Judge who told immigrants to learn English disciplined

Documents from the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary — which is charged with overseeing the conduct of the state’s judges — show disciplinary action was taken against Judge Barry Tatum but do not reveal the exact nature of the action because state law and the court’s own rules forbid it.

The disciplinary action against the Wilson County juvenile court judge stems from controversial court orders he issued requiring Hispanic mothers to learn English in child custody cases.

In one of the cases, Tatum told a teenage mother to learn English and use birth control. In a similar case, he ordered another Hispanic immigrant to learn English or face permanently losing custody of her 11-year-old daughter.

A complaint was filed with the Court of the Judiciary by Nashville resident Alex Friedman, who recently turned documents over to The Lebanon Democrat after the court rejected his request for specifics about the disciplinary action.

In an eight-page explanation to the court during its investigation, Tatum referred to the unique language and cultural barriers in these two cases and said an underlying factor in the controversy was the atmosphere generated by the media.

In his response, Tatum said the ability to speak English would allow mothers to more easily take advantage of various social services. He also noted English was already the primary language of one of the children in question.

When reached by the newspaper, a representative for the Court of the Judiciary declined comment on the documents, noting they included a letter from the court’s presiding judge terming the disciplinary action confidential.