Shelby district attorney balks at state move to dismiss legal challenges

Shelby County’s district attorney is asserting his right to sue Tennessee over two new laws he says target his office and violate the state Constitution.

District Attorney Steve Mulroy filed a response after Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sought to dismiss his lawsuit in Shelby County Chancery Court.

“This case is about preserving the independence of an office that answers to the voters of Shelby County,” Mulroy said in a statement. “We believe these laws are unconstitutional, and we are asking the courts to review them on the merits. The people of Shelby County deserve to have those questions fully considered.”

The district attorney said state law and previous court decisions support his ability to file the challenge.

Mulroy claims two laws passed this year illegally interfere with his office in connection with cases stemming from the Memphis Safe Task Force, a combination of local, state and federal law enforcement authorities ordered by President Donald Trump and Gov. Bill Lee.

Shelby County district attorney sues state of Tennessee over two new laws

The Memphis Safe Task Force Accountability Act requires Mulroy’s office to make reports every 10 days about the dismissal or settlement of charges filed by the task force. Mulroy claims the law puts an undue burden on his staff to compile the information, a job made more difficult by the task force’s refusal to provide important information about each case.

The Audit and Pro Tem Act authorizes the state 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.

The case is to be heard by a three-judge panel.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton said last week in a post on X, “Nothing says transparency like suing to stop transparency.” He and other Republican lawmakers have consistently called Mulroy, a Democrat, “soft on crime.”

Mulroy says Shelby County is being targeted for “disparate treatment,” violating principles of “prosecutorial independence.”