New TNJ edition alert: The Registry’s revenge, criminal justice developments, and tie breakers
The latest print edition of The Tennessee Journal is out. Here is what’s in it:
— Registry to audit candidate who nearly beat Senate GOP leader; hardball tactics contrast with earlier efforts to brush Tillis complaints under rug.
— Criminal justice: Backers say Memphis murder case justifies ‘truth in sentencing’ law.
— Tied up in knots: Sumner, Cocke commissions take contrasting steps to break election deadlock.
Also: A Democrat is elected chair of the Republican Knox County Commission, a big Tennessee beer distributor is gobbled up by a huge national firm, the state treasurer backs away from cryptocurrency, and a happy hour curfew.
As always, access the your copy of the TNJ here.
Or subscribe here.
McNally, Sexton name task force to study crime, punishment
After a spate of high profile slayings in Memphis, Senate Speaker Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and his House counterpart, Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), are assembling a special committee to review the adequacy of criminal sentencing in Tennessee.
Here’s the letter from the speakers to Senate Clerk Russell Humphrey and House Clerk Tammy Letzler:
Dear Ms. Clerk and Mr. Clerk:
As Speaker of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 112th General Assembly, we hereby create the Joint Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Adequacy of the Supervision, Investigation, and Release of Criminal Defendants. The Committee is authorized and directed to undertake a review of all information relevant to the supervision, investigation, and release of individuals who commit crimes in this state. The Committee is directed to recommend whether there is a need for legislative action to provide additional safeguards to protect the public from those who repeatedly violate criminal laws.
The Committee may consult with the District Attorneys General Conference to ensure that any pending criminal prosecutions will not be jeopardized by any actions taken by the Committee. The Committee may also consult with groups that represent the interests of victims of crime.
To the extent that the Committee is authorized to review any records that are confidential under existing law, the Committee is directed to take appropriate action to maintain the confidentiality of such records.
The Office of Legal Services shall provide legal services to the Committee, and the Attorney General and Reporter, the Department of Correction, and the District Attorneys General Conference shall assist the Committee and the Office of Legal Services upon request.
Senate members appointed to the Committee are: Senator Ed Jackson (co-chair), Senator Richard Briggs, Senator Todd Gardenhire, Senator Bill Powers, and Senator Jeff Yarbro.
House members appointed to the Committee are: Representative Bud Hulsey (co-chair), Representative Clay Doggett, Representative Andrew Farmer, Representative William Lamberth, Representative Antonio Parkinson, and Representative Lowell Russell.
Sincerely,
/signed/
Lt. Governor Randy McNally
Speaker Cameron Sexton
Cue the delay game? Cothren attorney seeks extension on motion
Under federal laws guaranteeing criminal defendants a trial within 70 days of entering a plea, U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson scheduled former state House Speaker Glen Casada and his onetime chief of staff Cade Cothren to start mounting their defense before a jury on Oct. 25.
Richardson ordered prosecutors and defense attorneys to make all pre-trial motions no later than six weeks before the scheduled start of the trial, or by Sept. 13. Cothren’s attorney Cynthia Sherwood on Tuesday asked the judge for a weeklong extension to decide whether she would make a motion for a bill of particulars, or a more detailed accounting by prosecutors about the allegations raised in the indictment.
Cothren and Casada technically have until Oct. 11 to decide whether they will waive their right to a speedy trial. But more motions to extend deadlines on interim filings might lead a decision to be made sooner.
UPDATE: Richardson approved the motion on Wednesday.
Read Susan Lynn’s public apology to Mae Beavers
As first reported in the print edition of the The Tennessee Journal, the yearslong acrimony between Rep. Susan Lynn and former Sen. Mae Beavers (both R-Mt. Juliet) appears to have reached a conclusion of sorts.
Lynn, who was chair of the powerful House Finance Committee under then-Speaker Glen Casada, is running a public apology in Wilson County newspapers. The move comes after Beavers sued Lynn in 2019 for allegedly spreading rumors about Beavers breaking into her home and trying to have her killed.
When Beavers announced plans to run for Wilson County mayor in 2010, Lynn promptly declared she would run for the vacated Senate seat. But Beavers changed her mind and ran for re-election instead, claiming victory by 6 points. Lynn later won back the House seat she had given up to run for the upper chamber.
Beavers resigned her seat in the Senate to run for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2018. But she dropped out of the contest, endorsing longshot candidate Bill Lee’s status as an outsider who, like Donald Trump on the national level, would “take on the permanent political class in Nashville.” Nearly a year after he took office, Lee named Beavers to the Board of Parole.
New TNJ edition alert: The end or the beginning on FBI probe?
The latest edition of The Tennessee Journal is out. Here is what’s in it:
— Are indictments the conclusion of FBI probe or opening gambit?
— Casada poised to lose legislative pension if he strikes plea deal.
— From the campaign trail: FEC flags filings for errors – but nothing yet on Andy Ogles, a temporary replacement for Mike Bell, and a soft landing for Amy Weirich.
— Obituary: Former longtime state research chief dies at 89.
Also: Bartlett puts ordinance seeking to limit campaign signs on hold, Shelby County clerk takes issue with being called AWOL for Jamaica trip, Asian-American groups oppose Biden’s nominee for federal prosecutor in the Eastern District, and Susan Lynn is sorry about all those things she said about Mae Beavers.
As always, access the your copy of the TNJ here.
Or subscribe here.
Skrmetti sworn in as Tennessee attorney general
Jonathan Skrmetti has been sworn is Tennessee attorney. He succeeds Herbert Slatery, who didn’t seek a second term.
Here’s the release from the AG’s office:
Nashville, TN – Jonathan Skrmetti was sworn in as Tennessee’s 28th Attorney General this morning at a private ceremony attended by his immediate family.
“It is the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Tennessee as their Attorney General and Reporter,” said General Skrmetti. “I look forward to promoting the rule of law and advocating for the rights and freedoms of all Tennesseans.”
Attorney General Skrmetti was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve an eight-year term on August 10, 2022. Tennessee is the only state where the Supreme Court selects the Attorney General.
Prior to his appointment, Attorney General Skrmetti served as Chief Counsel to Governor Bill Lee and as Chief Deputy Attorney General. Before his work on behalf of the State of Tennessee, General Skrmetti was a partner at Butler Snow LLP in Memphis and served as a federal prosecutor for almost a decade, first at the Civil Rights Division and then as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Memphis. He also taught cyberlaw as an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis.
Attorney General Skrmetti earned honors degrees from George Washington University, the University of Oxford, and Harvard Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Steven Colloton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He and his wife and four children currently reside in Franklin and attend Harpeth Hills Church of Christ.
