly when the parties agreed to a settlement of the issues raised in the case.
Author: Gilbert Soesbee
The trial of Cocke County General Sessions Judge John A. Bell ended abruptly Monday when the judge reached a settlement with prosecutors concerning probation in sessions court.
A ten-member panel of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary heard testimony all day and into the evening Monday concerning complaints filed against the judge. Bell blamed his current troubles on his political opponents, including Cocke County Circuit Judge Ben W. Hooper II and Newport attorney Phil Owens, who was Bell's opponent in the 2006 Republican primary election.
Bell had been charged with four counts of "judicial misconduct," mostly having to do with the manner in which misdemeanor probation is handled in sessions court. Judge Bell testified that he had no choice but to utilize East Tennessee Probation Inc., a company operated by Tommy Large, who is married to Judge Bell's wife's sister.
Prosecutors say it is improper for a judge to do business with a company operated by a relative, but Judge Bell denies that he is related to Large within the third civil degree, which is deemed improper under state law and the Tennessee Canons of Judicial Ethics.
Under the terms of the settlement, which was announced close to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Judge Bell agreed not to appoint or use a private probation service in which its board of directors, officers, or agents are related to himself or his wife, Vida, or to establish a probation system "which would lead a reasonable person to believe" that there is nepotism or favoritism occurring.
Court costs will be shared equally between the state and Judge Bell, according to the agreement. Both sides said they were pleased with the terms of the settlement.
"This agreement achieves our primary goal that we have sought all along, which is that Judge Bell will not utilize a private probation service operated by a relative," said Disciplinary Counsel Joseph S. Daniel.
Defense attorney Gordon Ball also said he is satisfied with the settlement.
"We are pleased that the charges will not be pursued," Ball said.
The agreement is not a verdict of "not guilty," only the full court of the judiciary can issue an acquittal, but it is an agreement that the state will not pursue the charges.
Monday's settlement concerns only the probation question; it does not directly address a complaint by Newport resident Dan Metcalf or a complaint filed by the court's disciplinary counsel that Judge Bell did not report a $100 gift he received for speaking at a local church.
Judge Bell was the major witness to testify on Monday and was on the witness stand for more than five hours. He broke down in tears three times when he spoke about giving his Christian testimony at various local churches and his service in the war in Iraq.
He said the charges were part of a pattern of harassment "by Judge Hooper and others associated with Mr. Owens' campaign.
"Judge Hooper had signed search warrants for my bank account, and not only my bank account but my daughter's bank account," Judge Bell said in response to questions from Assistant Disciplinary Counsel Joe Riley. "I had to explain to my 12-year-old daughter why her bank account was being searched."
Judge Hooper said he did not issue any such search warrants.
Judge Bell also explained why he exercised his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 37 times in response to pre-trial questions from prosecutors.
"The TBI, IRS, FBI, and disciplinary counsel's private investigator was looking into it and were trying to get me," Judge Bell said, adding that he chose to answer most of the questions later.
"It was my understanding that the FBI and the TBI had finished their investigation and found nothing," he said. "So, based on that, I decided to testify."
Judge Bell told the court that his political enemies have done many things to harass him, but he said, "I'm used to that," and denied being angry at anyone.
"There were many incidents," he said. "They sent people in devil's costumes to march around the courthouse [in protest of one of Judge Bell's child custody decisions]. I was not mad; I was just trying to do my job as best I can."
Other opponents Judge Bell mentioned by name from the witness stand are former Sessions Judge Marcus Mooneyham, former County Commissioner and Jail Administrator Michael McCarter, and Metcalf.
Judge Bell was accused of four counts of "judicial misconduct" by a three-judge panel of the court, which monitors the performance of judges in Tennessee. If the trial had been completed, the 10-judge panel had the power to acquit Judge Bell or take actions ranging from a public censure of the judge to a recommendation to the state legislature for impeachment and removal from office.
The charges focus on the judge's hearing of cases involving misdemeanor probation because of a family connection with the provider of probation services; the alleged violation of the civil rights of Metcalf, who at the time was a local bondsman, with the threat of a contempt of court citation for remarks he was alleged to have made outside of the courtroom on a downstairs courthouse bench; and the alleged failure to report accepting $100 for speaking at a local church.
