NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A Metro judge has filed a formal complaint against longtime Judge Casey Moreland.
Newly elected Judge Melissa Blackburn claims Moreland bullied female employees in a fit of rage last Friday.
She sent an email detailing the incident to all Metro judges as well as Metro's Legal Department and Metro's Human Resources Department Monday morning.
Blackburn wrote that Friday's incident started when she received a text from a female employee of the Mental Health Court that read, "Hey, Moreland is down here yelling and tearing stuff up."
The incident took place in the Metro Courthouse in the offices of the Mental Health Court.
Blackburn wrote, "Judge Moreland loudly entered the suite in a rage, claiming personal entitlement to certain empty offices."
She continued: "Moreland began by ripping names off doors wadding them up and throwing them. He entered offices and began tossing the contents into the hallway."
Blackburn said Moreland even tossed "baby bed mattresses which had been donated (to a mental health court client) out into the hallway."
She concluded by writing, "as colleagues in the judiciary we cannot tolerate bullying. This behavior particularly when directed toward female employees can be viewed as creating a hostile work environment based on gender."
She urged Moreland to "seek whatever treatment may be necessary for him to address his needs."
Judge Blackburn announced she had an ethical duty to file her complaint with the Board of Judicial Conduct, which oversees judges.
Judge Moreland said Monday afternoon he was "astounded" when he read Judge Blackburn's email.
He said he didn't scream or throw anything, and that Judge Blackburn was not even around when the incident supposedly happened.
He called the whole thing a "misunderstanding over office space."
You can read the email sent by Judge Blackburn here.
