WATCH: It Takes Just 40 Seconds For This Awesome Southern Judge To Smack Down A Gang Member

She’s being called the “Southern Judge Judy” for her tough, direct, no-nonsense demeanor in her Tennessee courtroom. Lila Statom laid down the law for a reputed gang member, O’Shea Smith, when he appeared before her on an attempted murder charge and referred to a public housing development as his “hood.”

The video of that verbal smackdown has gone viral, with a lot of viewers leaving comments thanking Hamilton County Judge Statom for her firm stance on the gang violence that has rocked Chattanooga in recent months. Chattanooga police say there’s a violent war being waged among several gangs, including the Gangster Disciples of which Smith, the suspect in the attempted murder, is a known member.

When the 20-year-old Smith stood before Judge Statom, claiming that he was engaged in gunfire in the East Lake Courts community because a member of another gang was in his “hood,” he touched a nerve in the judge and she lit into him in a way that’s also touched a nerve in many viewers.

You can watch Lila Statom’s lecture from the bench by clicking on the video above.

Do you wish there were more judges like Lila Statom? We invite you to leave your comments below.