Large, who is married to Judge Bell's wife's sister, operates East Tennessee Probation, the company which was given the exclusive contract to administer the misdemeanor probation in Cocke County General Sessions Court. The court of the judiciary's three-member investigative panel found that this is an improper conflict of interest.
The panel also found that Judge Bell was disqualified from hearing cases involving misdemeanor probation, yet continued to hear such cases despite having been informed in writing about a year ago that his actions were improper.
The document listing the formal charges against Judge Bell was filed on May 6 by Court of the Judiciary Disciplinary Counsel Daniel at the direction of a three-judge investigative panel of the court.
The panel found that "there is reasonable cause to believe that the Honorable John A. Bell has committed and continues to commit judicial offenses alleged herein...and directed disciplinary counsel to file formal charges," according to the document filed before the court in Nashville.
Prosecutor Daniel argued in the first count of the formal charges that Judge Bell violated a 2005 amendment to the Tennessee Supreme Court's Rules of Judicial Ethics, which states "when a judge refers litigants to community resources as a condition or requirement relating to litigation, such referrals shall be made impartially and on the basis of merit. A judge shall avoid nepotism and favoritism."
Large incorporated East Tennessee Probation Inc. to provide private probationary services. Shortly after the company was incorporated, "Judge Bell selected the company to provide probationary services for the Cocke County General Sessions Court," the investigative panel found.
The investigative panel alleges that Judge Bell became aware of the 2005 amendment to the code of judicial conduct sometime before the 2006 general election and, soon after the election, is alleged to have tried to "circumvent the 2005 amended supreme court rule."
"Judge Bell sought to create an artificial barrier for his continued utilization of East Tennessee Probation Inc. as the exclusive probation provider for Cocke County General Sessions Court," the panel alleges.
Daniel alleges that Judge Bell "created or had created a Memorandum of Agreement effective September 1, 2006, which ostensibly vests the authority for the selection of a private probation company provider with the Cocke County mayor."
This Memorandum of Agreement created a position of "director of court services" for Cocke County, and Juvenile Probation Officer Jennifer Shelton was named "at the direction of Judge Bell" by Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan to fill that position, Daniel alleges in the court record.
The investigative panel alleged that there is no legal authority for this agreement or for the establishment of the position of "director of court services."
The judge said that agreement was put in place so that "the executive branch of Cocke County government would be in charge of probation services."
He said he made that decision based on a canon of ethics provision that "it's not proper for judges to be supervising probation."
Judge Bell denied all of the prosecutor's allegations, saying he violated no laws or any provision of the state judicial canon of ethics, and claims that Large and Judge Bell "are not related, but are merely connected through two separate marriages."
Prosecutor Daniel surprised defense attorneys and observers in the courtroom by dropping the allegation of nepotism early in the trial.
"Any reference to nepotism in Count I [of the formal charges] has been withdrawn," Daniel told Judge Mary Martin Schaffner. "We will be relying on favoritism."
"We came here today to try this case, and the whole case was based on nepotism," defense attorney Ball said. "And then they come in here in the middle of the trial and withdraw it."
Judge Bell also criticized prosecutor Riley for an incident which he said occurred at a sessions judges' conference. He said that Riley proposed settling the case with a private letter of reprimand and an agreement to no longer utilize East Tennessee Probation for misdemeanor probation services.
"You said that if I didn't accept it that you'd open every old file and that you'd find something to get me on," Judge Bell told Riley. "You said it didn't matter whether I win or lose the case that I would still lose. You said it'll embarrass [me] in front of the public because [I] didn't know the law on criminal contempt."
When questioned by defense attorney Ball, Judge Bell said that at the judges' conference in December 2006 that Riley said if Judge Bell did not accept his proposal that he "would re-open the matter of Tommy Large.
"Then 14 days later there was a letter written by him to me doing exactly what he said he would do," Bell said.
But Bell said he relied on an earlier finding by the court of the judiciary and a state supreme court decision that his arrangement with East Tennessee Probation was not improper.
The judge alleged at one point that state law does not require probation companies to be licensed to provide services to circuit and juvenile courts, but there is a licensing requirement for companies providing misdemeanor probation services to general sessions courts in the state.
