Former Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston has received a private reprimand from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility following a complaint submitted by former County Commissioner Tim Boyd, according to a letter Boyd shared with the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
"Our investigation of the conduct and actions of the respondent has been completed," Sandy Garrett, the chief disciplinary counsel with the Tennessee Supreme Court's Board of Professional Responsibility, said in a letter to Boyd on Jan. 20. "It was found that violation(s) of the Rules of Professional Conduct did occur, and a Private Reprimand has been imposed against the Respondent. By bringing this matter to our attention as well as your cooperation during this investigation, it assisted with upholding the Respondent to the Codes of Ethics."
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The letter did not detail the violations in question. Garrett said in an email to the Times Free Press on Thursday that all matters, investigations and proceedings involving allegations of attorney misconduct are confidential "unless and until public discipline is imposed or formal disciplinary proceedings are filed."
"Accordingly, I cannot confirm or deny any information regarding Mr. Pinkston," Garrett wrote.
Efforts to reach Pinkston by phone Thursday and Friday were unsuccessful.
Boyd filed a complaint with the Board of Professional Responsibility in August 2021, detailing ethics concerns regarding the employment of Pinkston's spouse, Melydia Clewell, and her brother, Kerry Clewell, in the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office.
In February 2022, the Tennessee Comptroller's Office found that Pinkston's employment of his wife and her brother violated state nepotism law, which dictates that "no state employees who are relatives shall be placed within the same direct line of supervision whereby one relative is responsible for supervising the job performance or work activities of another."
Then-Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery concurred with the comptroller's findings.
The relatonships first came to light in May 2021 when Boyd asked at a budget hearing whether Pinkston employed any relatives with county funds, to which the DA responded no. The Times Free Press later reported Pinkston had married a subordinate and hired her brother.
Pinkston has consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained his management decisions were legal and ethical. He transferred his relatives to the county portion of his payroll instead of the state portion in effort to remove them from the auspices of state nepotism law.
However, the comptroller's office said in its report that all employees in the District Attorney's Office are considered state employees regardless of the funding sources of their salaries.
Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp defeated Pinkston in the Republican primary for the seat in May.
Pinkston has maintained that Boyd's complaint was politically motivated.
In 2018, Pinkston prosecuted Boyd for allegedly threatening a political opponent with damaging information if he didn't drop out of the race. He went to trial in October 2018, but a mistrial was declared after the jury deadlocked. A judge later dismissed an extortion charge against Boyd.
According to the Board of Professional Responsibility, a private reprimand is a form of non-public discipline that declares the conduct of an attorney improper but does not limit his or her privilege to practice law.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.