Knoxville attorney sworn in as Treasurer of nation’s Criminal Defense Bar
October 15, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC – Stephen Ross Johnson was sworn in as Treasurer of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's board meeting held on October 9, 2021, in Washington, DC.

	Stephen Ross Johnson; image submitted

Johnson is a criminal defense trial and appellate attorney with Ritchie, Davies, Johnson & Stovall, P.C. Johnson has defended criminal cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States, ranging from complex financial crimes to death penalty cases.

Johnson has published articles and taught lawyers, law students, members of law enforcement, and others across the country on criminal law and litigation issues. He is Past President of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Past Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Criminal Justice Section, served as Associate General Counsel for the Tennessee Bar Association, and served on the board of the Knoxville Bar Association. He is Past President of the Hamilton Burnett American Inn of Court.

Johnson is the founding President of the Tennessee Innocence Project. For many years, he was an adjunct professor and director of the Innocence and Wrongful Convictions Clinic at the University of Tennessee College of Law Legal Clinic.

Johnson has served multiple terms on NACDL’s Board of Directors and is a member of the Budget, Technology Advisory, White Collar Crime, Sentencing, Strike Force, and Investment Committees, as well as NACDL’s CLE Institute. He serves as Sixth Circuit Vice Chair of NACDL’s Amicus Committee and as Co-Chair of NACDL’s Membership Committee.

Johnson received his Doctor of Jurisprudence, with honors, from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He also holds a Diploma of Contemporary Economic History from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Economics from Carson-Newman University.