Circuit and sometimes juvenile courts use the services offered by East Tennessee Human Resources Agency (ETHRA), which he said is not licensed.
"If ETHRA complied with the law and got themselves registered and licensed, then they would be eligible [to provide services to general sessions court] and would be used equally," Bell said.
But Riley suggested that ETHRA, as a "quasi-governmental agency," is not subject to the same licensing regulations as is a private firm.
Metcalf's complaint stems from the probation issue, but directly concerns an incident which occurred downstairs in the county courthouse when Scottie Ellison, a local man who was facing charges of passing bad checks, reportedly asked Metcalf for advice, telling the bondsman he had been drug tested numerous times while on probation on the bad check charges.
"He asked me what I thought about it, and I told him I thought it was pretty strict to have someone repeatedly drug tested on a bad check charge," Metcalf said. "That was the extent of the conversation."
Apparently, Ellison spoke to someone from East Tennessee Probation and told that person that "he had overheard Dan Metcalf talking to others in a separate area of the courthouse about the propriety of private probation services in Cocke County," according to the three-judge investigative panel's findings.
The representative of East Tennessee Probation brought the matter to Judge Bell's attention and the judge called Ellison to the bench in open court.
"In this bench session, which is not recorded, it is the contention of Judge Bell that Ellison stated that Metcalf had earlier told him that 'probation was crooked [and] you was crooked,'" according to the panel's findings.
Metcalf was not in the courtroom for this bench conference and denies making statements of that nature to Ellison.
"Accepting these statements as true, Judge Bell had Metcalf immediately brought into open court and sworn," the panel found. "Judge Bell thereupon admonished Metcalf in open court that he considered Metcalf's remarks to be 'contemptuous and slanderous.'"
The judge did not tell Metcalf what comments he was talking about, nor did he give Metcalf an opportunity to respond, but he "threatened Metcalf in open court with contempt if he heard that similar statements were being made by him in the future," according to the panel's findings.
"The threat of contempt by Judge Bell in open court under these circumstances was improper and in violation of [specific canons of] the Code of Judicial Conduct" and state law, the investigative panel alleges in the third count of its formal charges.
Judge Bell said he was not angry about Metcalf's comments, but he was concerned about what he saw as a lack of respect for the court.
"This is minor compared to what other things they said about me," Judge Bell said. "It was nothing to me, but it put me in a situation...of having to defend the court."
When questioned by Riley, Judge Bell said he believed that Ellison was telling him the truth.
"I have known Mr. Ellison since high school and I know his character. It was good but he has a problem with drugs," Judge Bell said. "And I've known Mr. Metcalf for more than 20 years and I know his character."
Concerning the $100 check from Grace Missionary Baptist Church, Judge Bell said it was given to him after he gave his Christian testimony and spoke to the congregation about his service in the Army in Iraq, where he was in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) service.
"I was asked to speak to various groups; I spoke to about 125 different groups about the reconstruction of the judicial system in Iraq," he said.
Bell said the check was written as an "honorarium" to him from the church and he accepted the check from the church, kept it for several months, but later returned the money.
"I took the check to my bank and cashed it, and then I stopped back by the church, I went and picked up the [offering] plate, put the $100 back in it, and left," he said.
Bell testified that there is nothing illegal about a judge accepting such gifts in exchange for speaking, and that only gifts of $150 of more are required to be officially reported.
"What I was doing was giving my testimony about my relationship with my Lord and what he has done for me," Bell said. "Then I looked at this check and it was not for $150 so I did not report it."
The ten-judge panel of the court of the judiciary was prepared for the trial to last at least four days, but the case was finalized with the settlement at the end of the first day of testimony.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 9 Mar 2010.
Bell deployed to Korea
Newport's General Sessions Judge, John A. Bell, has been deployed to Korea to serve as the Staff Judge Advocate of the 8th (Field) Army during March 4-19, 2010.
The operation is known as "Key Resolve" and is intended to assist the Republic of Korea (ROC) in achieving military responsibility for self-protection. The historic "Change of Command" is to occur in April 2012. Judge Bell and his staff's assignment is to provide judicial support for the commanding Lieutenant General and the staff of Major Generals.
