SEVIERVILLE, TN — A high-profile legal battle is unfolding in Sevier County as an assistant district attorney seeking appointment as the district’s top prosecutor has filed an unprecedented request to testify before a grand jury panel scheduled to hear criminal allegations against him.
On Thursday, August 20, 2026, Ronald Crockett Newcomb, a veteran assistant district attorney general, formally requested permission to appear before the August 24, 2026, Sevier County Grand Jury. The filing comes just four days before private citizen Erik Cooper is scheduled to present evidence alleging that Newcomb committed multiple criminal offenses—including felonies—during a previous grand jury proceeding in 2023.
The controversy arrives at a politically sensitive moment. Newcomb, who has served as an assistant district attorney general since 2008, is currently an applicant for appointment by Governor Bill Lee to succeed retiring Fourth Judicial District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn.
The Root of the Clash: The 2023 Incident
The dispute traces back to March 27, 2023, when Cooper attempted to invoke Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-12-104, a unique statute designed to give private citizens direct, “free access” to the local grand jury to report public offenses.
According to court filings, during Cooper’s 2023 appearance, Newcomb presented Cooper with a pre-prepared document titled “Waiver of Constitutional Rights” and made signing it a mandatory condition before Cooper would be permitted to proceed. Cooper declined to execute the waiver without first obtaining independent legal advice.
Following Cooper’s refusal, Newcomb allegedly instructed or caused the three-member grand jury panel to conduct a vote on whether Cooper could proceed without the waiver. As a result of that vote, Cooper was denied the opportunity to present his testimony that day.
Subsequent proceedings in the Sevier County Circuit Court validated Cooper’s objections. In July 2023, the court ruled that neither the constitutional waiver nor other district-imposed procedural hurdles—including written applications and scheduling deadlines controlled by the District Attorney’s Office—were legally authorized under the citizen-access statute.
Cooper now intends to return to the Sevier County Grand Jury on August 24, 2026, to present evidence of the March 27, 2023, proceeding. He alleges that the actions of Newcomb and other officials constituted violations of Tennessee law, specifically citing statutes covering Official Misconduct (T.C.A. § 39-16-402), Official Oppression (T.C.A. § 39-16-403), Retaliation for Past Action (T.C.A. § 39-16-507), and Retaliation Against a Witness (T.C.A. § 39-16-510).
DA Applicant Files Preemptive Request
Upon obtaining advance notice of Cooper’s upcoming grand jury presentation, Newcomb filed a pleading titled “Request by Ronald C. Newcomb to Appear Before the August 24, 2026, Sevier County Grand Jury or Any Subsequent Grand Jury Regarding the Captioned or Related Matters”.
The request has raised severe procedural and legal questions. Cooper has publicly questioned how Newcomb obtained advance notice of a private citizen’s confidential statutory presentation. Furthermore, Cooper has alerted Governor Bill Lee and senior state legal counsels to the filing, noting that Newcomb is actively seeking to become the chief prosecutor of the Fourth Judicial District while simultaneously facing felony accusations before a grand jury.
“Mr. Newcomb is not categorically prohibited from testifying before a grand jury simply because he is the person accused,” Cooper stated. “But… [t]he question is whether the target of a citizen’s grand jury presentation can obtain advance notice and then make a preemptive or competing presentation before the same grand jury determines whether probable cause exists”.
Cooper maintains that under Tennessee law, there is no established authority granting a target of a citizen’s § 40-12-104 presentation the right to intervene, attend the citizen’s testimony, cross-examine the witness, or demand a competing presentation.
A System-Wide Conflict of Interest
The extraordinary circumstances of the case have pushed the local judicial and prosecutorial infrastructure to its limits. On August 18, 2026, Cooper filed a Petition for Judicial Interpretation and Declaratory Relief (No. 2026-CV-517-I) in Sevier County Circuit Court, seeking a legal blueprint on how to administer the proceeding impartially.
The petition highlights two major structural conflicts:
- The Foreperson Eyewitness: Sevier County Grand Jury Foreperson James “Jim” Medlin personally attended and participated in the controversial March 27, 2023, proceeding. By statute, the foreperson is a mandatory voting member of the three-person panel that decides whether a citizen’s knowledge warrants a full grand jury investigation. Cooper argues that Medlin cannot simultaneously serve as a material eyewitness to the alleged crimes and a neutral statutory decision-maker evaluating those same events. The petition requests that the court relieve Medlin of his duties for this limited proceeding under Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 6.
- The Prosecutorial Conflict: The District Attorney’s Office ordinarily advises the grand jury. Because the allegations target Newcomb—an assistant prosecutor employed and supervised by the office—Cooper contends that letting the office guide the panel presents an unconstitutional conflict. He has petitioned the court to appoint a temporary, unconflicted substitute prosecutor or instruct the panel to consult the court directly for guidance.
The local judiciary has already stepped aside. On August 19, 2026, all judges of the Fourth Judicial District recused themselves from hearing Cooper’s petition. The case is currently awaiting the assignment of a specially designated judge by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby.
The Appellate Backdrop: Two Cases Awaiting Decisions
This localized drama is unfolding against a broader statewide debate over the limits of citizen grand jury access in Tennessee. Two of Cooper’s previous cases on this subject are currently pending before the Tennessee Court of Appeals, having already proceeded through oral arguments.
- Case No. E2025-00522-COA-R3-CV: Focuses on whether local authorities can impose extra-statutory “procedural barriers”—such as applications, strict deadlines, and constitutional waivers—to restrict a citizen’s ability to invoke T.C.A. § 40-12-104. The court is also evaluating questions of mootness and whether a continuing controversy exists.
- Case No. E2025-00383-COA-R3-CV: Confronts unresolved issues of declaratory relief, the independence of the grand jury, and conflicts of interest when the grand jury foreperson or prosecutor is personally or institutionally connected to the subject matter of the citizen’s report.
Cooper argues that these recurring battles highlight the critical need for definitive guidance from Tennessee’s higher courts. “For more than three years, the central question has remained remarkably simple,” Cooper noted. “When the Tennessee Legislature says that a citizen… may take that evidence to the grand jury, what governmental officials may stand between that citizen and the grand jury, and what conditions may they impose that the Legislature itself did not?”
Next Steps
Cooper currently intends to move forward with his appearance before the Sevier County Grand Jury on Monday, August 24, 2026, subject to any pending judicial orders. He intends to ask the grand jury to review evidence and determine whether there is probable cause to indict Newcomb.
Whether Newcomb will be permitted to present a competing defense to the grand jury remains an open, unresolved question that must be decided by a specially appointed judge before Monday.
Editor’s Note: No indictment has been returned against Ronald Crockett Newcomb, and all allegations described in court filings are unadjudicated accusations.