MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In his latest move on bail and bonds in Memphis, Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) is once again asking the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct to investigate Shelby County General Sessions Judge Bill Anderson.
This is latest effort by Taylor following the release of the suspect in a shooting outside Railgarten in Midtown Memphis.
In a post to Facebook, Taylor said he reviewed audio of the bail hearing that ended with the suspect being released on his own recognizance, and claims Judge Anderson “failed to familiarize himself with new laws regarding bail and completely misstated the law in this bail hearing.”
Taylor said he sent a letter to the Judicial Conduct Board, asking for the members to investigate Anderson for disciplinary action.
“Because of a law I authored last session, judges can now set bail and assign bail conditions which are monitored by pretrial services,” said Taylor. “Should a Defendant on bail violate a bail condition, he has committed a misdemeanor and a warrant can be issued for his arrest.”
Taylor said depending on the outcome of a board investigation, the matter could be referred to the General Assembly for Anderson’s possible removal from the bench.
ABC24 received the following statement from Judge Anderson's court: "Judge Anderson cannot respond to matters related to cases that are pending in his courtroom."
This all comes after Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy's office said their attorneys filed an emergency writ in the case of the Railgarten suspect before receiving previous letters sent by Taylor at the end of August.
In those letters, Taylor asked for the emergency writ Mulroy said had already been filed, and he asked the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct to take disciplinary action against Judge Anderson.
In the letter, Taylor accused Anderson of “failing to adequately assess the safety of the community if the defendant were released without bond,” citing what he calls Anderson’s “public animus toward Tennessee’s bail system,” which previously led to reprimands from the Judicial Board.
ABC24 reached out to Judge Anderson after the first letters in August, and received the following response, "Judge Anderson cannot respond to and will not discuss matters related to cases that are pending in his courtroom."
