A federal judge in Memphis has ordered a new trial for three former Memphis police officers who were convicted of federal charges in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols. The ruling comes after defense lawyers argued that another federal judge who presided over their trial was biased in his belief that at least one of the men was in a gang.
Federal District Judge Sheryl Lipman issued the order for a new trial for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith, who were found guilty in October 2024 of obstruction of justice through witness tampering.
Her ruling is the latest in a series of setbacks for prosecutors in a case that drew national attention when videos were released showing officers violently kicking and punching Nichols during a traffic stop. The officers who have now been granted a new trial in the federal witness tampering case were acquitted of state murder charges in May. And last year federal prosecutors were unable to secure convictions on the most severe counts against Bean and Smith.
Two other officers charged, Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty before the federal trial.
Lipman took over the case in June after District Judge Mark S. Norris, a former Memphis State Senator, who presided over the case and the trial, recused himself days before the sentencing for the five officers.
In a statement shared by his judicial office last week, Norris said, “Because of the code of judicial conduct, I cannot make a statement on this matter.”
In her order, Lipman cited a notice filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office saying Norris expressed a theory that at least one of the officers was in a gang.
The notice discussed an incident in which Norris’ law clerk was shot during a car theft days after the trial ended. The clerk was staying at the home of another law clerk who had previously worked for Norris on the Nichols case, it said.
The notice also said police investigators believed some juveniles committed the shooting; that Norris wanted those responsible held accountable; and that he “evidenced reasonable frustration with the police investigation.”
Norris met with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and an FBI agent, who explained why no federal charges would be brought in the clerk’s shooting.
Norris indicated that he believed at least one of the former officers was in a gang and that it was responsible for the shooting, the notice said. It also said the U.S. Attorney stated that Norris told those present that the clerk “had been seen by one or more of the Defendants during the trial.”
An assistant U.S. attorney who attended the May 30 meeting also said she remembered that Norris told her he could not meet with police to give a statement because the department was “infiltrated to the top with gang members,” the notice said.
Bean, Haley, and Smith filed motions seeking a new trial, arguing that Norris was biased and violated their rights to due process by presiding over the case.
Smith’s lawyer said there was no “suggestion or one hint in the federal discovery process or the federal trial that any defendant or any member of the Memphis Police Department was in any way affiliated with an illegal street gang either through membership or relationship.”
Haley’s lawyer wrote that “Judge Norris made the gang statements on at least two occasions, demonstrating that it is a firmly held belief, not an off-hand remark.”
Lipman also unsealed several filings made before and after Norris recused himself. In one of them, federal prosecutors argued that there was no evidence that he “harbored any bias before or during trial, let alone the type of extreme bias that would warrant the extraordinary remedy of a new trial.”
Lipman found that while a review showed Norris’ decisions throughout the trial were “sound, fair, and grounded firmly in the law,” a new trial is necessary “because the risk of bias here is too high to be constitutionally tolerable.”
A date for the retrial has not been set. Lipman ordered lawyers to submit positions on what charges they believe need to be tried.
The state and federal cases against the Defendants have produced a mixed bag of results, both through jury verdicts and plea deals. Bean, Haley, and Smith were found guilty of trying to cover up the beating by failing to say that they or their colleagues punched and kicked Nichols and broke police department rules when they did not include complete and accurate statements about the type of force they used.
Bean and Smith were acquitted of more serious civil rights charges, however.
Haley was found guilty of violating Nichols’ civil rights by causing bodily injury and showing deliberate indifference to medical needs, and also conspiracy to tamper with witnesses.
Bean, Hale,y and Smith were acquitted in May of all state charges, including second-degree murder. Haley is in federal custody, but Bean and Smith are on limited release.
Martin and Mills pleaded guilty in federal court last year to violating Nichols’ civil rights by causing death and conspiracy to witness tamper. They did not stand trial in federal court with their former colleagues.
Martin and Mills avoided a state court trial after making agreements to plead guilty.
The officers were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that was disbanded weeks after Nichols died. The team targeted illegal drugs, guns and violent offenders, and it sometimes used force against unarmed people.
On Jan. 7, 2023, officers yanked Nichols from his car and then pepper-sprayed and hit the 29-year-old Black man with a Taser. Nichols fled, and when the five officers, who also are Black, caught up with him, they punched, kicked and hit him with a police baton. Nichols called out for his mother during the beating, which took place steps from his home. He died three days later.
Video of the beating revealed the officers standing around, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled with his injuries.
Judge Norris, a former Republican state senator, was appointed by President Donald Trump. Judge Lipman is the Chief Judge for the District and was formerly legal counsel for the University of Memphis. She was appointed by President Barack Obama.
