Shelby County judge indicted for harassment and coercion in alleged string of misconduct

Brooke Muckerman and Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read
Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd was given her second public reprimand in late October. She has since been referred to the Tennessee General Assembly for further action, which could include removal.
Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd was given her second public reprimand in late October. She has since been referred to the Tennessee General Assembly for further action, which could include removal.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge A. Melissa Boyd has been indicted in Shelby County for one count of coercion of a witness and one count of harassment, according to court records.

Boyd, who has been under fire for months since taking office as the Criminal Court Division 9 judge in 2022, was booked Wednesday morning.

Frederick Agee, district attorney general for Crockett, Gibson and Haywood counties, has been assigned the case as a pro-tem prosecutor after Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy recused his office from the case.

Boyd was given a $5,000 bail, with the condition that she would be required to submit to drug tests throughout the court process.

The alleged incident, according to Agee, stems from an interaction between Boyd and her campaign manager, who told an oversight body that Boyd had used drugs, including marijuana and cocaine, since taking office and also would show up to the former manager's home and berate her.

District Attorney Frederick H. Agee, the DA for Crockett, Gibson and Haywood Counties, is prosecuting Shelby County Criminal Court Judge A. Melissa Boyd's criminal case. He was assigned the case after Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy recused his office from prosecuting.
District Attorney Frederick H. Agee, the DA for Crockett, Gibson and Haywood Counties, is prosecuting Shelby County Criminal Court Judge A. Melissa Boyd's criminal case. He was assigned the case after Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy recused his office from prosecuting.

The campaign manager also alleged that Boyd tried, on several occasions, to have the manager recant her statements to the oversight body, telling the manager to "shut up" and to "not mess with her because she is a judge."

Boyd has been in hot water recently over multiple accusations from the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct, which is a state-wide board that oversees judges. In May, Boyd received a public reprimand for asking for donations to benefit a school in a Facebook post that showed the judge wearing her judicial robe.

Then, in November, Boyd was referred to the Tennessee General Assembly for "further action" after the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct said she violated the conditions of a suspension order she has been under since late May.

Boyd was suspended from her position as a judge on May 23 after allegations of threatening "an acquaintance," soliciting money by using her role as a judge and substance abuse were levied against her. Part of the agreement Boyd and the board struck was that any violation of the suspension order would result in the order being made public via a public reprimand.

The board, which oversees judicial conduct, made the allegations in a letter to Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and State House Speaker Cameron Sexton. 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.

Boyd took a leave of absence for what was described as an undisclosed illness in May, though the leave falls in line with when Boyd was suspended. Senior Judge Mark Ward, who sat on the bench in Shelby County Criminal Court Division 9 before Boyd's election last year, was slated to take over the docket but never ended up returning to that position.

Since then, Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft has handled the Division 9 docket.

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.

Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at 901-484-6225, brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Suspended TN judge A. Melissa Boyd indicted for harassment, coercion