The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct is referring a Shelby County Criminal Court judge to the state legislature for potential disciplinary action after she received a second public reprimand since she took office in September 2022.

The board issued Shelby County Criminal Court Division 9 Judge Melissa Boyd a public reprimand Tuesday, Oct. 31, for failing to abide by the terms of her suspension order. The board said it was referring her to the Tennessee General Assembly “for further action.”

Exclusive: Reprimanded judge talks why she’s been away from the bench

The board’s reprimand reads in part:

“Finally, as Judge Boyd is aware, the board cannot permanently remove her from the bench, as that authority is vested solely in the General Assembly. However, Judge Boyd has now received two public reprimands in the short time that she has been a judge. Accordingly, to protect the public and confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and the proper administration of justice, the board is reporting Judge Boyd to the General Assembly pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 17-5-203 (a)(1) for further action as that body deems appropriate.”

The statute cited refers to the notification of the Tennessee Speaker of the House and the Senate when a judge has received a second public reprimand while they are on the bench. 

The notification has to be done within five business days of the second reprimand being filed and is a public record. 

Farther down in the statute, however, it references removal proceedings for judges which can only be done by the Tennessee General Assembly, as the board mentioned. 

As outlined in the Tennessee Constitution, judges can either be removed through a two-thirds vote by both the state House and Senate or can be impeached, in which they are tried in the Senate. Three members of the House are selected to serve as prosecutors, per the constitution. 

Boyd has been gone from the bench since May. She recently told The Daily Memphian that she reached an agreement with the board to step down after several complaints and an order of protection were filed against her. 

Boyd said then that she would return on Nov. 1 but she confirmed Tuesday that she will not be coming back Wednesday. The reprimand also states that Boyd’s suspension remains in place.

Judge Melissa Boyd temporarily stepping away from bench due to illness

Boyd was officially suspended May 22, according to the reprimand filed Tuesday. 

The suspension would have been kept private so long as Boyd completed certain conditions that included a “physical, mental health, and/or substance abuse or addiction evaluation” and a professional assessment by the Tennessee Lawyers’ Assistance Program (TLAP) within thirty days, per a monitoring agreement she signed, according to reprimand. 

She failed to undergo the assessment. 

The reprimand, which includes the order of suspension Boyd originally signed, gives more detail and describes why she was suspended.

The suspension was not to exceed six months, according to the order.

Boyd was required to:

• Undergo a physical, mental health and/or substance addiction evaluation 
• Complete all the recommendations of that evaluation
• Provide evidence of completion of a mental health or substance-abuse treatment program to the board
• Attend the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, at her own expense, as previously reported 
• Meet monthly with Shelby County Criminal Court Division X Judge Jennifer Mitchell for at least six months 
• Meet with the board’s disciplinary counsel on or before the fifth day of each month to inform them of all days she held court, all days she canceled court and why and all days that another judge filled in for her for a year after her suspension was up

Before she could return, TLAP also had to provide confirmation to the board that she was fit to return, the order says. 

The board did not mince words in the order about Boyd’s alleged struggles with substance abuse. 

“When any judge, but especially a judge who adjudicates substance abuse or chemical dependency related matters such as Boyd, has alcohol and/or substance abuse issues, respect for the judiciary and the administration of justice suffers. Clearly, the public is more likely to respect and have confidence in the integrity and quality of justice administered by a judge if the judge has complied with the same standards of conduct he or she is responsible for applying to others. A judge who has drug- or alcohol-dependency issues does not inspire such confidence,” the order says.

The Daily Memphian reported earlier this month that one of the reasons that Boyd was suspended was that a complaint was filed by her former campaign manager Lashanta Rudd on Nov. 30 last year, which the board described as “threatening and intimidating statements and behavior and alcohol abuse.”

On Feb. 23, the reprimand says that Boyd denied having a substance-abuse issue in a response to an investigation into the complaint. 

Criminal Court judge Melissa Boyd receives public reprimand

Following that, the suspension says that on March 22, she was sitting outside of an unnamed acquaintance’s residence around 2:30 a.m. and taking pictures of it. The acquaintance appears to be Rudd, given that the complaint refers earlier to the same acquaintance as filing the complaint about the intimidating statements from November 2022.

It says that Boyd texted pictures of the residence to the acquaintance as well as texts “which accused this person of having someone in the home.”

On April 10, Boyd admitted to sending the texts and acknowledged her conduct was inappropriate, according to the reprimand. She also told the board she was going through grief-related issues due to the loss of several family members.

On April 27, the board expanded its investigation into Boyd’s conduct again based on allegations that she admitted to having a substance-abuse problem, according to the reprimand. 

On May 5, she admitted to having a problem in a letter to the board and that she was seeking treatment, the reprimand states.