Shelby Commission to call for censure of judge who shared anti-immigrant Facebook posts

MEMPHIS -- Shelby County commissioners took steps Wednesday to call for censure of Criminal Court Judge Jim Lammey after The Commercial Appeal reported that he posted articles on Facebook calling Muslim immigrants “foreign mud” and saying that Jews should "get the f--- over the Holocaust."

If approved Monday, the resolution will ask the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct to issue a letter finding judicial misconduct. A public censure also can include a requirement of corrective action. The resolution was sponsored by 10 of 13 commissioners.

“The County Commission has heard that the purported remarks by Judge Lammey about the Holocaust and immigrants have caused hundreds if not thousands of its constituents to question the fairness and impartiality of his judicial decisions in certain criminal matters and the body has been asked to support the efforts to have this honorable judge censured,” the resolution reads.

The judge has said he didn't agree with everything in the "foreign mud" article. He has denied racism or anti-Semitism and says he has the right to free speech. He also has argued that nothing he's shared on his Facebook page will diminish his ability to judge all cases fairly.

Read more: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2019/05/08/shelby-county-judge-anti-immigrant-facebook-posts-jim-lammey/1141821001/