Bell previously served in Iraq as the head of judicial operations of the northern sector for the 101st Airborne Division. In Iraq, Judge Bell, designed and established dozens of courthouses. He also interviewed and hired the judges and attorneys that staffed those court systems.
Many of those court officials have been killed while attempting to provide a fair judicial framework for their people.
Bell was awarded the Bronze Star for his heroism. Judge Bell is a Sunday School teacher at Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church where he and his wife, Vida, and children Luke and Meredith attend.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 3 Jun 2010.
Judge Bell goes on trial for alleged ethics violations
©2010 NPT PHOTO BY GILBERT SOESBEE
General Sessions Judge John Bell, at right, and defense attorney Gordon Ball prepare for the resumption of testimony on Wednesday in Judge Bell's trial on three counts of judicial ethics violations. The trial is expected to continue on Thursday.
Author: Gilbert Soesbee
NEWPORT-Cocke County General Sessions Judge John Bell went on trial Wednesday before an eight-member panel of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary.
Presiding Judge Don R. Ash and the seven judges who are serving as jurors in the case heard testimony and attorneys' statements all day on Wednesday, adjourning for the day just after 5:30 p.m. The trial was scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
Judge Bell is facing a three-count complaint alleging judicial ethics violations, the essence of which was filed in October by a three-judge investigative panel of the court of the judiciary (COJ), Tennessee's agency which oversees the behavior of judges in the state. If he is found to have violated any of the canons of ethics concerning judges, Judge Bell could face a legal reprimand, a formal censure, or a recommendation that he be removed from office.
The COJ can only recommend that Judge Bell be removed from office if it finds any violations that are serious enough to warrant removal. Only a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly can remove an elected judge from office in an impeachment procedure.
The tangle of charges and allegations which was included in the October 2009 complaint against Judge Bell has been unraveled in the months since to a list of just three ethics violations. Judge Ash has struck out all suggestions that Judge Bell has violated criminal laws, leaving the three alleged violations of the Tennessee Code of Judicial Ethics for the panel to consider.
The allegations stem from Judge Bell's handling of a 2007 civil complaint arising from a December 2006 automobile accident in Cocke County. Judge Bell is accused of failing to decide the case in a timely fashion, taking about nine months to hand down a decision; of having what are called ex parte conversations, or out-of-court communications, with the plaintiff in the civil case by recruiting Newport attorney Tom Testerman to talk with the plaintiff; and with refusing to step down from hearing evidence in a second civil lawsuit filed over the same incident in early 2009.
Disciplinary Counsel Joseph S. Daniel and Assistant Patrick J. McHale spent Wednesday presenting evidence which they contend proves by "clear and convincing evidence" that the rules of judicial conduct had been violated by Judge Bell.
Defense attorney Gordon Ball, on the other hand, has argued that there was nothing improper in Judge Bell's actions and has accused the disciplinary counsel's office of being out to get Judge Bell in the wake of a previous complaint before the COJ which was settled in 2008.
The origins of the current complaint date to a December 29, 2006, automobile accident between a vehicle driven by David Pleau, 54, of 1618 Scotch Pine Way, Bybee, and another automobile driven by Jo Ann Coleman.
Pleau filed a complaint with the court of the judiciary stemming from a civil lawsuit he filed in general sessions court in May 2007. That lawsuit, which has come to be dubbed "Pleau I," was filed against Merastar Insurance Company, the company which issued Pleau's uninsured motorist coverage.
Judge Bell heard the case on September 18, 2007, in a hearing in which Pleau represented himself and Merastar was represented by Knoxville attorney Brad Fraser.
At the end of the testimony in the case, Fraser asked that the case be dismissed and Judge Bell took a decision under advisement, allegedly promising a decision "within a week," Daniel told the court.
Pleau complained that Judge Bell took about nine months, until June 27, 2008, to hand down a written decision in the case and that when it was filed, copies of the decision were not mailed to the parties to the lawsuit and Pleau did not discover that a decision had been issued until long after the ten-day period for filing an appeal had expired.
Judge Bell's ruling in that case dismissed the complaint against Merastar on the basis that a policy-holder cannot sue his own insurance company without specifically naming the other driver as a defendant. But Daniel told the court that Judge Bell's ruling went further than that and held that Coleman was at fault in the collision.
