KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – John Valliant, a prominent Knoxville attorney, former Knox County Democratic Party chairman and former member of the Knox County juvenile detention center’s board of trustees, has died. According to an obituary published by Knox News, he was 78.
Valliant, an Oak Ridge native, graduated from University of Tennessee Law School before pursuing a 50-year career in the law. His obituary said he also served in the U.S. Army National Guard during the Vietnam War and chaired the Knox County Democratic Party in 1982.
Among his varied duties and prior to the county’s takeover, Valliant headed up the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center’s board of trustees. The center came under fire after ProPublica reported staff was keeping juvenile inmates in seclusion for longer than the state allows. At the time, he told WVLT News he hadn’t seen any inappropriate action from Bean Center staff…