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NEWPORT, Tenn. — A judge who ruled that a baby could not be named Messiah has been charged with judicial code violations.
WBIR.com reports a three-member investigative panel from Tennessee's Board of Judicial Conduct filed a formal report against Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew in Cocke County last week.
In August Ballew changed a 7-month-old boy's name to Martin from Messiah, saying the religious name was earned by one person and "that one person is Jesus Christ."
The boy's parents were in court because they could not agree on the child's last name, but when the judge heard the boy's first name, she ordered it changed, too. Ballew said the baby was to be named Martin DeShawn McCullough, which includes both parents' last name.
Another judge reversed the decision last month, but a complaint against Ballew had already been filed.
The charges filed last week say Ballew did not promote confidence in the judiciary or uphold the law without bias or partiality.
Ballew has 30 days to answer the charges, according to WBIR.
