Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Gerald WebbHamilton County sessions court Judge Gerald Webb has had his law license suspended for failing to earn required continuing education credits, the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts confirmed Thursday.
Judy Bond-McKissack, Executive Director of the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education, said that once attorneys are suspended for non-compliance, they must come back into compliance before they can be taken off suspension.
Suspended attorneys cannot practice law.
"In Webb's case, he will have to earn and report new continuing education hours to the commission and pay administrative fees in relation to those courses in order to come into compliance," Bond-McKissack said.
She could not give an exact number for fees Webb will be expected to pay prior to the reinstatement of his law license. However, a $500 suspension fee, a $100 non-compliance fee and a $200 continuing non-compliance fee are required according to state court Rule 21, Section 7.
The suspension order for Webb and other attorneys who failed to comply with rules related to mandatory legal education was filed with the Clerk of Appellate Courts on Tuesday.
According to Tennessee State Courts rules for mandatory continuing education, attorneys who are not in compliance with education requirements are alerted that they need to come into compliance each July when the Continuing Legal Education commission mails out a draft copy of its suspension order directly to noncompliant attorneys. Each attorney listed in the draft order then has until Aug. 10 to file an affidavit proving compliance or a valid exemption from the continuing education rule. If approved by the commission with payment of any outstanding fees, the attorney's name would then be removed from the order and a suspension would not take place.
Bond-McKissack said Webb would have been notified in this way.
Judge Webb did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday afternoon.
In March 2019, Webb made history as the first Black man to hold a countywide judgeship when the Hamilton County Commission voted 8-1 to name him a general sessions court judge. He replaced Clarence Shattuck, who had been on the bench since 1982.
Contact Kelcey Caulder at kcaulder@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @kelceycaulder.