Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action
MICAH calls for the resignation of Judge James Lammey.
Another group is calling for the resignation of Judge James Lammey after The Commercial Appeal reported last week that he’d posted racist links on his Facebook page and the group says it’ll take their case to the Shelby County Commission.
Lammey posted a link from a Holocaust denier that called Muslim immigrants “foreign mud” and said that Jews “should get the fuck over the Holocaust.” After the story published, Latino Memphis and commissioner Tami Sawyer called for Lammey to resign, according to the CA.
The Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action (MICAH) also called this week for Lammey’s resignation. A chief concern for the group, which advocates for immigration equity (among other things), is that Lammey “requires defendants he suspects to be undocumented to contact immigration authorities as a condition of probation.”
Here’s a statement from MICAH:
“In a county that pledges not to collaborate with (U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement), will we stand by judges who turn our courtrooms into ICE offices?
“In a city struggling to heal the wounds of racism, will we consent to be represented by judges who propagate insidious stereotypes?
[pullquote-1]”In a city striving to respect the rights of all, will we affirm judges who — in violation of their oath of office — treat people differently based on how they look, or the ethnic origin of their names?”
The group will take their concerns to the county commission next week. While no discussion of Lammey is formally on the agenda for the commission’s Law Enforcement, Fire, Corrections, and Courts committee, MICAH urged its members to speak about the situation at the meeting.
“Although the commission cannot act to censor or recall Judge Lammey, we are free to speak (if we sign up via comment cards) and get our opinion on the record,” reads the Facebook post.
The group’s concerns may fall on attentive ears. Sawyer chairs the committee.
“Tragically, we have permitted these injustices; it must end now,” reads a statement from there group. “MICAH calls on our leaders to stand against prejudice and for equal protection under the law. We demand the swift resignation — or, if need be removal — of Judge Lammey, for the sake of the people’s faith in an unbiased, un-bigoted, and un-compromised system of justice.”
