A judge in Tennessee was indicted Wednesday on charges of coercion of a witness and harassment, records show.
Judge Andrewnetta Melissa Boyd, 59, was booked into the Shelby County Jail in Memphis on Wednesday and released after posting $5,000 bond. According to the complaint obtained by the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Boyd is accused of pressuring her campaign manager to recant the statements she made to a judicial oversight body about Boyd’s use of marijuana and cocaine since taking office last year. Boyd also would show up at the campaign manager’s home and berate her, the Commercial Appeal reported.
Boyd reportedly told the campaign manager to “shut up” and to “not mess with her” because she’s a judge.
Memphis Judge A. Melissa Boyd was indicted on a charge of witness intimidation after she allegedly tried to get a her campaign manager to recant statements about her substance abuse. (Left: Shelby County Jail; Right: Tennessee Courts)
The judge, elected in August 2022 as Division IX judge of the 30th Judicial District Criminal Court in Memphis, took a leave of absence in May to address an illness. But in reality, documents reviewed by Law&Crime say, she was suspended by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct that oversees judges. The board suspended her on May 22 for no more than six months, the documents said. The suspension appears to be tied to her criminal case.
On Nov. 30, 2022, the board received a complaint alleging she was “threatening and intimidating an acquaintance and that she was abusing alcohol.” Boyd was required to respond in writing but missed the deadline by more than a month, the document said. The investigation was expanded in March after Boyd “was discovered sitting outside the acquaintance’s residence” around 2:30 a.m.
“During the incident Judge Boyd texted pictures of this individual’s property and sent text messages which accused this person of having someone in the home,” investigators wrote.
Boyd wrote to the board on April 10, where she admitted to sending the text messages and acknowledged that it was inappropriate. She also admitted she had failed to respond to the board in a timely fashion, blaming it on the deaths of several family members.
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Then the board said it was expanding the investigation a third time after Boyd allegedly admitted to having a substance abuse problem. Boyd acknowledged to the board on May 5 that she did indeed have a substance abuse problem.
Boyd’s behavior was not appropriate, the board wrote.
“When any judge, but especially a judge who adjudicates substance abuse or chemical dependency related matters such as Judge Boyd, has alcohol and/or substance abuse issues, respect for the judiciary and the administration of justice suffers,” the board wrote. “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 board ordered Boyd to submit to a substance abuse evaluation and go to rehab if necessary. The Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program, which assists those in the law profession, had to determine whether she was fit to return to the bench.
But the Board of Judicial Conduct on Oct. 31 issued a public reprimand of Boyd, saying she failed to complete the substance abuse evaluation. It was her second reprimand of the year: In May the board reprimanded her for asking for donations via social media for a school while wearing her judge robe, which is a violation of judicial policy.
With the two reprimands in such a short time she was a judge, the board referred Boyd to the General Assembly which can issue harsher penalties on judges, including removal from the bench. Her attorney, Michael Scholl, did not immediately return a call for comment.
Prior to being a judge, Boyd was an attorney when she also was accused of misconduct. She was suspended a year in 2015 when she allegedly mishandled a client’s trust account.
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