Showing posts with label Hawkins County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawkins County. Show all posts

Friday, September 21, 2012

September 21, 2012 Former Hawkins Judge James Taylor Enters Guilty Plea To Six Counts of Felony Theft

Former Hawkins County General Sessions Judge James Taylor has entered a guilty plea to six counts of felony theft in Davidson County Criminal Court.

According to the initial report in the News-Sentinel, Taylor's guilty plea provides that he will be disbarred through 2025 and serve three years of a 13-year sentence before he will be eligible for parole.

Taylor was indicted in May 2012. Click here.

Taylor has another criminal case pending in Hawkins County which is also expected to be resolved with a plea agreement.

Monday, November 07, 2011

November 7, 2011 Former Asst. District Atty. Doug Godbee Seeks Diversion in "Sex for Leniency" Scheme

Former Hawkins County Assistant District Attorney Doug Godbee has asked Judge Duane Slone to grant him pretrial diversion.

Godbee, charged with soliciting sexual favors from female defendants in return for leniency, wants to avoid a trial, move straight to probation, and have his record wiped clean if there are no new charges during the probation period.

The most recent charges are not the first time that Godbee has run afoul of the law.  In 2006, Godbee resigned as Hawkins County prosecutor amid allegations by a female defendant of improper sexual conduct. He was later re-hired by District Attorney Berkeley Bell.

There are more legal proceedings ahead as a result of Godbee's conduct. Several women who claim to have been victims of Godbee's "pleas" for sex have filed civil suits against the State of Tennessee in the Tennessee Claims Commission alleging negligent supervision of Godbee. 

For more articles, click herehere, here, and here.