After a state appeals court reversed the conviction and 20-year sentence for a Chattanooga man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend seven times, the Hamilton County judge overseeing the case has recused himself.
The Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals at Knoxville found Hamilton County Judge Boyd Patterson did not properly warn Bernard Adrian Smith, 64, that his continued conflicts with his court-appointed attorneys could cost him his right to counsel before he required Smith to represent himself with a standby attorney. Smith was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated domestic assault.
Patterson viewed Smith’s repeated requests for new lawyers as calculated attempts to delay proceedings, according to the opinion. In a January 2023 hearing, Patterson issued Smith an ultimatum.
“You’ve had three attorneys, so you’re either going to have to stick with one of them or represent yourself,” Patterson said.
Patterson said in his recusal order Saturday that he should have warned Smith that continued conflicts could lead to his loss of court-appointed counsel, and he thanked the appellate court for correcting what he characterized as an oversight.