TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 12, 2021

State Sen. Mike Bell, a Republican from Riceville and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said this week that he is planning to introduce legislation that would move cases against the state to different jurisdictions, Tennessee Lookout reports. While the bill’s language is not settled yet, Bell said it could move cases to surrounding counties, one the state’s three grand divisions or special judicial panels. Currently, cases against the state are filed in Davidson County courts. In discussing the reasoning for his idea, Bell said, “… why should a chancellor who’s elected by the most liberal constituency in the state of Tennessee be making the decisions for all the state …?" He cited a decision by Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin that the governor’s education savings account program was unconstitutional and a decision by Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle to expand absentee voting as examples for why such a move is needed.