NASHVILLE — A Tennessee Supreme Court order temporarily suspending the law license of former Hawkins County judge James “Jay” Taylor states that Taylor “misappropriated funds for his own use and poses a threat of substantial harm to the public.”
Taylor, 41, 148 Stewart Hills Drive, Rogersville, has been held in the Davidson County jail since being indicted there May 28 on 41 counts of theft from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). He was also indicted June 1 on 12 counts of theft and money laundering in Hawkins County.
Taylor’s bond in Davidson County is $100,000.
If Taylor makes his Davidson County bond, he would be returned to the Hawkins County jail to make a $150,000 bond there.
A petition for the temporary suspension of Taylor’s law license was issued by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (TBPR) on June 25 by TBPR senior litigation counsel Sandy Garrett. The Supreme Court suspension order was filed Friday with the Davidson County Clerk of Courts.
In Hawkins County, Taylor is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 28, 2013. No trial date has been set on Taylor’s Davidson County charges. Taylor had practiced law in Hawkins County since 1997.