The Board of Judicial Conduct, which investigates and acts on complaints against judges in Tennessee, has issued a public reprimand of Judge Casey Moreland for his activities in connection with a domestic violence case.
According to the reprimand, Judge Moreland contacted a judicial commissioner and informed him that a 12-hour hold on a domestic violence suspect should not be imposed because the relationship between the victim and the suspect was not domestic in nature. Judge Moreland admitted to the board that the information, which he received from an attorney who is a social friend, was not correct.
The board determined that Judge Moreland was in violation of three of the Judicial Canons as well as a Tennessee law that governs judicial conduct in that the “conduct detrimentally affected the integrity of the Judiciary.”
“During the course of the investigation … you have been fully cooperative and candid concerning the facts of this complaint.
You have also publicly admitted that you were in error in contacting the Judicial Commissioner in this case,” the reprimand states.
Judge Moreland is a general sessions judge serving Davidson County. He was re-elected to the post in August of this year, running unopposed.