Suspended judge’s bond revoked after she tests positive for cocaine

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Judiciary

Suspended judge’s bond revoked after she tests positive for cocaine

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 29, 2024, 9:47 am CDT

A suspended criminal court judge has been booked into a Memphis, Tennessee, jail after she tested positive for cocaine while awaiting a trial on charges of coercing a witness and harassment.

Judge Roy Morgan of Tennessee revoked bond for Judge A. Melissa Boyd of Shelby County, Tennessee, on Wednesday, report the Associated Press and the Commercial Appeal.

Besides facing criminal charges, Boyd has received two public reprimands since she became a judge in September 2022. She was criminally charged in December with harassment and trying to coerce or influence her former campaign manager to testify falsely, or to withhold truthful testimony, in an official proceeding. The trial is scheduled for April 24.

A lawyer for Boyd, Arthur Horne III, told Morgan on Wednesday that his client was “in a full relapse,” and that was the reason that she had not responded to an offer of a plea deal, according to the Commercial Appeal. She was released from a rehabilitation facility in late February.

Boyd was reprimanded in early May 2023 for a social media post in which the judge solicited charitable contributions while picturing herself in a judicial robe, according to the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct.

During that investigation, the board received affidavits from Boyd’s former campaign manager, a woman who had a close personal relationship with Boyd, who said she discovered what appeared to be cocaine in Boyd’s home and told her to get help.

The woman also said she woke up one morning and saw Boyd sitting in a car outside her house and taking pictures. Boyd allegedly accused the campaign manager of having a “whore” inside her home and appeared to be intoxicated. Boyd also allegedly texted the woman a picture of her prior marriage license and information about her divorce.

The former campaign manager told the conduct board that Boyd had asked her to withdraw her complaint.

The former campaign manager also recorded a conversation in which Boyd admitted that she occasionally used cocaine, the judicial conduct board said. As a result of illegal drug use, Boyd received a negotiated suspension on May 22, 2023. It was released as a public reprimand Oct. 31, 2023, because Boyd did not follow through with a promise to quickly address her substance abuse problems.

Boyd has been receiving full pay since her suspension in May 2023, according to the judicial conduct board, which is recommending Boyd’s removal. The Tennessee General Assembly has scheduled a vote on the recommendation for April 4.

Boyd has been receiving about $17,000 per month during her suspension, according to the Commercial Appeal.