Boyd’s bond revoked, will go to jail

Prosecutors say indicted Shelby County judge failed drug test, missed several reporting dates

Embattled Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd had her bond revoked Wednesday morning after prosecutors said she failed a drug test and told the judge overseeing her criminal case that she had missed several reporting dates that were part of her bond conditions.

Boyd, who had been out on bail since being indicted for harassment and coercion of a witness in December, was required to submit to random drug tests and report to pretrial services regularly.

The judge had entered into a rehabilitation facility and was released in late February, so she had not been drug tested up to that point. When she took her first drug test, she tested positive for cocaine and alcohol, prosecutors said. She was then required to take a second test three days after the first, and Senior Judge Roy Morgan — who was assigned to preside over the case — said Wednesday her second test results were “almost identical” for cocaine.

“A lot of effort has been offered and it’s just not working,” Morgan said as he ruled to revoke Boyd’s bond. “And that’s sad, just so sad.”

Arthur Horne III, one of Boyd’s attorneys, said that Boyd “needs help” and has not been cooperating with them, saying the judge was “in a full relapse” and is “not thinking with a clear head.”

District Attorney Frederick Agee, who represents Crockett, Gibson and Haywood counties and is prosecuting the case, said that Boyd’s bond should be revoked as a safety measure, calling it “shock incarceration” that might set her on a better path.

“There is one person in this courtroom that could save the defendant’s life and I’m looking at him,” Agee said to Morgan Wednesday morning.

Boyd’s other attorney, Carlissa Shaw, said shock incarceration would not solve Boyd’s addiction diagnosis.

“Sure, shock incarceration may work for someone who is intentionally trying to avoid accountability,” Shaw said. “But shock incarceration isn’t for someone that is ill. Doctors, hospitals, medical personnel, that is where someone goes to get healthy.”

Shaw also pointed to a statistic that 18% of attorneys in Tennessee are dealing with some type of addiction, and that it is a daily struggle to overcome.

“There is no easy solution to overcome it,” she said. “You don’t take the shot, you don’t take the medicine and wake up one day magically cured. That’s not how this disease works. It’s not how it presents itself.”

Wednesday was also the deadline for Boyd to enter a plea deal, but her attorneys requested more time for a deal to be reached. In court, prosecutors said that they had extended a plea deal to Boyd and her attorneys, but have not heard back. Horne said the reason for not responding to the plea was Boyd’s relapse.

With her bond revoked, Boyd will remain in jail for just under a month unless a plea is reached before her April 24 trial date.

Boyd’s future as a judge is also in question with the Tennessee General Assembly slated to vote on her removal on April 4, The Daily Memphian reported Tuesday.

Her removal was recommended by the Board of Judicial Conduct, which oversees a judge’s ethics in Tennessee. The board can reprimand a judge, but that is the limit to its power. Only the General Assembly can remove or alter the pay of a sitting judge.

Boyd has received multiple reprimands from the board since being elected in 2022. The reprimands stem from Boyd soliciting money for a school using a picture of her in her judicial robe, allegations of harassing another woman, alcohol abuse, and having a marijuana and cocaine addiction.

One reprimand required Boyd to receive treatment, which the board said she did not enter into until after her indictment.

Many of the accusations come from a woman who told the board she was Boyd’s campaign manager. Boyd has since denied that she had a campaign manager, saying that the two women were in a relationship at one point.

Boyd has been suspended for months, still collecting a paycheck from the state, which the board has estimated to be about $17,000 a month.

According to the board, Boyd would show up at the campaign manager’s home and berate her. The campaign manager said Boyd tried to have her recant her statements to the oversight board, telling the manager to “shut up” and “not mess with her because she’s a judge.”

Boyd also would text the campaign manager information about the woman’s divorce, the board said.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.finton@commercialappeal.com, or (901)208-3922, and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lucasfinton.