TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Appellate Court Reverses Williamson County Judge’s Order, Removes Him from Case

Posted by: Kate Prince on Mar 22, 2021
News Type: Legal News

A state appellate court has reversed a sanctions order given by Williamson County Circuit Court Judge Michael Binkley and removed him from that case, the Tennessean reports. In July 2018, Binkley hit Nashville attorney Brian Manookian and his law partner with more than $700,000 in contempt sanctions in a lawsuit between warring lawyers. That ruling came after Binkley suspected Manookian of tipping off the press about a secret expungement of Binkley’s arrest in a 2010 prostitution sting. That expungement was handled by disgraced former judge, Casey Moreland. Before he handed down the sanctions order, Binkley made public statements to attorneys and in court vowing revenge against Manookian. “My day will come,” Binkley told a courtroom of attorneys weeks before his ruling against Manookian. Those statements, the appellate court said, would indicate “that the judge may have sought retribution against Mr. Manookian for a perceived wrongdoing unrelated to the contempt charges.” The appeals court struck down Binkley’s sanctions order and there will be a new hearing in the case before a new judge.

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