Provided by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office / Coty WompHamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond has appointed local attorney Coty Wamp to fill a newly-created general counsel position.
According to a news release, Wamp will provide in-house legal counsel and advice on investigations, daily operations, policy matters and public media inquiries to the sheriff's office.
The general counsel will also be tasked with gathering information related to anticipated and pending litigation, the procurement and preservation of evidence and identifying other items necessary for discovery and trial work.
Wamp will work for the sheriff's office in coordination with the Hamilton County Attorney's Office, while the attorney's office will continue to provide legal representation and counsel for the HCSO in lawsuits and trial advocacy according to the release.
"My staff and I have discussed the notion of instituting a general counsel to support our daily legal needs for quite some time now," Hammond said in a statement. "With the growing number of legal requests for discovery items, the amount of inquiries from members of the media, the upcoming transition of the Silverdale Detention Facility, and the increase in evidentiary requests, there couldn't be a more pressing and important time for us to incorporate the services of a general counsel."
Wamp previously worked as an assistant public defender in Hamilton County and an assistant district attorney in Bradley County after receiving her law degree in 2014 from the University of Tennessee College of Law, the release states.
"My role will be multifaceted and my experience in criminal law as both a defense attorney and most recently a prosecutor, will give me a perspective that will be beneficial to the Sheriff's Office and the citizens of Hamilton County," Wamp said in the news release. "I understand how important it is to protect both the rights of criminal defendants as well as support and uphold law enforcement for the sacrifices they make every single day."