Sanford: Let’s give voters a break and stagger local judicial races
In the wake of the messy legal entanglements surrounding former Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd, Otis Sanford recommends we reform the way we elect judges in Shelby County. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
Otis Sanford
Otis Sanford is professor emeritus of Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Memphis and political commentator for WATN-TV ABC24 News. Contact him at o.sanford@memphis.edu.
I’m no fan of our legislature. But in the case of former Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd, lawmakers acted with prudence and in the best interest of all Memphis and Shelby County voters.
Topics
Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
Your subscription gives you unlimited access to all of The Daily Memphian’s news, written by nearly 40 local journalists and more than 20 regular freelancers. We work around the clock to cover the issues that impact your life and our community.
You can help us reach more Memphians.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we provide free news access at K-12 schools, public libraries and many community organizations. We also reach tens of thousands of people through our podcasts, and through our radio and television partnerships – all completely free to everyone who cares about Memphis.
When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians.
Pay it forward. Make a fully tax-deductible donation to The Daily Memphian today.
Thank you for reading the local news. Thank you for investing in our community.
Otis Sanford on demand
Never miss an article. Sign up to receive Otis Sanford's stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Related stories
Sanford: Nearly 60 years after my first DEI discussion, little has changed
Today, the battle is over whether diversity, equity and inclusion should even be mentioned in schools and the workplace. Beyond that, some people locally also want to turn back the clock by suggesting separate judicial systems for Shelby County — the current one for predominantly Black Memphis and a new one for the mostly white suburbs.
Sanford: In lackluster Super Tuesday, Haley continues to stumble over race
Welcome to arguably the most uninteresting Super Tuesday presidential primary since Tennessee first joined the big day of voting in the late 1980s.
Sanford: Rittenhouse is no hero. But let him speak
Otis Sanford says that Kyle Rittenhouse’s only major accomplishment is that he escaped criminal accountability for taking an unarmed person’s life through needless gun violence after an unnecessary encounter.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.