"The judgment makes findings of fact...100 percent [of the fault was placed] against Ms. Coleman and zero percent against Mr. Pleau," Disciplinary Counsel Daniel told the court.
Coleman was given no notice of the pending decision, was not represented in court, and did not know that a decision had been issued, Daniel alleged.
Judge Bell's June 2008 decision was placed in the court file, but because of what defense attorney Ball describes as "a clerical error," none of the parties were notified that a decision had been issued.
In the wake of Pleau's August complaint with the COJ concerning the delay, Judge Bell discovered that the parties had not been notified and called for a second hearing.
In a letter to Daniel on December 15, 2008, Judge Bell wrote, "Unless you object I am going to correct the mistake."
As a result of a hearing on December 23, 2008, Judge Bell "entered a public, on-the-record apology for the clerical error in filing the decision," Ball told the court.
Judge Bell dismissed Pleau I based on state supreme court precedents which require that the uninsured motorist be named as a defendant in the case.
"The proof will show that Judge Bell arrived at a decision based on what he thought the law was, but he felt that [Pleau] had been unfairly treated" because he was not represented by an attorney in the case, Ball told the court. "He was trying to help him. And that was all that happened."
Pleau corrected his earlier error by filing a second lawsuit relating to the accident, which has been called "Pleau II," on February 20, 2009, this time naming Coleman as a defendant.
Judge Bell also presided over the trial of Pleau II and found in Pleau's favor on April 27, 2009, awarding the plaintiff damages totaling $4,726.78 from Coleman.
Although Daniel now contends that Judge Bell, because he made specific findings concerning the facts of the case in Pleau I, was disqualified from hearing Pleau II, he did not complain at the time, the defense alleges.
"The proof will show that Mr. Daniel, the disciplinary counsel, never said anything to Judge Bell about refusing to sit on any future proceedings in Pleau II," Ball told the court.
Testerman's Role
Concerning the role played by attorney Testerman in the complaint, Ball said that Judge Bell received information that Pleau was considering dropping his COJ complaint.
"Judge Bell knew that he could not contact Mr. Pleau, who is unrepresented, and he asked Mr. Testerman if he could determine if he was willing to withdraw his complaint," Ball said. "And that's what Mr. Testerman did. Mr. Pleau will testify that Testerman did not offer him anything or promise him anything" in exchange for dropping the COJ complaint.
Disciplinary Counsel Daniel spent Wednesday morning calling witnesses to establish a timeline of events in the case and to introduce details about Pleau's first civil lawsuit.
Attorney Testerman was called to the witness stand Wednesday afternoon and testified before the COJ panel for about an hour.
A relationship which disciplinary counsel alleges was "a scheme [by Judge Bell] designed to influence Mr. Pleau to dismiss his complaint in the court of the judiciary" was described by the defense as a simple attempt to determine the status of Pleau's COJ complaint against Judge Bell.
Attorney Ball told the court that Judge Bell had received information, including an anonymous telephone call, indicating that Pleau was considering dropping his complaint. Judge Bell asked Testerman to contact Pleau and find out.
Testerman told the court that he has known Judge Bell for more than 20 years. In early February 2009, Judge Bell approached Testerman in the hallway of the Cocke County Courthouse and asked him to contact Pleau on his behalf, according to the testimony.
Judge Bell gave the attorney a dollar to act as his attorney in the case. Testerman said that it is a routine practice "whenever an attorney needs legal advice, to give him a token payment."
The basic conversation between the two men was "that Mr. Pleau had initiated some complaint in the court of the judiciary and that he was interested in dropping it. He asked me to call Mr. Pleau and find out if he was interested in dropping the complaint," Testerman testified.
The attorney told the court that he called Pleau either that afternoon or the next morning and relayed Judge Bell's inquiry in what was later determined by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to have been a 28-minute phone call.
"I told him [Judge Bell] didn't feel like it would be appropriate for him to contact [Pleau] directly," Testerman said. "It was a civil conversation and the conversation ended that he wanted to pursue his complaint against Judge Bell."
After the conversation with Pleau, Testerman reported to Judge Bell about Pleau's decision, he said. At that point, Testerman said he considered that his attorney/client relationship with Judge Bell had ended.
