Senator Taylor calls for Judge Bill Anderson's suspension
Dec 03, 2024
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Weeks after publicly criticizing Judge Bill Anderson's decision to allow suspects accused of attempted murder to be released without bail, state Sen. Brent Taylor is calling for Anderson to be suspended.
Last week, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office announced they'd been granted emergency appeals for those cases.
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"In his most recent misstatement of Tennessee law, Rogue Judge Anderson says he cannot consider the facts of the open case before him when setting bail for a defendant. That is completely wrong and a dangerous misapplication of the law for our community," Taylor said. "It is unacceptable for a sitting judge to be so wrong on the law and still sit on the bench pending investigation."
Senator Taylor announced his intentions in a Facebook post in which he said he sent an amendment of his complaints against Judge Anderson to the Board of Judicial Conduct and requested they suspend him pending the outcome of their investigation.
Senator Brent Taylor sent an amendment to have Judge Bill Anderson suspended.
Also in the post, Senator Taylor mentioned a reprimand Judge Anderson received from the Board of Judicial Conduct last year after he'd filed a complaint regarding his public comments disparaging the bail system in Tennessee.
According to Senator Taylor, if Judge Anderson receives another one, he will automatically be referred to the General Assembly.
He said if that occurs, he would file a resolution of removal.
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"Rogue Judge Bill Anderson is dangerous for Shelby County. I won’t let his actions stand while I’m working so hard to Make Memphis Matter," Taylor said. "It’s bad enough having a failed, progressive DA who is now attempting to change the narrative after you and I began holding him accountable. We don’t need Rogue Judge Anderson working to undermine the law too. As long as I’m your Senator, I’ll stand in the way of their Restorative Justice Scheming efforts."
Though Judge Anderson has not responded to Taylor's latest comments, back in September he expressed his confidence in his decision-making and said he’s sorry if others don’t like them but said, “It’s not a popularity contest.”
“I’m doing my job. I know what I’m doing, I’m following the law. There are checks and balances and if somebody finds I’m not doing my job properly, they will let me know, and I will live with that," Anderson said. "I will accept that. But at this point, I feel very comfortable in the decisions I’ve made in the last 15 years, and will continue to make until I retire in my own time.”