Not the same James Taylor who raced cars in a movie at Deals Gap Former Hawkins judge James F. Taylor faces prison term NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Former Hawkins County Sessions Judge James F. Taylor will be disbarred and spend at least three years in prison for forging documents and claiming expenses for legal work he never performed. Taylor, 41, of Rogersville, pleaded guilty Thursday in Davidson County Criminal Court to six counts of felony theft. He was initially indicted on 41 counts. Under a plea agreement, he will be sentenced to 13 years, can apply for parole after three years, and will be disbarred at least through 2025. At the request of 3rd Judicial District Attorney General Berkeley Bell, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Attorney General's Office investigated allegations against Taylor. The case was prosecuted by the Davidson County District Attorney General's Office. Prosecutors said that when Taylor was an attorney and part-time judge, he falsified documents to make it appear that he represented clients that he had not been hired or appointed to represent, then submitted false bills to the Administrative Office the Courts, which reimburses lawyers for services to indigent clients. Taylor also has a separate pending case in Hawkins County. The resolution in that case will be a plea agreement that includes additional jail time and restitution, according to Davidson County District Attorney General Torry Johnson. Taylor was elected Juvenile Court judge in 2006. In 2011, he was appointed to a Sessions Court judgeship when incumbent Judge David Brand died. Taylor invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during a probe by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary into allegations he had taken more than $9,000 from a client for personal benefit and kept money that had been raised to pay for a planned "heritage display" for the courthouse, authorities said.
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