But several weeks later, sometime in March 2009, Pleau called Testerman in a conversation which was recorded through a hidden recording device provided by the TBI as part of what agents described as "an on-going criminal investigation."
"When he came in, some of the conversation was about his case and some of it was about Judge Bell," Testerman told the court.
In the TBI-monitored visit between Pleau and Testerman, "Mr. Pleau asked me what was in it for him [if he dropped the COJ complaint] and I told him, 'Nothing,'" Testerman said, denying that he suggested that Judge Bell would provide any favors or special treatment in exchange for dropping the complaint.
On July 26, 2009, Disciplinary Counsel Daniel and COJ Special Investigator James T. LaRue met with Testerman as part of their investigation of Pleau's complaint.
"Mr. Daniel told me that it was inappropriate [to contact Pleau] because Mr. Pleau was his client," Testerman testified. "And they talked about some criminal violations involved and things of that nature."
Testerman told the court that he felt intimidated by Daniel and LaRue's visit because of the mention of possible criminal activity and allegations of violations of the Tennessee attorneys Code of Professional Responsibility.
"When [Daniel] got to the criminal part, I decided we'd better quit talking," Testerman said. "I was a little shocked, quite frankly."
Daniel emphasized during the meeting that he felt it was inappropriate for Testerman to have spoken with Pleau on behalf of Judge Bell because, as disciplinary counsel for the COJ, he was Pleau's attorney, according to the testimony.
"I told him I didn't see it that way," Testerman said.
COJ, TBI Investigation
Investigator LaRue testified on Wednesday concerning his part of what he called an investigation "concerning the activities of Judge Bell." He said he attended hearings on Pleau's lawsuits and took part in the TBI's criminal investigation concerning Judge Bell. He said he was also waiting in a vehicle outside Testerman's downtown Newport office while TBI agents monitored Pleau's meeting with the attorney.
LaRue told the court that his first information about the Pleau matter was that "Judge Bell was at it again," an apparent reference to a 2008 complaint before the COJ when Judge Bell agreed to change the criminal probation program in his court and no longer use a company owned by his sister-in-law's husband for probation cases.
To further its contention that Daniel's office was unfairly pursuing Judge Bell, the defense pointed to a letter to TBI Director Mark Gwyn dated on February 25, 2009, requesting the agency's assistance in the investigation. In that letter, Daniel wrote, "For many years, this particular judge has been under scrutiny for highly questionable conduct and this investigation could greatly aid in developing a criminal as well as an ethical case against Judge Bell which would result in his removal from office."
LaRue testified that he followed up all leads he received in the case, even going as far as visiting a local barber shop and handing out his business card to the owner and customers.
Judge Bell Testifies
Called as a hostile witness by prosecutor Daniel, Judge Bell testified for just more than an hour on Wednesday.
Concerning Pleau I, Judge Bell took exception to attorney Fraser's earlier testimony that he had been prevented by the judge from offering a motion to dismiss the case until after all the testimony had ended.
"That never happened," Judge Bell said. "At the close of the proof, Mr. Fraser filed a motion to dismiss based on the fact that Mr. Pleau had not named the uninsured motorist in his complaint."
"Why did it take you nine months to resolve that one simple issue?" prosecutor Daniel asked Judge Bell.
The judge said he had to do extensive research on two issues in the case: whether Merastar's motion to dismiss was filed too late and whether Pleau was required by law to name Coleman as a defendant in his lawsuit.
"I wanted to be sure that when I put my name on the order that it was correct," he said.
Judge Bell told the court that there are 21 supreme court cases directly relating to the issues in the Pleau case and more than 200 cases and citations to be read and researched.
"There's over a thousand cases, if you care to look at them, which I did, dealing with this statute and these issues," Judge Bell said.
Earlier during Wednesday's trial, attorney Ball told the court that Judge Bell's ruling in the Pleau I case was delayed because his computer crashed during his research and because Judge Bell was injured in an automobile accident caused by a drunk driver. The judge was totally disabled for about a week and suffered severe pain and stiffness for weeks after that, Ball said.
The COJ panel adjourned for the day at 5:35 p.m. Wednesday and was expected to reconvene at 9 a.m. on Thursday to continue Judge Bell's testimony and hear other evidence.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 4 Jun 2010.
