A. Melissa Boyd Suspended Removed

Shelby County Judge A. Melissa Boyd was criminally indicted for coercion of a witness and harassment after allegedly pressuring her own former campaign manager to recant statements he'd given a judicial oversight body — statements in which he said Boyd had admitted to keeping cocaine in her home and using it "on and off" for the past year while on the bench.

The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct recommended Boyd's removal following her suspension over the drug-use allegations. While her criminal case was pending, Boyd tested positive for both cocaine and alcohol; a judge revoked her bond over the failed test and she was jailed for roughly a month awaiting trial.

Governor Bill Lee accepted Boyd's resignation from the bench, effective immediately, in April 2024.

Trying to silence a witness who reported your own drug use to the state's judicial ethics body — while sitting as a judge — is witness tampering aimed at covering up misconduct, not a personal struggle that happened to become public. The positive drug test that followed didn't just violate her bond; it corroborated the exact allegation she'd been indicted for trying to suppress.