The Cocke County government has been ordered not to use public money to pay for the defense of a local judge accused of misconduct. The Tennessee Court of the Judiciary has charged Cocke County General Sessions Judge John Bell with sentencing defendants to probation terms that forced them to pay fees to his brother-in-law’s probation company. Bell said he has followed the law and done nothing improper or unethical. Last month, county commissioners voted use public money for the judge’s defense. That came after officials learned that they could not get money from state’s public officials’ liability insurance because the policy does not cover losses from “fraudulent or dishonest acts.” Circuit Judge Ben W. Hooper II issued a temporary restraining order late Friday, prohibiting the county from funding Bell’s defense. The complaint was filed by former county commissioner and jail administrator Michael McCarter, who will seek to make the order permanent.