Judge Bell guilty of ethics violations; court orders suspension
Author: Gilbert Soesbee
After two hours of deliberations late Thursday afternoon, an eight-member panel of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary determined that Cocke County General Sessions Judge John Bell violated three canons of the state Code of Judicial Ethics.
The court ordered that Judge Bell be suspended for 90 days from his duties as sessions judge, placed strict deadlines on his filing of future rulings, and ordered that he attend classes on judicial ethics for 42 hours during the next three years.
The ruling came Thursday after a two-day trial before the eight-judge panel of the court of the judiciary (COJ). The trial concerned a complaint filed against Judge Bell relating to his handling of a civil lawsuit over a 2006 automobile accident.
Presiding Judge Don R. Ash announced the decision just before 6 p.m. Thursday. Ash and the seven judges who served as jurors in the case heard more testimony from Judge Bell and from Bybee resident David Pleau, the citizen who originally filed the complaint.
Judge Bell was on the witness stand for nearly five hours over the two days of the trial. He faced a three-count complaint alleging judicial ethics violations, the essence of which was filed in October by a three-judge investigative panel of the COJ, Tennessee's agency, which oversees the behavior of judges in the state
The ethics violations found against Judge Bell stem from his handling of a 2007 civil complaint concerning a December 2006 automobile accident in Cocke County. Judge Bell was found to have failed to decide the case in a timely fashion, taking about nine months to hand down a decision; to have initiated what are called ex parte conversations, or out-of-court communications, with the plaintiff in the civil case by recruiting Newport attorney Tom Testerman to talk with the plaintiff; and of refusing to step down from hearing evidence in a second civil lawsuit filed over the same incident in early 2009.
Disciplinary Counsel Joseph S. Daniel and Assistant Patrick J. McHale told the court that they had met the legal standard of presenting "clear and convincing evidence" that the rules of judicial conduct had been violated by Judge Bell.
The COJ panel agreed, finding that the Judicial Code of Ethics had been violated in all three counts. Judge Ash said the court found that Judge Bell violated the canon requiring that cases be decided promptly, that he had failed to disclose to Coleman and Knoxville attorney Brad Fraser that the case was the subject of an ethics inquiry and that he should have stepped down from hearing a second lawsuit related to the accident to "avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety," and that he had initiated ex parte communications.
Judge Ash said the panel's vote on the first two counts was unanimous and the vote finding Judge Bell in violation of the ex parte communications rule was 5-3.
The disciplinary action handed down by the court was that Judge Bell be suspended as general sessions judge for 90 consecutive days beginning on August 1; that he submit his decisions in matters heard for the next three years to the parties within 30 days of any hearing or he must notify disciplinary counsel and explain the reasons for the delay; and that he attend 24 hours of judicial ethics training in 2010, 12 hours of training in 2011, and six hours of training in 2012.
The origins of the current complaint date to a December 29, 2006, automobile accident between a vehicle driven by Pleau, 54, of 1618 Scotch Pine Way, Bybee, and another automobile driven by Jo Ann Coleman.
Pleau filed a complaint with the court of the judiciary stemming from a civil lawsuit he filed in general sessions court in May 2007. That lawsuit, which has come to be dubbed "Pleau I," was filed against Merastar Insurance Company, the company, which issued Pleau's uninsured motorist coverage.
Judge Bell heard the case on September 18, 2007, in a hearing in which Pleau represented himself, and attorney Fraser represented Merastar.
At the end of the testimony in the case, Fraser asked that the case be dismissed and Judge Bell took a decision under advisement, allegedly promising a decision "within a week," Daniel told the court.
Pleau complained that Judge Bell took about nine months, until June 27, 2008, to hand down a written decision in the case and that when it was filed, copies of the decision were not mailed to the parties to the lawsuit and Pleau did not discover that a decision had been issued until long after the ten-day period for filing an appeal had expired.
Judge Bell's ruling in that case dismissed the complaint against Merastar on the basis that a policyholder cannot sue his own insurance company without specifically naming the other driver as a defendant. But Daniel told the court that Judge Bell's ruling went further than that and held that Coleman was at fault in the collision.
