Judge Refuses Recusal Request In Case Of Hamilton County Mayor Vs. Attorney

Image Credit: Hamilton County Mayor’s Office / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp requested that Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton recuse himself from hearing a lawsuit County Attorney Rheubin Taylor filed against the mayor, but Atherton has denied the request. 

“The judge denied our motion to recuse,” Wamp’s spokesperson, Mary Francis Hoots, said in a text Friday. “He invoked Rule 19 — adding the commission to the lawsuit. Once the commission is added, we can file another motion to recuse.”

The motion was filed by Wamp’s counsel on Wednesday, stating that Atherton was present at a commission meeting on October 19 when resolutions reaffirming Taylor’s contract were approved. 

“There were statements given by members of the County Commission as well as the community at large in support of Mr. Taylor, and those statements speak of his alleged good character, integrity, history of service to the county, reputation in the community and other character traits,” the four-page motion said. “Those unsworn statements would not immediately be admissible in any hearings of this matter, yet the court was a witness to all of them.

“Admittedly, the court did not engage in any impermissible fact-finding mission by attending the commission meeting, but the result here is the same because the court has observed potential evidence outside the courtroom. As such the court’s ability to remain impartial can reasonably be questioned.”

A statement by Hoots on Thursday said that the mayor’s office hopes to receive a ruling from a judge outside Hamilton County.

Commission Chairman Chip Baker said in a phone call on Friday afternoon that he had heard from the panel’s former attorney, John Konvalinka, that the commission could possibly be added to the suit, but there had been no updates on the situation. A conversation is expected between him and his colleagues on the commission about future steps. 

Taylor had no comment when contacted on Friday. 

Wamp had a lawsuit filed against him by Taylor after he attempted to fire Taylor in October. The lawsuit stated that Taylor’s four-year contract was valid and the mayor did not hold the unilateral authority to terminate his contract. Taylor’s pay and access to his county-assigned computer, email, and cellphone have since been restored. 

A counterclaim was filed by Wamp on Wednesday, alleging that Taylor directed his staff to ignore orders from the mayor and that the attorney’s office had hired at least three private law firms totaling a cost of more than $1 million to represent county employees without approval from the mayor or County Commission. 

In seeking to fire Taylor, Wamp claimed destruction of government documents, private work on public time and violation of attorney-client privilege. Taylor is yet to make a public comment on the matter. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *