MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Former Shelby County Judge Melissa Boyd has pleaded guilty to harassment and coercion of a witness.
Boyd entered the plea in court Friday morning. She must complete 28 days of inpatient treatment in Jackson, Tennessee. After this, she will go to Veterans Court.
The former judge said she is not under the influence of drugs or alcohol today. She also apologized for relapsing, saying she was not “throwing her nose up at the court.”
“I want to apologize for my relapse, the positive drug tests, and to the state,” Boyd said. “I was not throwing my nose up at the court, I never have, I never will.”
Boyd was booked into jail on those charges in December.
Elected in 2022, Boyd has been suspended for much of her term. She resigned from her position this week after initially scheduling her resignation for May 31 — a date that might have led to her receiving retirement benefits, according to testimony before a general assembly committee last month.
The indictment shows the charges stem from allegations between November 2022 and March 2023. Boyd allegedly influenced or attempted to influence a witness in a proceeding to testify falsely or withhold information.
State records show the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct received a complaint as far back as 2022 that Boyd was allegedly “threatening and intimidating an acquaintance and that she was abusing alcohol.”
A year ago, the state board reprimanded Boyd for wearing a judicial robe while trying to get donations for a school.
Soon after, another reprimand and then a suspension came after Boyd’s former campaign manager, who she also had a personal relationship with, alleged the judge was drinking and doing drugs.
Another part of Boyd’s plea deal is that there is no contact between the two.
“Do not leave court and contact me. No text messages, no more voicemails with her having sex with other women. Do not contact me, ‘That’ll be part of the agreement, thank you’,” said Lashanta Rudd, former campaign manager. “I’ve been in therapy myself after all this. She calls from jail, even asked me yesterday to marry her and I told her no. She needs to focus on healing and being whole.”
The state board said they made multiple attempts to get Boyd treatment, judicial training, and a psychiatric evaluation, but she didn’t comply.
Last week prosecutors said Boyd tested positive for alcohol, and cocaine and missed multiple screenings in March.
“She’s sick and she needs help, so hopefully she will accept the help that’s been extended to her,” Rudd said. “This is not the end of the story for her, God still has a plan for her life. She has a lot of issues she needs to resolve.”
After treatment, Boyd will head to Shelby County Veterans Court which is a full treatment program that gives vets a second chance and requires 90 straight days of sobriety.
At one point Boyd asked to be released to care for her dog and then go into treatment tomorrow. The judge said no and that Boyd will head to treatment today.
