Members of the Cannon County legal community were shocked Tuesday following the death of former Circuit Court Judge James K. Clayton, Jr. Clayton. Clayton was on his way up to the courtroom to represent a client in General Sessions Court when he collapsed. He was transported to the Stones River Hospital Emergency Room where he was pronounced dead. The cause of his death has not yet been released.Following the incident outside of the courtroom, Judge Susan Melton reset all the cases which were scheduled to be heard that day. Most defendants were reset for June or July but anyone incarcerated was reset for next Tuesday.
Judge Melton did hear cases later in the day during Juvenile Court. Following Juvenile Court, Judge Melton appointed attorneys for defendants who had been arrested over the weekend. Those defendants appointed attorneys Tuesday afternoon included:
John McPeak who is charged with failure to appear. His court date is set for June 7th.
Gregory Alexander Clark who is charged with violation of probation. His court date is set for May 24th.
Judge Clayton served as a Circuit Court Judge for many years until he retired in 2008. Clayton also served as General Sessions Judge in Rutherford County prior to becoming a Circuit Judge.
