A judge in Tennessee was forced to apologize on Thursday after he told an attorney in court that he was "going to work like a regular white man," and that he would not "be a slave."

In an interview with The Tennessean, Wilson County Judge Haywood Barry said his comment in open court was "probably a very inappropriate statement."

In an audio clip, Barry was speaking to an attorney about scheduling a hearing for a Black defendant on trial and said he didn't want to work multiple judicial shifts.

"I'm not working second shift. I'm going to work like a regular white man, as they used to say… I'm not going to be a slave. Don't allow that any more. Don't allow that any more," Barry said.

Barry has served as a general sessions judge since he was elected for an eight-year term in 2014. From 1974 to 1998 he served as a judge but left his position to become a councilman for the town of Lebanon in 2004. He ran for the general sessions division II judge again and won, but he said he doesn't plan to run again when his term ends in 2022.

"It was probably a very inappropriate statement. I'm sorry I made it. I'm ashamed of the fact that something like that would even come out of my brain," Barry said.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the Courts said the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct has the right to investigate anything related to the "the physical, mental, or moral fitness of any Tennessee judge; the judge's manner of performance of duty; and the judge's commission of any act that reflects unfavorably upon the judiciary." Officials didn't say, however, if they would be investigating the judge after his claims.

Tennessee's code of judicial conduct explicitly prohibits judges from making racially discriminative and insensitive comments. The code also states judges cannot use any “negative stereotyping” and “attempted humor based upon stereotypes.”

Judges “shall not, in the performance of judicial duties, by words or conduct engage in harassment, including but not limited to bias, prejudice, or harassment based upon race…A judge who manifests bias or prejudice in a proceeding impairs the fairness of the proceeding and brings the judiciary into disrepute," the code of conduct states.

This is not the first time Barry has made news in the last week.

Barry was on the bench last week when a man tried to smoke weed during his hearing as a protest of Tennessee's marijuana laws. He was immediately arrested.

Wilson-County

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