Faculty Profile: Stephen Johnson

Stephen Ross Johnson has defended criminal cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States, ranging from complex white-collar financial crimes to death penalty cases as a criminal defense trial and appellate attorney. He is a partner with Ritchie, Johnson & Stovall, P.C.

Mr. Johnson has been defense counsel in jury trials and hearings in state and federal courts involving a wide variety of criminal offenses, including charges of theft of trade secrets, racketeering, money laundering, health care fraud, illegal gambling, government contract fraud, wire and mail fraud, tax fraud, bank fraud, perjury and false statements, arson, firearms offenses, illegal drug distribution, assault, child abuse and neglect, internet crimes, rape and other sexual offenses, and homicide. He has successfully defended persons at jury trial in murder prosecutions when the death penalty was sought. He has successfully litigated cases involving social media communications and other electronic evidence, and he has successfully defended cases involving mental health issues, such as legal insanity, diminished capacity, and competency. In addition, he often represents health care providers and other licensed professionals in disciplinary matters.

In his appellate practice, Mr. Johnson has represented persons wrongfully convicted of serious felony matters on appeal and collateral review, to include direct appeal, state post-conviction, and federal habeas corpus proceedings, and has obtained reversals of wrongful convictions and sentences.

Mr. Johnson has served multiple terms on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and is a past President of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL). Mr. Johnson was sworn in as Second Vice President at NACDL’s annual meeting held on July 27, 2024, after serving terms as Secretary and Treasurer. He is actively involved in the Task Force on Prosecutorial Accountability and the White Collar Crime, Membership, and Mental Health Committees. Mr. Johnson was formerly the Sixth Circuit Vice Chair of NACDL’s Amicus Committee and is the NACDL Lawyer’s Assistance Strike Force Representative for the Sixth Circuit. He is a Trustee of the NACDL Foundation for Criminal Justice (NFCJ) and for many years served on the faculty of the Tennessee Criminal Defense College (TCDC). He served on the board of the Knoxville Bar Association and for over a decade co-chaired the law office technology and management committee. He is past President and an emeritus Master of the Bench with the Hamilton Burnett Chapter of the American Inns of Court. He is a fellow of the American, Tennessee, and Knoxville Bar Foundations. For his volunteer efforts, the TBA honored Mr. Johnson with its Access to Justice Award. For many years he has been listed in Best Lawyers in America in white-collar criminal defense and has achieved an AV rating for preeminent legal ability and ethical standards from Martindale-Hubbell.

In addition to his private practice, Mr. Johnson was the incorporator of the Tennessee Innocence Project and was the founding President of the Board of Directors, serving in that position until 2021. He has been involved in the innocence movement in Tennessee for over two decades. In 2000, he helped start and lead an earlier form of the Tennessee Innocence Project that later became the Innocence Clinic at the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he served as an adjunct professor and director from 2009–2018. In 2024, Mr. Johnson started the Wrongful Convictions Clinic at the University of Tennessee College of Law, which he leads as an adjunct professor. Mr. Johnson assisted in the effort that led to the passage of the Tennessee Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act of 2001 and the Tennessee Post-Conviction Fingerprint Analysis Act of 2021, and he has successfully litigated innocence cases that not only reversed wrongful convictions but helped establish the procedures in Tennessee for bringing newly discovered evidence claims.

Mr. Johnson has published articles and taught lawyers, law students, members of law enforcement, and others across the country on criminal law and litigation issues. He is a graduate of the National Criminal Defense College (NCDC) and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence, with honors, from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Mr. Johnson completed his undergraduate education at Carson-Newman University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in International Economics with a minor in Political Science. He attended graduate school at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, where he was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, graduated with a Diploma in Contemporary Economic History and worked as an economist for Govan Initiative, a Scottish economic development agency. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. Johnson also worked in education, banking, retail, farming, and manufacturing, and even as a juvenile probation officer and private investigator. He regularly draws on his diverse academic and vocational experiences in representing his clients.