Sunday, December 19, 2021

Tennessee circuit court clerk indicted on 16 charges including forgery in Davidson County

Tennessee circuit court clerk indicted on 16 charges including forgery in Davidson County (Photo: Clay County Circuit Court courtesy Tennessee Comptroller's Office)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A Clay County circuit court clerk has been indicted on 16 charges following an investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller's Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).

Susan Birdwell is facing charges in both Davidson and Clay counties.

Investigators found Birdwell photocopied a judge's signature on expungement orders in at least 117 cases without the judge's knowledge or approval. She's also accused of filing the expungement orders with the TBI to be processed.

"Investigators could not determine the legal sufficiency of the expungement orders due to a lack of documentation remaining in the individual cases," the comptroller's office wrote.

Birdwell also reportedly retained at least 497 expungement orders in unsecured places within the office. State law requires the clerk to remove and destroy all public records within 60 days from the date the expungement is issued.

The comptroller's office said the investigation led to the following findings:

On August 17, 2021, Birdwell met with investigators regarding the issues with the expungement orders. She admitted it was wrong to photocopy the judge’s signature and not destroy the expungement orders as required by law. Two days later, she gathered two additional binders containing expungement orders and shredded all but seven orders. She did not inform investigators about those binders and made no attempt to contact investigators before shredding the documents.

Additionally, investigators revealed that Birdwell received compensation from an employee who administered the county’s traffic school. She required employees who were responsible for the operation of the traffic school to remit $82 to her each month. Birdwell was not entitled to receive additional compensation beyond her county officer salary.

Lastly, Birdwell improperly accepted a total of $8,464 in cash payments from citizens and then used her personal credit card to make online payments on their behalf to the Tennessee Department of Safety. The cash should have been deposited with the Clay County Trustee’s Office. Birdwell earned at least $169.28 in cash back rewards on her credit card because of her payments made to the Tennessee Department of Safety.

In Davidson County, Birdwell faces six counts of forgery, three counts of tampering with governmental records, and two counts of official misconduct. In Clay County, she's charged with one count of soliciting unlawful compensation, one count of misrepresenting information to a state auditor, and three counts of official misconduct.

She has since been suspended from office.

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