TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jul 17, 2023

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan ruled in favor of the Shelby County district attorney and a local defense attorney, saying that a state law passed earlier this year to strip all post-conviction death penalty proceedings from local district attorneys is unconstitutional, the Tennessean reports. Specifically, Skahan found that the General Assembly did not give proper notice to the public about the law and that the law wrongfully removed jurisdiction from locally elected district attorneys. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and defense attorney Robert Hutton brought the suit. They also argued that the law violates the rights of voters but Skahan did not address that issue. The state attorney general has until Aug. 4 to appeal the decision.