Board Rules Against Senator Taylor in Fifth Complaint Targeting DA Mulroy

Shelby County, TN—The Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility dismissed Senator Taylor’s December 2024 complaint against DA Mulroy and the District Attorney’s Office. This latest dismissal follows four earlier complaints from Taylor—all thrown out after review.

DA Mulroy argued that Taylor’s complaint did not stem from any case or office policy, but instead relied on media reports and social media posts about reforms the DA had considered but never adopted.

“Sen. Taylor is now 0 for 5 on ethics complaints against me,” said DA Mulroy. “He’s complained about my resolution of two separate cases; made two separate groundless accusations of improper ex parte communications with two different judges; and now this. This has been a year-long distraction from my DA duties, and an abuse of the ethics complaint process. I hope this politicized harassment will stop, so I can focus 100% on doing all we can to help law enforcement keep Shelby County safe.”

Tennessee law keeps most juvenile court records confidential but allows judges to share them with parties who have a legitimate interest. Records of violent crimes committed by offenders over age 14 are also public. In addition, a separate statute permits juvenile “dispositions” to be used in adult court for sentencing, but not for any other purpose.

Taylor claimed DA Mulroy conspired with Juvenile Court Judge Sugarmon to break the law by letting adult court judges access juvenile records for bail decisions. However, Mulroy only consulted with Judge Sugarmon about the idea, relying on statutes that permit a juvenile judge to share records with officials who have a legitimate interest and that make certain violent crimes by offenders over 14 part of the public record.

The Board dismissed the case on July 30th, and with the 30-day appeal period expiring on August 29th, the matter is now fully closed.