JOHN DOE v. WILLIAM BYRON LEE, Governor of the State of Tennessee, in his official capacity; DAVID B. RAUSCH, Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, in his official capacity - Articles

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JOHN DOE v. WILLIAM BYRON LEE, Governor of the State of Tennessee, in his official capacity; DAVID B. RAUSCH, Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, in his official capacity

Posted by: Azya Thornton on May 12, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ON BRIEF: Gabriel Krimm, Matthew Dowty, Taylor Davidson, OFFICE OF THE TENNESSEE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellants.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Kyle Mothershead, Brian Daniel Mounce, RELENTLESS ADVOCACY, PLLC, Brentwood, Tennessee, for Appellee.

Judge(s): LAY, THAPAR, and READLER, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. The district court below issued a preliminary injunction barring certain Tennessee officials from enforcing any of the state’s sex-offender statutes. After an intervening Sixth Circuit decision called that relief into question, the Tennessee officials asked the district court to dissolve or modify the preliminary injunction. But the district court refused. Instead, it ordered the case administratively closed and dismissed the officials’ motion without prejudice. Because that’s an appealable order, and because the district court abused its discretion in refusing to dissolve or modify the preliminary injunction, we reverse.

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