Hamilton County Sessions Court Judge Gerald Webb said some of his questionable social media posts – dubbed “legal tips of the day” – were “designed to get a laugh and to make people think about life choices.”
Coming from a judge, they may elicit a little nervous laughter, but what they say about life choices may cause some to wonder why they’re coming from someone sworn to uphold the law.
In them, Webb reminded readers to be “stealthy” if they go into Walmart so they won’t be “caught with three steaks shoved into your pants, and suggested they should find “someplace else to hide your stash” if you’re caught “pulling crack from your crack,” along with a PlayStation 4, a second set of car keys, and a Michael Jackson’s greatest hits CD.
We can’t imagine the judge, whose dockets include criminal cases, is encouraging people to shoplift or to use and conceal illegal drugs. We do imagine he was trying to impart a message to people where they live. But they certainly leave room for interpretation.
For making such “tips,” the county’s first Black General Sessions Court jurist recently was given a public letter of reprimand by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct for failing to exercise discretion in his posts. The letter also cited two recent instances in which his law license was suspended briefly for failure to comply with continuing legal education requirements.