A Tennessee state criminal court judge was publicly reprimanded last November after complaints had been filed against him in connection with several social media posts that linked to articles that were partisan in nature.
It remains worth noting because the Board of Judicial Conduct’s investigation did not find any evidence that the judge had made statements that were anti-Semitic, racist, or anti-immigration. Rather his Facebook posts evidenced an appearance of impropriety and conduct that could reasonably be perceived as biased or prejudicial.
In fact, on his Facebook page the judge posted various articles that contained strong opinions regarding controversial social issues and current events, including opinions about the Holocaust, immigrants, the credibility of certain federal agencies and support for candidates in the 2016 election. So, although the judge was not found to have specifically stated his own opinions, the highlighting of strong opinions on these issues in articles that the judge posted on social media, caused the Board to conclude that the judge’s impartiality could be brought into question.
The judge agreed to complete an educational ethics program on the use of social media. He also agreed that his social media platforms will set to private and that he will not post any articles or make any comments that may be interpreted as biased or prejudicial. In issuing the letter of public reprimand, the board recognized that the judge had no prior record of ethics violations in his sixteen-years as a criminal court judge.
Read the letter of public reprimand here.
Reprimanded Reprimanded Reprimanded
