Tennessee Governor To Appeal Ruling Against Guard In Memphis

Attorney general confirms state will challenge chancellor’s ruling.

Image Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout

*Note from The Tennessee Conservative: This article posted for informational purposes only.

By Sam Stockard [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will appeal a ruling requiring the state to remove the National Guard from Memphis as part of a massive police action.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said Tuesday the state will challenge a Davidson County chancellor’s decision temporarily blocking Lee from continuing to deploy the Tennessee National Guard to the city.

“The case presents important legal questions that have ramifications for not just the safety of Memphians now but for all Tennesseans for centuries to come. We look forward to further litigation on appeal,” Skrmetti said a day after Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal issued her ruling.

During arguments before Moskal earlier this month, the attorney general’s office said the courts should not have authority to overturn the governor’s decision to send National Guard personnel to Memphis.

A group of state lawmakers and Shelby County officials filed suit Oct. 17 asking for the Guard to be permanently removed from Memphis where they are part of a local, state and federal force of 31 agencies trying to clamp down on crime.

In her Monday ruling, Moskal said the Guard’s role in the Memphis Safe Task Force violates the terms and conditions of Tennessee’s Military Code. Moskal agreed with the plaintiffs that Tennessee’s Constitution allows the Guard to be mobilized only in “circumstances amounting to a rebellion or invasion,” and even then, “the legislature must declare, by law, that the public safety requires it.”

Neither the legislature nor Memphis officials requested the Guard to be deployed to Shelby County as part of the task force.

Lee directed Guard personnel to Memphis after President Donald Trump signed a memo ordering the Memphis Safe Task Force to be formed. The governor never issued an order for the deployment, only a press release.

Lee said Tuesday he is standing by his decision.

“Memphians know their city is facing a violent crime emergency that the state must address, and we’re confident higher courts will ultimately recognize this as well. The state will appeal, and the Tennessee National Guard will continue to operate as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force while the case is on appeal, per the judge’s order,” Lee spokesperson Elizabeth Johnson said in a Tuesday statement.

The task force has made 2,800 arrests, confiscated more than 450 illegal firearms and located 114 missing children, Johnson said, and added, “there’s no question these public safety efforts must continue.”

These numbers haven’t been able to be independently verified.

More than 1,000 of those arrests were on warrants for homicide, narcotics, firearms and sex offenses committed in Memphis, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The task force has also issued thousands of motor vehicle citations, eliciting criticism from some local officials that law enforcement is focusing on speeding tickets and minor violations.

The judge’s injunction requires removal of the Guard from Memphis only if the state fails to appeal within five days.

Memphis Police said last week fewer than 200 Guard personnel were in Memphis, but that number was expected to more than double. Recent court filing indicated more than 700 Guard members are patrolling the city.