posted May 24, 2007
A Dickson County judge has received a public censure for allegedly getting drunk at a judicial conference and making racial and sexual slurs.
The censure was against Judge A. Andrew Jackson pursuant to an agreement with the Investigative Panel of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
A public censure is the highest form of sanction that may be imposed except for the filing of formal charges.
The censure relates to Judge Jackson's actions during the
evening of Aug. 7, 2006, at the Juvenile Justice Conference held in
Memphis.
Court officials said, "On that evening, Judge Jackson overindulged in the consumption of alcoholic beverages to the extent that he was unable to remember some of the events of the evening. The complainant, an African-American attendee of the conference, asked Judge Jackson at a social gathering about job opportunities in his area.
"Judge Jackson referred to him as a 'n.....' and made other disparaging references to 'n.....s' at the conference. Shortly thereafter, upon learning that another conference attendee was from Pennsylvania, Judge Jackson profanely referred to him as a '....... Yankee' and physically pushed him away.
"At a karaoke event in the hotel, Judge Jackson endeavored to coax a female conference attendee onto the dance floor. When she resisted, Judge Jackson made a crude sexual remark.
"The above-described conduct violates Canons 1A, 2A, 4A(1), and
4A(2) of the Code of Judicial Conduct and further constitutes conduct
that brings the judiciary into public disrepute under Tennessee Code
Annotated section 17-5-302(8)."
Officials said Judge Jackson has undergone an alcohol abuse assessment "which concluded that this was a singular event and recommended no treatment at this time."
Judge Jackson has also written letters of apology to the three people involved.
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