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| Judge Casey Moreland |
Judge
Casey Moreland, one of Nashville’s 11 General Sessions judges handling
mostly misdemeanor cases, is on leave for medical reasons, according to
General Sessions Court Administrator Warner Hassell.
"I
know Judge Moreland may be out for a little bit for medical reasons,"
he said. "And how long that may be I don't know. But his docket will be
covered by a qualified judge."
Hassell said the
General Sessions judges, who each earn $170,000 annually, held a special
meeting Friday and unanimously selected Judge Gale Robinson to replace
Moreland as presiding judge.
Robinson, who called the meeting, did not
return a call Friday.
Moreland had served as
presiding judge since last fall, and has been a judge since 1998. The
presiding judge earns the same as other judges but takes on
administrative duties such as setting schedules.
Earlier
this week, Moreland's health was a concern. About 9 a.m. Thursday, a
court staffer and a police officer went to his home to conduct a welfare
check, police spokeswoman Kris Mumford said. She said the officer
talked to the judge and left.
The allegations of
misconduct against Moreland are documented in a Metro Nashville Police
Department investigation of a woman’s suicide, and were the subject of
several stories in the Nashville Scene and on WSMV Channel 4 news.
The Tennessean has been working for weeks to verify the allegations in the reports.
Nashville
resident Leigh Terry, 34, committed suicide in May. Before she died,
Terry told two friends she had sex with Moreland, according to a police
report based on interviews with the friends. She told one friend she had
sex with the judge to get out of a driving under the influence charge,
the report said. The interviews documented in the police report are not
done under oath.
Terry had at least one DUI and
implied consent violation — meaning she refused to take a breath or
blood test — case assigned to Moreland, but the trial in the case was
handled by another Nashville judge, court records show.
The
case happened in 2013, years before Terry, Moreland, lawyer Bryan Lewis
and others went on a tumultuous trip to Alabama together.
In
late April 2016, Lewis flew Terry and others in his private plane to
the beach. Moreland met them there. On the trip and at dinner, Terry was
picking fights with people, Lewis told police, so he booked her a hotel
room and gave her money for a flight home. A week later, police reports
say, the woman killed herself in her apartment with a gun Lewis had
given her.
In interviews with police
investigating Terry’s death, Lewis admitted he and Terry had been in a
sexual relationship and he paid for the downtown apartment where the
woman lived.
Moreland told the Nashville Scene
he had met Terry a few times and recused himself from her DUI case. In
comments to the Scene, the judge denied having a sexual relationship
with Terry and said his stamp on case dispositions was merely an
administrative measure.
But a judicial conduct expert consulted by The Tennessean for this story said the recusal raises questions.
“If
he’s just saying he ran into the woman once or twice, I’m not sure why
he recused himself,” said David Cook, a Memphis lawyer and former member
of the state judicial oversight body now known as the Board of Judicial
Conduct.
Terry was represented by Lewis in the
DUI case. Cook said the judge’s relationship with Lewis, as well as
Terry, could violate rules for judges in Tennessee.
Moreland
did not respond to text messages, phone calls or an email seeking
comment this week. Lewis said he could not comment for this story.
Lewis and the longtime General Sessions judge have a history, one that has led to controversy before.
Later this month, Lewis will go before the
Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, which disciplines
lawyers, for a hearing on a complaint that involves Moreland.
A
complaint was filed because of a call Lewis made to Moreland, which led
to a prominent developer getting out of jail early after his arrest on
domestic violence charges. The developer, David Chase, was charged with
assaulting his former girlfriend a second time, after he was released.
Those charges were later dropped in a controversial deal made by
District Attorney General Glenn Funk.
Lewis’
disciplinary hearing is set to begin Feb. 13, after which members of the
Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility will decide what if any
penalties he should face.
Full Article & Source:
Casey Moreland to take leave from bench
