Independent prosecutor will investigate Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert

Brooke Muckerman and Katherine Burgess, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Updated ·2 min read

An independent prosecutor has been appointed to investigate complaints against the Shelby County Clerk, Wanda Halbert, according to the Shelby County District Attorney.

"Due to the need to avoid a conflict of interest and any appearance of impropriety, the County Attorney’s Office requested that the District Attorney begin an investigation into numerous complaints concerning the Shelby County Clerk’s Office, which, if proven, could constitute a willful neglect by the County Clerk to perform the duties of her office," according to the press release.

Coty Wamp, the District Attorney General for the 11th Judicial District in Hamilton County, has been appointed to investigate.

Halbert, who previously served on both the Memphis City Council and the school board, has become a polarizing figure since taking office as county clerk in 2018.

She’s faced criticism for long lines at clerk offices, for license plate backlogs, for expiring leases at offices and for traveling to Jamaica during a closure of her offices to handle a backlog.

In March, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris threatened action under state law if Halbert did not select an alternate location for a busy office in Poplar Plaza, where the lease expired this month.

Last August, the Shelby County Commission asked the state of Tennessee to temporarily take over the administrative function of license plate distribution in the county, but the Tennessee Comptroller said it had no legal authority to take over Halbert’s office.

Commissioners were poised last summer to take a vote on a resolution of “no confidence” in Halbert but stopped short of using that language.

This month Commissioner Mick Wright, a Republican and one of Halbert’s strongest critics, made requesting an investigation into Halbert’s office a condition of becoming the ninth needed vote on a wheel tax increase.

“I am very pleased to see this step taken so that public confidence in the clerk’s office can be restored,” Wright said. “This is something I pushed for during our budget negotiations, and I look forward to a fair and thorough process by our justice system.”

Halbert could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday evening.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Independent prosecutor will investigate Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert