November 29, 2021
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Tennessee's new law to check powers of 'rogue' DAs is right for the times | Opinion - Yahoo News

The Tennessee legislature’s "rogue" district attorney bill was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee on Nov. 12. The new law allows the state attorney general to petition the Supreme Court for appointment of an independent counsel to prosecute cases a district attorney refuses to file.

Although the bill passed through the legislature easily, Sen. Raumesh Akbari called it a “dangerous precedent,” and Rep. London Lamar complained it would “circumvent the discretion of the county district attorney that the people … have elected.”

Some felt the law was aimed at Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk, who has announced he will not prosecute certain offenses. Among those are possession of small amounts of marijuana, classroom mask mandates by teachers, and failure of a business to post a notice if transgender patrons are welcome to use their choice of men’s or women’s bathrooms.

The law can't be weaponized, and it can be enforced

As a former district attorney from another state, I can sympathize with objections to restricting a prosecutor’s discretion. But these are different times, and the new rogue district attorney law is right for the times. Although some argue it can be weaponized for political purpose, the law can be triggered only by the attorney general, a non-partisan official appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, raises the gavel in the Tennessee General Assembly on Oct. 27 in Nashville. Sexton sponsored a new law that gives the attorney general the power to go to the state Supreme Court in the hopes of temporarily replacing local district attorneys on cases they refuse to prosecute.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, raises the gavel in the Tennessee General Assembly on Oct. 27 in Nashville. Sexton sponsored a new law that gives the attorney general the power to go to the state Supreme Court in the hopes of temporarily replacing local district attorneys on cases they refuse to prosecute.

Others argue the law will be difficult to enforce, because it is limited to cases where a district attorney “peremptorily and categorically refuses to prosecute.” A wary district attorney would not risk a public announcement, they argue, but would refuse quietly and, if challenged, blame failure to prosecute upon a crushing caseload and insufficient deputies. But a district attorney’s refusal to prosecute certain crimes might well become a badge of honor to some, because a new breed of district attorneys is appearing, preaching reform and seeking disciples.



source: https://news.yahoo.com/tennessees-law-check-powers-rogue-234654316.html

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