On Friday, October 17, 2025, ABC 24 reported that federal judge Mark Norris defended his previous recusal in the Tyre Nichols case while simultaneously denying a motion for recusal in an unrelated case involving the ACLU and the City of Memphis. The latter case revolves around the Memphis Police Department’s (MPD) adherence to the Modified Kendrick Consent Decree, which safeguards individuals’ First Amendment rights by restricting MPD’s intelligence gathering and investigative methods.

Earlier in October, a motion was filed seeking Norris’s recusal from the ACLU case, citing his prior recusal from the sentencing of three former Memphis police officers convicted on federal charges related to the death of Tyre Nichols.

The initial recusal in the Nichols case stemmed from allegations that Norris had stated the Memphis Police Department was “infiltrated to the top with gang members.” These alleged comments purportedly surfaced shortly after Norris’s law clerk was shot and robbed during a home invasion in October 2024. Norris recused himself from the Nichols case days before the sentencing hearing.

In his recent order, Norris refuted the claim that he made the aforementioned statement and asserted that he holds no bias against the MPD. He characterized the motion for his recusal in the ACLU’s case as based on “wrongful assertions” about his views.

Norris explicitly stated, “It has never been my theory or belief that the Martin defendants or any other MPD officers have gang affiliations.” He attributed his recusal in the Nichols case to the shooting incident involving his law clerk and his subsequent dissatisfaction with the investigation.

Norris further clarified that his recusal in the Martin case was not due to personal bias but rather due to the perceived bias of others against the Court, emphasizing the importance of judicial independence in the face of both internal and external threats. He emphasized that his decision was rooted in concerns about the integrity of the court rather than personal feelings toward any individual or entity.

 

 

Source: ABC 24