TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Mar 5, 2026

Tennessee Court of Appeals Judges Andy Bennett, Frank Clement Jr. and Jeffrey Usman on Thursday heard arguments over whether Gov. Bill Lee's deployment of the National Guard to Memphis is constitutional. The case stems from a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic city, county and state officials who claim the deployment violates the Tennessee Constitution. The plaintiffs argue the National Guard can be called up only in cases of rebellion or invasion, or at the request of local governing bodies or the legislature — none of which occurred. They also warn that without a defined end date, the military presence could continue indefinitely. The state countered that Memphis, which had the nation's highest per capita crime rate in 2024 at 345% above the national average, qualifies as a "grave emergency" justifying deployment, and that the decision falls within the governor's executive authority and is not subject to judicial override. The Commercial Appeal reports that the judges pressed both sides, appearing skeptical of the plaintiffs' narrow definition of the National Guard as a militia while also challenging the state to define what conditions would end the deployment.