SEVIERVILLE, TN - Jimmy Dunn, the elected District Attorney General for the Fourth Judicial District of Tennessee (Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier Counties), announced his early retirement less than 24 hours after Honorable D. Kelly Thomas, Jr. identified questions and expressed concerns with Dunn’s sworn affidavit filed in an ongoing public records dispute.

	Jimmy Dunn

On July 12 and September 12, 2023, petitioners The Gatlinburg Free Press and Erik Cooper filed lawsuits under Tennessee’s Public Records Act to gain access to documents they allege evidence crimes committed by Dunn and his assistant district attorney generals, Ronald Crockett Newcomb and William Brownlow Marsh, for more than 17 years during grand jury proceedings. After every judge in the Fourth Judicial District recused from hearing the case. The Supreme Court of Tennessee designated senior retired Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr. to hear the matters. The cases are styled The Gatlinburg Free Press, et al. v. James Bruce Dunn, et al., numbers 2023-CV-415-III and 2023-CV-563-III, filed in the Sevier County Circuit Court.

One year ago, Petitioners subpoenaed Dunn, Newcomb, Marsh and others to appear at a show cause hearing the court to decide the matters, but Dunn’s attorneys with Jonathan Skrmetti’s Office of the Attorney General filed motions to quash those subpoenas. Thomas granted the motions. In lieu of appearing before the court to provide his live testimony, Dunn submitted an affidavit alleging he “did not create nor direct the creation” of the documents, and did not “keep a copy” of the documents sought in Dunn’s files. Petitioners disputed the truthfulness of Dunn’s sworn statements.

One year later, on July 9, 2026, Judge Thomas continued conducting court proceedings in the civil cases but suspended the proceedings when the Petitioners alleged that Dunn’s affidavit contained false statements. Judge Thomas identified his own concerns for the language Dunn used in his affidavit -- not only for what Dunn testified to, but what Dunn omitted -- and ordered Dunn to appear and testify at a future hearing.

Less than 24 hours later, Dunn announced his retirement following 20 years of service as District Attorney General. Dunn will leave office on August 31, 2026. Dunn was first elected District Attorney General in 2006 and re-elected in 2014 and in 2022. Dunn’s current 8-year term ends in 2030. His early retirement will cause Governor Bill Lee to appoint a temporary replacement to serve out the remainder of Dunn’s current term. The Secretary of State will issue a Writ of Election for voters to fill the office at the next regular election scheduled for November 3rd.

Cooper sued Dunn in 2024 to gain access to a Sevier County grand jury to report crimes he alleged he witnessed Dunn, Newcomb, and Marsh commit during official grand jury proceedings. Dunn has been investigated by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility -- of which he serves on the board of directors -- and was the subject of a petition Cooper filed in the United States Supreme Court in 2025. The timing of Dunn’s retirement announcement followed the July 9 hearing at which the court ordered Dunn to testify at a future proceeding. Dunn has not publicly stated whether his decision to retire was related to the pending litigation.

Documents:
• Jimmy Dunn Affidavit
• Complaint
• Eric Cooper Petition
• Eric Cooper Petition II