Former Shelby County Judge A. Melissa Boyd found herself back in custody after a court ordered an end to her diversion program in a harassment case, court records show. Boyd, who has grappled with a series of legal challenges, including an indictment for coercion of a witness and violating bond requirements, had her previous leniency revoked and now faces a year on probation according to Local Memphis. This saga saw Boyd being rebooked into jail yesterday after a warrant was issued two days earlier, the specifics of which were not disclosed.
In clarifying the terms of the now-terminated diversion agreement, Boyd was originally told to serve a suspended year and a year on probation for her earlier harassment plea—now, should she transgress again, she faces a potential year behind bars, and this is not her first brush with incarceration in connection to this case, Boyd having been arrested in June for violating her plea deal, then later released Action News 5 reported. Her history with substance abuse, which includes testing positive for cocaine and alcohol after completing a 28-day treatment program, prompted her ultimate resignation from the bench.
Despite the coercion charge's dismissal that came with her guilty plea to harassment, Boyd's troubles have persisted, drawing a sharp contrast to her previous position of legal authority; now subject to the law's discipline, her attorney, Arthur Horne, confirmed that Boyd will have to confront the weight of a harassment record on top of her probation as per FOX13 Memphis.
The fall from grace of Boyd has been marked by repeat offenses and court appearances, with an arrest in May for a misdemeanor harassment charge and another in December for coercion of a witness, bond for which was revoked after she failed a drug screening in March, leading to her rebooking, but beyond these legal transgressions responses to her behavior extend to a more personal sphere where she ignored a no-contact order with her ex-girlfriend, resulting in her initial plea-deal violation, which itself included a 28-day inpatient program and sober check-ins with Shelby County Veterans Court, as per Local Memphis.
