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Paris, Tenn.–A District Attorney General Pro Tempore has been appointed to oversee an ongoing TBI investigation of a Henry County Attorney.
District Attorney General Jody Pickens with the 26th Judicial District has accepted the appointment.
According to papers filed Thursday in the Henry County Circuit Court, District Attorney General Matt Stowe requested the appointment of the District Attorney Pro Tempore “to be a point of contact for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, specifically ASAC Ronnie Faulkner, to discuss his investigative findings as to a member of the Henry County Bar, and further to discuss what, if any, charges are to be filed.”
24th Judicial District Presiding Judge Donald Parish approved the appointment of Pickens. In a letter to Pickens filed in the local court, Judge Parish said, “I have approved the Order which General Matt Stowe submitted to me today which appoints you as prosecutor pro tempore in a crminal investigation regarding a Henry County lawyer. This is in accord with standard protocol in such an instance.”
Judge Parish also asked that the State Supreme Court designate another judge to hear future matters involving the investigation. “Because the matter involves one or more lawyers whose practice is located in the 24th Judicial District, I will immediately ask that the Tennessee Supreme Court designate another judge from outside this district to hear all future matters related to the investigation.”