An East Tennessee judge who tried to prevent parents from naming their baby “Messiah” is now facing disciplinary charges for judicial misconduct.
An East Tennessee Judge raised debate earlier this year by refusing to allow parents to name their baby “Messiah,” reasoning that it would be against the child’s best interest to hold that name in the county, which has a large Christian population. A judge sitting over a higher court reversed her decision, finding that it did not comport with the Tennessee and United States Constitutions, under which natural parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their child. There must be a compelling reason for the State to step in and make parental decision in place of a child’s natural parents.
The East Tennessee Judge now faces charges filed by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary, the board that regulates the disciplinary process for judicial misconduct.
Tennessee’s juvenile courts are charged with the task of always acting in what it determines, after the exercise of sound discretion, to be in the best interests of the children that appear before it either by themselves or as a part of a proceeding involving their parents, such as a custody dispute. The portion of the Tennessee Code covering juvenile courts expressly states that it is to be construed “to provide for the care, protection, and wholesome moral, mental and physical development of children . . . .” Thus, juvenile court judges generally have wide latitude to order children and parents to do things—or not do things—in order to effectuate their purpose. This routinely includes things like suspend driving privileges, ordering drug and alcohol treatment, and ordering the performance of community service work. Naturally, the question arises, how far does this authority go? According to the recent play-by-play in Tennessee, refereeing parents’ name choices for their own children is out of bounds.
