A former East Ridge City Court Judge was suspended Monday from practicing law for five years after failing to file several years of tax returns and owing the IRS about $400,000.
John Cris Helton, who also served as a Chattanooga attorney, is on active suspension for four years, the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility announced in a statement.
Helton can serve his fifth year on probation if he uses a practice monitor, which is a licensed attorney designated by the board to supervise an attorney as a condition of a public discipline, probation or reinstatement, according to the statement.
Helton resigned from the bench in August 2021, according to the Tennessee Bar Association. He was elected in 2014, and city officials cited health reasons for his departure.
In 2022, a petition for discipline was filed against Helton.
It alleged he failed to file required federal income tax returns for several years and willfully attempted to avoid his tax liabilities, according to the statement.
The IRS filed a lawsuit against Helton in 2017 to recover about $400,000 in owed income taxes, according to the statement.
Helton was the president and 100% owner of Helton Law Firm, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported at the time.
Helton then filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy protection and argued an IRS lien should be removed from his firm, the statement said.
The federal bankruptcy court determined the tax debt should not be removed because Helton's failure to pay was willful and intentional, the statement said. Helton appealed the decision, but he lost.
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Helton gave a conditional guilty plea, which acknowledged his conduct violated the state's rules of professional conduct, the statement said.
When an attorney enters a conditional plea, he or she agrees to the facts and rule violations included in the press release issued by the board, Sandy Garrett, chief disciplinary counsel for the Board of Professional Responsibility, said in February.
Helton was publicly censured on two occasions.
In 2003, he allegedly failed to deposit a retainer fee, according to the board. He allegedly failed to properly administer an estate and respond to court orders about the estate in 2008.
A reporter called Helton's former law office, but he no longer works there. The office did not have his most recent contact information. W. Thomas Bible Jr., the attorney who represented Helton in his 2022 bankruptcy case, did not respond to an email request for comment.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.