Shelby County’s district attorney filed an emergency lawsuit against the state Tuesday to block two new laws he claims illegally interfere with his office in connection with cases coming from the federal Memphis Safe Task Force, according to a statement.
District Attorney Steve Mulroy, a Democrat, contends the two measures, both signed into law May 7 by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, violate the state Constitution and longheld principles of “prosecutorial independence” by micromanaging the DA’s office and giving the state attorney general the authority to seek his replacement. He filed the lawsuit in Chancery Court in Memphis.
Both laws unconstitutionally interfere with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, which is established by the Constitution, and “target” Shelby County for “disparate treatment,” the statement says.
The Memphis Safe Task Force Accountability Act, sponsored by two Shelby County Republicans, Rep. John Gillespie and Sen. Brent Taylor, a congressional candidate and critic of Mulroy as “soft on crime,” requires the DA’s office to make reports every 10 days about the dismissal or settlement of charges filed by the federal task force, which was ordered by President Donald Trump last fall.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Crossville Republican, responded to the lawsuit with a post on X saying, “Nothing says transparency like suing to stop transparency. DA Mulroy is so soft at his job that the Memphis Safe Task Force had to [do] it for him. They reduced crime to record lows but @SteveMulroy901 wants it to go back to the days of old so much, he is suing the State of Tennessee … DA Mulroy is a criminal’s best friend.”
In the filing, Mulroy said his office is being required to file the reports even though the task force is failing to provide important information on arrests and despite a decrease in Memphis crime after he took office and before the task force started working.
The Audit and Pro Tem Act, sponsored by Taylor and Republican Rep. Andrew Farmer of Sevierville, authorizes Tennessee’s attorney general to review the Shelby County DA’s office’s internal files, share them with state lawmakers, and audit the “reasoning” for prosecutorial decisions stemming from task force cases. The law also allows the state attorney general to petition the Tennessee Supreme Court to appoint an unelected “pro tem” district attorney to prosecute federal task force cases in Shelby County.
In addition, the Audit and Pro Tem Act breaks a provision in the Constitution authorizing a locally elected judge to decide whether a “pro tem” district attorney is needed, rather than the Supreme Court, a rare situation usually involving a vacancy in the office or a conflict of interest, according to Mulroy’s office.
The filing also says the laws violate the equal protection clause by allowing “every” prosecutorial decision to be overseen by the Tennessee attorney general, an unelected position, from the outset of cases when bail is determined through the end. The pro tem would operate “in parallel” with the elected Shelby district attorney.
“These bills unlawfully target Shelby County and its voters,” Mulroy said in a statement. “Our constitution and decades of state Supreme Court precedent make clear that a locally elected district attorney has wide discretion in how to handle cases, free from interference.”
Mulroy added that the laws will make Shelby County residents “less safe” and called them “vague, duplicative and administratively burdensome” because they suggest that federal task force cases should receive priority over those brought by local law enforcement. He said the same data for all cases has to be provided to the legislature already by district attorneys statewide.
Mulroy is being represented by the Washington Litigation Group and Donati Law, PLLC.
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