TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jan 2, 2025

Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon has filed two lawsuits against Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. to force the sheriff’s office to continue operating the youth detention center and transport youth to court hearings. The suits, filed in Shelby County Chancery Court on Dec. 23 and Dec. 31, 2024, are the latest developments in a yearlong debate about management of the detention center, the Daily Memphian reports. Sugarmon argues that Bonner should continue all operations related to the detention facility through the end of the fiscal year in June. On Dec. 30, Bonner sent Sugarmon a “notice of termination and relinquishment” of the center to the Juvenile Court effective Dec. 31, at 11:59 p.m. CST. On Dec. 31, Chancellor James R. Newsom III issued an order requiring Bonner to maintain the Youth Justice and Education Center’s operations until the matters can be argued in court, but he did not require continued transportation of juveniles to court, according to the Commercial Appeal.