Attend Court At Your Own Risk

The Tennessee Court of the Judiciary imposed two public censures of a general sessions judge. One matter involved the judge’s order that a citizen observer of court proceedings be taken into custody and forced to submit to a drug test. The test proved negative. The other involved abuse of an attorney who had left the courthouse after leaving a document for filing, which apparently did not require the lawyer to personally appear and which the court characterized as a ministerial act. The judge ordered the attorney to return, threatened contempt and used profanity on the telephone. In order the mollify the judge, the attorney’s wife (also an attorney) was forced to leave a dental appointment to appear before the judge. (Mike Frisch)