State board votes to remove Memphis judge Melissa Boyd
by: Maurice Miller, David Royer, Jessica Gertler
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A committee of the Tennessee General Assembly voted Thursday in favor of removing Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Andrewnetta Melissa Boyd from the bench.
The vote was unanimous. All 10 members of the committee recommended Boyd’s removal, including Sen. Raumesh Akbari and Rep. Dwayne Thompson, both Democrats of Memphis.
The group talked for nearly 90 minutes about Judge Boyd in a full-blown hearing with remarks from the chairman of the Board of Judicial Conduct and the Board’s disciplinary counsel.
Boyd is facing a criminal court hearing in Memphis on Friday on separate charges of coercion of a witness and harassment.
But officials overseeing the proceedings in Nashville on Thursday said they didn’t want to wait for outcome of criminal court proceedings, because then she would sit on the bench and collect her salary, and other judges would have to pick up her case load.
They were more focused on Boyd repeatedly not responding to attempts at rehabilitation after allegations of drug and alcohol abuse since November 2023. She entered rehab only this year, they said.
“The cocaine problem alone is hugely problematic. That’s why the board decided to go ahead and act,” said Marshall Davidson, the chair of the judicial conduct board.
Davidson said Boyd had admitted to cocaine use while on the bench, had failed a recent drug screening, and was diagnosed with severe alcohol abuse disorder, cocaine use disorder and cannabis disorder.
He also said Boyd, who was suspended in May 2023, has continued to collect her salary of roughly $17,000 a month while she is off the bench and other judges were handling her caseload.
Boyd’s attorney, who wrote a letter that was read into the record during the session, blamed the action on the state’s Republican supermajority for the decision, accusing legislators of attempting to silence African Americans and other groups.
The committee’s recommendation will go before the full General Assembly.
Akbari said Boyd would be eligible for retirement at the end of May if she resigns.
The state Board of Judicial Conduct recommended Boyd’s removal in January, after an investigation into allegations of ongoing substance abuse issues.
Boyd’s attorney reportedly negotiated a suspension in 2023 while Boyd sought treatment. Boyd received two public reprimands since assuming office in September 2022.
In December 2023, Boyd was taken into custody on charges of harassment and coercion of a witness. The indictment stemmed from allegations claiming that between November 2022 and March 2023, Boyd influenced or attempted to influence a witness into falsely testifying or withholding information.
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