TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

State Senator Recommends Splitting Shelby County Courts

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Feb 20, 2024

State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, is suggesting that Memphis-area suburbs split off from the Shelby County court system and hire their own district attorney, Local Memphis reports. Taylor argues that such a move is necessary, alleging that Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is soft on crime and citing problems with three judges who have been reprimanded in recent years. Mulroy responded to Taylor’s suggestion, saying: “I don’t think reprimands of judges affect the backlog. The judge is still able to rule on cases as before. I don’t anticipate that any reprimands of late would slow down the processing of cases.” On the backlog of cases, Mulroy says, “We’ve been trying cases at a faster rate in 2024 to date than last year. More importantly, the courts can set trials only a few months out, which is better than it has been in the past. What we need to focus on is the number of cases which are pending for more than a year and a half. That is unacceptably high, and we’re working on reducing that number.”

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