Nashville judge put under investigation
NASHVILLE - The state board that oversees the conduct of judges on Thursday confirmed it was investigating Nashville General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland, a rare public announcement from a board that typically does work confidentially.
Moreland has faced allegations of misconduct in recent weeks largely tied to a Nashville police report following the suicide of a woman Moreland knew. The woman told two friends she had a sexual relationship with Moreland while she had a case in his courtroom, the police report says.
Investigations by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct typically occur confidentially. However, there is a provision that the chair of the board can confirm an investigation if it is in the public interest or the interest of the judiciary.
In a statement, board chairman Chris Craft, a Memphis judge, confirmed the board was investigating Moreland, who has been a judge since 1998. Moreland has been scrutinized by the board before. In 2014, he received a rare public reprimand for intervening in a domestic violence case at a friend’s request.
That friend, Bryan Lewis, is also entangled in the current allegations against
Moreland is one of the city’s 11 General Sessions judges. Though other judges hear a mix of minor civil and misdemeanor cases, Moreland only handles criminal cases. Each judge earns $170,000 annually.
Longtime friends Lewis and Moreland and several others took a vacation to Alabama last year. On the trip was 34year-old Leigh Terry, who committed suicide just a week after returning, according to the Nashville police report. Terry lived in a downtown Nashville apartment paid for by Lewis, the report says.
Two of Terry’s friends interviewed by police said Terry had told them of a sexual relationship, and one of the friends said it was to get out of a driving under the influence case. Terry had a DUI case before Moreland in 2013, and Lewis was her lawyer, records show.
Moreland told the Nashville Scene, which first reported on the trip and the police report, that Terry was an acquaintance and denied they had a personal relationship. He also said he recused himself from Terry’s case, but public records show he signed at least two orders on the matter.
And though General Sessions Judge Aaron Holt found Terry guilty of a reduced charge, Moreland signed off on her probation even though she had not served a five-day jail term ordered by Holt.
After an investigation is approved by the conduct board, a judge who has been the subject of a complaint has 30 days to reply. If formal charges are filed, the matter then becomes a public proceeding.
Moreland’s lawyer, Worrick Robinson, could not be reached late Thursday.