R. Steven Randolph Reprimanded

R. Steven Randolph, a Putnam County, Tennessee General Sessions judge, was publicly reprimanded twice by the state Board of Judicial Conduct. In September 2023, he was reprimanded for inappropriate comments captured on video. The second reprimand, issued in October 2024, was more serious: after a driver struck and damaged Randolph's own truck, that same driver was later charged with driving without a license — but not with causing the accident — and the case landed in Randolph's own courtroom. Randolph proposed that if the defendant, who was not fluent in English, required a translator, and had no lawyer, pleaded guilty to the license charge, he would pay Randolph $590.19 directly — the estimated cost to repair Randolph's truck. The defendant agreed and pleaded guilty. Randolph later set aside the plea himself on April 1, and a different judge ultimately dismissed the case, meaning Randolph never collected the money. The Board found Randolph had improperly presided over a matter in which he had a personal financial interest, ordering a defendant to pay money directly to the judge hearing his case.