Judge Bob Moon listens to a defendant speak Friday in his courtroom.
Staff Photo by Tim Barber/Chattanooga Times Free PressLocal attorneys Ben McGowan and Hank Hill have filed separate complaints alleging that Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon violated defendants’ constitutional rights.
The complaints, filed with the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary, contend Moon stepped outside his position as judge and into a police role from the bench.
Hill confirmed that the complaint he filed claims that, in 2010, Moon charged a defendant with drug possession after the man failed a drug test that Moon suggested he take. Police had arrested the man on traffic offenses with no drug charges.
The other complaint, filed by McGowan, states that, in 2008, Moon jailed two prosecution witnesses during a hearing when he said their testimony revealed the pair had violated terms of their conditional sentencing on unrelated shoplifting charges.
Two University of Tennessee law professors said the complaints, if true, are “appalling” breaches of justice.