Indicted Attorney Suspended
A Tennessee attorney has been temporarily suspended by the state Supreme Court
This matter is before the Court on a Petition of the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, by and through Disciplinary Counsel, for the temporary suspension of Alan Christopher Norton from the practice of law, pursuant to Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, § 12.3. The Petition has been authorized by the Chair of the Board of Professional Responsibility and is supported by the affidavits of Disciplinary Counsel, Eileen Burkhalter Smith, attorney Shayan A. Ahmed, and Melissa Thomas Willis, Chancellor for the 12th Judicial District, and the admissions of Mr. Norton.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported on the court’s action
A Hamilton County attorney was temporarily suspended from practicing after a decision from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday.
Alan Norton, 45, cannot accept new cases and must stop representing his existing clients – which include Chattanooga’s former police chief – by Jan. 16, according to a news release from the court’s Board of Professional Responsibility.
Norton was indicted on a felony charge of forgery in Rhea County earlier this month, based on allegations he forged a judge’s signature on court documents.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County attorney, representing former police chief, indicted on forgery charge)
He has been representing Celeste Murphy, Chattanooga’s former police chief, on criminal charges of perjury and falsely filling out official documents related to her residency.
Murphy pleaded not guilty to the charges in July.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reportedly found Norton had forged the signature of 12th District Chancellor Melissa Willis on chancery court orders filed between June and September of this year, according to an indictment.
The district covers Rhea, Marion, Bledsoe, Grundy, Sequatchie and Franklin counties.
Norton will remain suspended until the court dissolves or modifies the punishment, which he can request.
(Mike Frisch)