In Re: Timothy Lee Nolan

• Court: Kentucky Supreme Court
• Decided: April 24, 2025
• Docket: 2025-SC-0103
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

TO BE PUBLISHED

Supreme Court of Kentucky 2025-SC-0103-KB

IN RE: TIMOTHY LEE NOLAN

IN SUPREME COURT

OPINION AND ORDER

This matter comes before the Court on Timothy Lee Nolan’s Motion to

Resign under Terms of Permanent Disbarment made pursuant to Kentucky

Supreme Court Rules (SCR) 3.480(3). Nolan’s Kentucky Bar Association (KBA)

Member Number is 51990 and his bar roster address is listed as 12786 Burns

Road, California, Kentucky 41007. Nolan was admitted to practice law in the

Commonwealth in 1973. Nolan is currently incarcerated at Northpoint Training

Center, P.O. Box 479, Burgin, Kentucky 40310.

The KBA has filed a response to Nolan’s motion expressing no objection

and requesting that an order be entered sustaining his motion. Having

reviewed the record and the underlying facts, we grant Nolan’s motion for

permanent disbarment.

I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 2017, Nolan was indicted in Campbell County on a multitude of felony

counts, most of which involved allegations of a sexual nature. The victims of

some of the counts against Nolan were minors. Following negotiations with the

prosecution, on March 8, 2019, Nolan entered guilty pleas to twenty-one counts, reserving the right to challenge the constitutionality of Kentucky

Revised Statute (KRS) 529.100, the human trafficking statute, which was the

basis for some of the charges. The KBA had previously opened disciplinary

proceedings against Nolan in Office of Bar Counsel (OBC) File 17-DIS-0133 and

on May 24, 2018, Nolan was temporarily suspended from the practice of law

pursuant to Supreme Court Rules (SCR) 3.166(1).

The twenty-one counts Nolan pled guilty to were comprised of: (a) four

felony counts of Promoting Human Trafficking of a Minor—Commercial Sexual

Activity; (b) one felony count of Unlawful Transaction with a Minor—Controlled

Substance (pursuant to North Carolina v Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970)); (c) one

felony count of Unlawful Transaction with a Minor Under 18—Controlled

Substance; (d) eight misdemeanor counts of Criminal Attempt Human

Trafficking of an Adult—Commercial Sexual Activity (one pursuant to North

Carolina v Alford); (e) three felony counts of Human Trafficking—Commercial

Sexual Activity; (f) one felony count of Unlawful Transaction with a Minor

Under 16, Controlled Substance; (g) one felony count of Criminal Attempt

Human Trafficking of a Minor—Commercial Sexual Activity (pursuant to North

Carolina v Alford); (h) one misdemeanor count of Unlawful Transaction with at

Minor, 3rd degree; and (i) one misdemeanor count of Prostitution.

Nolan’s convictions were affirmed by the Court of Appeals in the

unpublished decision in Nolan v. Commonwealth, 2022-CA-0232-MR, 2023 WL

3027861, at *1 (Ky. App. Apr. 21, 2023), which upheld the constitutionality of

KRS 529.100. This Court denied Nolan’s motion for discretionary review on

2 August 16, 2023. Nolan acknowledges in his motion “that he has exhausted all

avenues for appellate relief at the state level.”

Nolan is presently serving a total of twenty years in prison with additional

five years conditional discharge upon expiration of his sentence. He was also

ordered to pay a $10,000 Human Trafficking Victims Services Fee and reimburse

$7,000 to Public Advocacy for his representation.

Nolan’s crimes constitute violations of SCR 3.130(8.4)(b) which states it

is professional misconduct for a lawyer to “commit a criminal act that reflects

adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in

other respects.”

In his motion for permanent disbarment, Nolan acknowledges that the

conduct to which he pled guilty is sufficient to warrant permanent disbarment

and that he desires to terminate all pending disciplinary proceedings by

resigning under terms of permanent disbarment. Nolan also affirms his

understanding that “he cannot be reinstated to practice from permanent

disbarment, and the provisions of SCR 3.510 do not apply.” He also asserts

that upon entry of such an order, “he will never again engage in the practice of

law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

II. ANALYSIS

SCR 3.480(3) allows for Nolan’s motion such that he may conclude all

disciplinary actions pending against him by “withdraw[ing] his membership

under terms of permanent disbarment.”

3 In disciplinary proceedings, a criminal conviction “forecloses further

inquiry into the issue of respondent’s guilt or innocence of the [criminal]

offense.” KBA v. Lester, 437 S.W.2d 958, 959 (Ky. 1968). There can be no

debate that the abusive, sexual, drug-related, conduct—involving minors—to

which Nolan pled guilty, supports permanent disbarment. The conduct, and

totality of such conduct, is so sufficiently severe that nothing less than

permanent disbarment is appropriate here.

III. DISCIPLINE

Based on his convictions and his admissions of ethical violations, we

agree that Nolan’s motion to resign under terms of permanent disbarment is

warranted and appropriate pursuant to SCR 3.480(3) and, therefore, the Court

sustains his Motion to Resign under Terms of Permanent Disbarment and

ORDERS:

1. Timothy Lee Nolan, KBA Member No. 51990, is hereby permanently

disbarred from the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky;

2. Pursuant to SCR 3.390, Nolan shall, within ten (10) days from the

entry of this Opinion and Order, notify all clients, in writing, of his inability to

represent them; notify, in writing, all courts in which he has matters pending

of his disbarment from the practice of law; and furnish copies of all letters of

notice to the Office of Bar Counsel. Furthermore, to the extent possible, Nolan

shall immediately cancel and cease any advertising activities in which he is

engaged; and

4 3. In accordance with SCR 3.450, Nolan shall pay all costs certified by

the KBA in these proceedings, said sum being $121.05, for which execution

may issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion and Order.

All sitting. All concur.

ENTERED: April 24, 2024

____________________________________ CHIEF JUSTICE