Felony Charges Lead To Judge’s Suspension
The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct has ordered the interim suspension of a Hawkins County juvenile court judge who has been indicted on three counts of felony forgery, one count of felony simulation and one count of felony bribery of a witness.
The Rogersville Review reports
The allegations pertain to a divorce case. Boyd, 47, of Rogersville, is accused of forging the name of Chancellor Doug Jenkins on a Default Judgement of Divorce on Oct. 7, 2022. The indictments accuse Boyd of forging Clerk and Master Brent Price’s name on a document that same day.
The indictments also allege that Boyd attempted to bribe a witness who was expected to be called before the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility during a disciplinary hearing. The bribe attempt was alleged to have occurred on April 19, 2023.
In a press release Tuesday the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported that on May 12th, at the request of Third Judicial District Attorney General Dan Armstrong, TBI agents began investigating allegations of forgery and bribery involving Boyd. On May 17, General Armstrong requested a pro tempore district attorney assume the case, and Second Judicial District Attorney General Barry Staubus from Sullivan County was appointed.
The TBI reported that during the course of the investigation, agents learned that Boyd, while working as an attorney, provided a client with a default judgment declaring her divorce to be finalized. The document appeared to be signed by Chancellor Doug Jenkins.
Further investigation revealed that no document existed with the Clerk and Master’s Office and that the case was never presented to the Chancellor.
Additionally, the investigation revealed that when Boyd’s client filed a complaint, he offered her money if she would withdraw the complaint.
All five counts are felonies, but the most serious charge is bribing of a witness, which carries a penalty of 3-6 years if convicted.
The other four counts are Class E felonies punishable by 1-2 years if convicted.
Boyd was appointed Juvenile Judge in 2011, which was a part time position until Jan. 1, 2023. While it was a part time position Boyd continued his private practice.
For years Boyd lobbied the Hawkins County Commission to make the Juvenile Judge a full time position due to the increased caseload.
In 2018 Boyd’s law license was suspended for 120 days stemming from two allegations of misconduct that occurred in his private practice. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that Boyd had made false statements to two clients in separate cases over the course of multiple years, leading the clients to believe he was taking action to further their case when he wasn’t.
Boyd later stated that the misconduct was a result of being overworked, attempting to maintain his Juvenile Court docket and private practice at the same time.
On Aug. 29 of 2022 the Hawkins County Commission finally approved the change, increasing Boyd’s Juvenile Judge salary from a two day per week position at $68,348, to a five day per week position at $170,869.
(Mike Frisch)