MEMPHIS, Tenn. — State Senator Brent Taylor suggested splitting Shelby County into two court systems as he claims one-third of the county's judges have been reprimanded.
Taylor said the suburbs should split away from the county court system and form their own with their own district attorney. For one, he said Shelby County D.A. Steve Mulroy is soft on crime. But he also cites problems with Shelby County criminal judges, citing three who have been reprimanded over the past two years.
One is general sessions judge Bill Anderson, who is not a fan of the bond system.
"They only care about collecting money from poor people. That's what they do, that's how they function. I detest bail bonds system in Shelby County," Anderson said last year.
For comments like that, Judge Anderson was reprimanded by the Tennessee board of Judicial Conduct on two separate occasions.
Judge James Jones Jr. who is currently presiding over the state trial in the Tyre Nichols case, was reprimanded last August for writing letters on behalf of two people convicted of wire fraud in Florida.
Judge Melissa Boyd's misdeeds have gotten the most attention. She admitted to using cocaine and marijuana while on the job and has been suspended and reprimanded twice. She stands accused of coercing a witness: her campaign manager.
ABC24 political commentator Otis Sanford saying while on the outside these cases look bad, it’s not abnormal.
"It’s not a good look for judges to be reprimanded at any time, but reprimands are not totally unusual," Sanford said. "There’s been local judges that have been reprimanded, there’s even been federal judges.”
Some suggest the problem is that judges are elected and most voters don't have time to research who they're voting for.
"I don't care how hard someone campaigns for a judgeship or if it's an incumbent, how good that inducement has been, because people just vote, and if they don't recognize names, they start with A," political consultant Susan Adler Thorp said.
D.A. Mulroy provided the following statement to ABC24:
“I don’t think reprimands of judges affect the backlog. The judge is still able to rule on cases as before. I don’t anticipate that any reprimands of late would slow down the processing of cases.
On the backlog itself: We’ve been trying cases at a faster rate in 2024 to date than last year. More importantly, the courts can set trials only a few months out, which is better than it has been in the past. What we need to focus on is the number of cases which are pending for more than a year and a half. That is unacceptably high, and we’re working on reducing that number.”
Shelby County and Memphis elect judges to eight-year terms, and the Board of Judicial Conduct said only the Tennessee General Assembly can remove a judge after they're elected.