Public defender Marcus Floyd is campaigning for General Sessions Court Judge. Floyd has been a prosecutor, probation officer and mayoral adviser in his career thus far. Floyd announced that he would run for the Judgeship of the Sessions Court, Division VII, a position that William Higgins occupies now.
Floyd told the Nashville Scene that he would run in the election to be one who makes decisions in the system of criminal justice in the city. Floyd could not only help some individuals but also play a part in policies when working under Nashville DA Glenn Funk, Public Defender Martesha L. Johnson, and Mayor Clifton David Briley. However, Floyd told the Scene that he has been unable to push the justice system to a place that he believes it should occupy.
Floyd has been aiming to help people, especially the ones from the same communities as his. Floyd spent his growing up years in Mississippi residences with no running water. Floyd remembers living with his family in a house with no bathroom floor. He said that a room in the house had a large hole instead.
Then, his family moved out to Nashville city, as they hoped for further opportunities, and he attended Hillsboro High School. As for Floyd, a teenaged version of him was viewed as a big African-American, a perception that affected his past interactions with law enforcement. For instance, police once asked Floyd to pull over and exit his car for expired car tags before handcuffing him for their safety.
Floyd did not want the same treatment to others in his neighborhood, so the experiences sowed the seeds of a career in law enforcement for him. He first wanted to be an American cop but then changed the decision to become a probation official instead. He chose to attend law school following a hearing where a white woman lawyer could not recall her young African-American defendant’s name.
Floyd is still sure that there was something bad happening in the lawyer’s life back then. Nevertheless, Floyd stated that the one who should represent the Black person could not do him even the service and honor of recalling his name.
Present bail-related practices mainly keep poor individuals in prison before their trials. As a Sessions Court Judge, one of Floyd’s immediate focus areas will be on establishing bail for an individual based on their capability to pay, versus the present practices.
As for Floyd, the system requires leaders with life experiences that let them relate to people like victims and criminal defendants in a better way. Floyd said that those types of people tend to hail from the form of neighborhoods where he spent his growing-up years.
Floyd understands the need for changing those who make decisions in the justice system to help Nashville and the system progress to a position of more fairness. Floyd suggested that terms such as equity continue to get tossed around. At the same time, he implied that Nashvillians should not continue to elect the same General Sessions Court Judge again and again. Stating that the judge cannot keep running unopposed, Floyd urged Nashvillians to vote for him.
Floyd will try to defeat present General Sessions Court Judge Higgins in the 2012 Democratic primary election. For your information, Higgins has been elected five times to the General Sessions Court of Nashville-Davidson County without opposition, and his term will end next year.