Coleman was given no notice of the pending decision, was not represented in court, and did not know that a decision had been issued, Daniel alleged.
Judge Bell's June 2008 decision was placed in the court file, but because of what defense attorney Ball describes as "a clerical error," none of the parties were notified that a decision had been issued.
In the wake of Pleau's August complaint with the COJ concerning the delay, Judge Bell discovered that the parties had not been notified and called for a second hearing.
In a letter to Daniel on December 15, 2008, Judge Bell wrote, "Unless you object I am going to correct the mistake."
During a hearing on December 23, 2008, Judge Bell "entered a public, on-the-record apology for the clerical error in filing the decision," Ball told the court.
Judge Bell dismissed Pleau I based on State Supreme Court precedents, which require that the uninsured motorist be named as a defendant in the case.
Pleau corrected his earlier error by filing a second lawsuit relating to the accident, which has been called "Pleau II," on February 20, 2009, this time naming Coleman as a defendant.
Judge Bell also presided over the trial of Pleau II and found in Pleau's favor on April 27, 2009, awarding the plaintiff damages totaling $4,726.78 from Coleman.
Although Daniel now contends that Judge Bell, because he made specific findings concerning the facts of the case in Pleau I, was disqualified from hearing Pleau II, he did not complain at the time, defense attorney Gordon Ball told the court.
In closing arguments to the court, Daniel said the panel should hold Judge Bell accountable for the violations.
"It's always someone else's fault; Judge Bell has never taken responsibility for anything," Daniel said. "It's time for you to make John Bell accountable for these violations."
But attorney Ball argued that there was nothing improper in Judge Bell's actions in both Pleau cases. An attorney did not represent Pleau in either case, and Judge Bell wanted to help him, Ball said, adding that the ethical rules for judges are not always clear.
"The rules that judges have to live under are so vague and uncertain that it's hard to know what the right thing to do is," Ball said. "And that's all Judge Bell was trying to do.
"I would submit to you that it is because of who Judge Bell is; if anything, Judge Bell believes in duty and honor," Ball told the court. "Judge Bell was trying to find a way of doing what he thought was the right thing to do."
Judge Bell testified that the origins of complaints against him as sessions judge are his "political opponents" and suggested that the COJ office of disciplinary counsel has assisted those opponents in filing complaints against him.
"Your office has, throughout this whole matter, told people, including my political opponents about complaints filed against me," Judge Bell told Daniel on Thursday. "You have communicated to people what the complaint was and when it was going to be filed."
The judge stopped short of calling Daniel's actions "a political vendetta," but said the disciplinary counsel's office has solicited complaints against Judge Bell for many years.
"There is nothing...that allows an investigator for the court of the judiciary, as we have heard in this case, to come to Cocke County and hand out his cards, announce that he is investigating Judge Bell and say that 'if you've got anything to talk about come and see me,'" attorney Ball said in is closing argument.
Although Judge Bell testified that he believes that all judges in Tennessee should be treated equally, Daniel told the court that Judge Bell asked the state supreme court for an ethics waiver to allow him to serve on the board of directors for a local bank in order to obtain health insurance, which he said the county did not provide at the time.
"He has the temerity to write the Supreme Court to ask that the canons be altered to accommodate Judge Bell so he can be on the local bank board and get health insurance," Daniel told the court. "Does that sound like someone who wants to be treated equally?"
Judge Bell declined to comment after the verdict was returned. Attorney Ball said the defense team is "now weighing all of our options," including a possible appeal.
Judge Bell has the right of an automatic appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which would review the case based on the record of the trial and oral arguments from attorneys.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 6 Sep 2013.
Just Plain Talk: Grandparents proud of their broods and other celebrations in store
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General Sessions Judge John Bell and I were chatting a month ago, and I asked about his parents, because I taught at Cosby School with his Dad, Frank Bell. John reminded me that on August 29, Frank would turned 81 and more importantly he lost 50 pounds over the year by one simple change in his lifestyle. When he and I talk soon this plan will be revealed to you. Frank and Una have six children in addition to Judge Bell and they are Daniel, Joel, Dallas (the oldest), Linda Meeks and Rebecca Hunter. So you can understand how the Bells can have 10 grandchildren.
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