In an unprecedented legal squabble, two well-known Nashville judges have found themselves at odds with one another, leaving one judge to call into question the impartiality of the other.
Last week, Judge Thomas Brothers filed a declaration in circuit court against Judge Hamilton Gayden. Judge Brothers, in the declaration, says Judge Gayden has made “derogatory and disparaging remarks and an attack on attorney Brian Manookian.”
The issue is that Brian Manookian is currently trying multiple cases in Judge Brothers’ courtroom and Judge Brothers apparently refuses to recuse himself.
“He (Judge Brothers) made a number of derogatory and disparaging remarks about Mr. Manookian, including stating that Brian Manookian should not have a law license. It was clear from Judge Brother’s statements at that time he held a strong personal bias against Mr. Manookian,” Judge Gayden wrote in his declaration.
“In all my years of practice, I’ve never known a judge to go out of their way to file a declaration like this,” legal analyst Jim Todd said.
None of the parties involved wanted to comment for this story.
