Judge accused of using cocaine since taking office
The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct is accusing Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd of using cocaine and marijuana in the months since she was elected.
The board, which oversees judicial conduct, made the allegations in a letter to Lt. Gov. Randy Mcnally, R-oak Ridge, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, Rcrossville. The Nov. 6 letter came days after Boyd received a second reprimand from the Board of Judicial Conduct, and points to the General Assembly’s ability to remove a judge from office. The board does not have that power.
“Finally, please note that the board does not make this report lightly,” the letter reads. “As you are aware, the board cannot permanently remove a judge from office, as that authority is vested in the General Assembly. However, Judge Boyd has now received two public reprimands and has been suspended since May 22, 2023, all within the short time she has been a judge and while continuing to collect her state salary and benefits.”
Attached to the letter are also two affidavits from Lashanta Rudd, who served as Boyd’s campaign manager during her election in 2022. The first of the affidavits is dated Dec. 7, 2022, and alleges Boyd came to her house, and “smelled like alcohol and was visibly intoxicated,” after Rudd did not respond to text messages one night.
“Unhappy that I did not respond, Judge Boyd came to my residence uninvited and began banging on my bedroom window and front door which woke me up,” the affidavit read. “When I allowed Judge Boyd into my home, she initiated a tense and hostile conversation because I had not responded to her messages. Judge Boyd smelled like alcohol and was visibly intoxicated. I have seen Judge Boy intoxicated many times before and after she was elected and, when she drinks, she becomes aggressive and hostile. Judge Boyd has a drinking problem for which she needs help. I have repeatedly encouraged her to seek treatment to no avail.”
About a month after Boyd allegedly came to Rudd’s home, which happened on Oct. 29, 2022, Rudd said she had a conversation with Boyd about the judge “investigating [Rudd’s] personal relationships.” During this Nov. 26, 2022 discussion, Boyd is alleged to have pointed her finger at Rudd before putting her hand over Rudd’s mouth, telling her to “shut up” and to “not mess with her because she is a judge.”
The second affidavit, dated Feb. 3, 2023, alleges Boyd used cocaine and marijuana while on the bench. According to Rudd, she was at Boyd’s house to take her to a doctor’s appointment.
“While looking for a pair of hair clippers, I discovered a white plate with yellow and blue flowers inside of Judge Boyd’s closet,” Rudd’s affidavit said. “On this plate was a spoon and a white powder, formed into a single narrow line, which I believed to be cocaine. After returning from her doctor visit, I began questioning Judge Boyd about finding the white substance in her closet. During this conversation, Judge Boyd admitted that it was cocaine. During the same conversation, Judge Boyd admitted that she has used cocaine off and on for the last year, and that she used cocaine once during the week of December 12, 2022. She told me she did not use it every day.”
The affidavit goes on to say Rudd had seen Boyd “smoke marijuana multiple times since she was elected.” According to the board, this conversation was recorded and a picture of the plate and powdered substance was taken by Rudd and then shared with Boyd, Boyd’s attorney and the board.
In a response to the board’s notification, Boyd’s attorney “did ‘not deny the facts and allegations set forth’” about her alleged cocaine use, and “requested ‘the opportunity to take time to receive treatment for her illnesses.’”
The Commercial Appeal reached out to Boyd’s attorney, Michael Scholl, for comment. Scholl did not respond at the time of publication.
Possession of cocaine is a Class B felony in Tennessee when someone is found to have had more than a half gram in their possession, and a Class C felony if less than that is found. It is not clear how much cocaine Boyd is alleged to have had in her possession.
The affidavit goes on to describe a second incident, this one happening at around 2:30 a.m. Jan. 21 of this year, where Boyd was allegedly sitting outside Rudd’s house and taking pictures of the property. Rudd says Boyd then texted her a picture of the vehicles outside the home, and accused her of having someone in her home. One of the text messages said, “You got your n---a in your bed,” and another one said, “Who is the w---e seriously?”
Rudd said she invited Boyd into her home, and when Boyd saw there was nobody else inside, she “became argumentative and appeared to be intoxicated and high as her speech was slurred,” according to the affidavit.
According to Rudd, Boyd had texted her pictures of her marriage license and information about the divorce days before the Jan. 21 incident. The second affidavit also accused Boyd of trying to get Rudd to withdraw her complaint to the board.
Boyd had previously told the board that she had sent the text messages and that her behavior was inappropriate in an early April letter, the board said. It was in this letter that Boyd told the board she was experiencing “grief-related issues due to the passing of several family members and the sudden illness of another family member.”
Other details from the board’s letter to the General Assembly
Boyd entered a negotiated suspension with the board after acknowledging she was in possession of cocaine in May 2023, which was not made public until the board said she violated the terms of that suspension order by not receiving treatment for her substance abuse issues.
In her second reprimand, which was levied after she did not abide by the terms of the suspension, that order was made public and referenced a letter from the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP). That letter was not included in the reprimand, but was included in the letter to the General Assembly.
The Oct. 26, 2023 letter from TLAP said Boyd had been provided with a list of treatment facilities to chose from, but never completed an assessment. According to TLAP, she scheduled an assessment with the facility, but did not confirm or show up for it. After that, TLAP said, Boyd texted the facility on September 26 this year to set an appointment for November 13, but did not respond to communications to confirm the date.
“TLAP has done everything possible to support Judge Boyd, but she is not cooperating with TLAP and has for five months declined to honor the attached preliminary monitoring agreement,” TLAP wrote in the letter.
Why was Boyd first reprimanded?
Boyd’s first judicial reprimand came after the board alleged she solicited money for a school by using her role as a judge.
According to the board, she wore her judicial robes while posing for a photo that was posted on Facebook.
“Judges are expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct at all times,” the reprimand read.
“…Conflating judicial office with promoting the private interests of others is prohibited. Here, you lent the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of others by soliciting money and resources on social media.”
State law prohibits judges from using their position to advance either personal interests, or those of other people.
Prior to being elected to the bench in Shelby County Criminal Court Division 9, Boyd was reprimanded in 2015 by the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee.
That 2015 reprimand led to Boyd being suspended from practicing law for one year – with 30 days spent on active suspension and the remainder on probation.
“Ms. Boyd failed to act with diligence in the handling of a petition to change custody, failed to deposit an unearned fee into a trust account and failed to refund the fee when terminated prior to performing the work,” a 2015 release about Boyd’s suspension read.
That suspension also required Boyd to provide monthly reports to the Board of Professional Responsibility and required her to pay a $1,000 restitution to a client, along with $944 to the Board of Professional Responsibility for the expenses of the hearing process.
Boyd has been away from the bench since May, and former Judge Mark Ward was initially slated to take over her docket. Ward previously sat on the Division 9 bench, but lost a bid for reelection to Boyd in 2022.
For unclear reasons, Ward did not take over the docket, and Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft, who sits on the Division 8 bench, has covered instead.
What comes next?
Though the Board of Judicial Conduct has the ability to suspend a judge, it does not have the power to remove that judge, only the General Assembly can do that.
The board’s letter to the General Assembly does not explicitly request she be impeached, only saying it is “fulfilling its statutory obligation to report” Boyd to the legislature for whatever action it deems appropriate.
Impeaching Boyd would be brought first through the House and then tried by the Senate, per the Tennessee Constitution.
Two-thirds of all senators would have to vote in favor of impeachment, and, if impeached, Boyd would not be able to hold the same office again.
The letter from the board to legislative leaders provided notice to the House and Senate speakers. Also copied on the letter were Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-chattanooga,, who is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Andrew Farmer, R-sevierville, who is the chairman of the House Civil Justice Committee.
Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @Lucasfinton.