Shelby County judge dismisses ouster petition against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert

Lucas Finton and Brooke Muckerman, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Updated ·3 min read
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A Shelby County Circuit Court judge has granted Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert's motion to dismiss an ouster proceeding filed against her by the State of Tennessee, Jay Price, with the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office, Price confirmed Tuesday.

Halbert's motion to dismiss claimed the case should be dismissed for a lack of standing to bring ouster proceedings against her, court records indicated Tuesday.

The ouster petition was filed May 6, and Halbert's attorney Darrell O'Neal rapidly filed a motion to dismiss. That motion was ultimately denied by Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson, who said the petition required a response.

That response was filed by Halbert, and another motion to dismiss was filed June 14, court records show. That latest motion to dismiss, which said Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy should be the attorney representing the State of Tennessee in the case and not Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp, was granted during a hearing Tuesday.

The motion to dismiss also argued that Mulroy "lacked the authority to delegate his duties to investigate to anyone in a civil ouster proceeding."

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert stands up to speak to her attorneys after the first court appearance for Halbert’s ouster proceedings at Shelby County Circuit Court in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, May 31, 2024.
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert stands up to speak to her attorneys after the first court appearance for Halbert’s ouster proceedings at Shelby County Circuit Court in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, May 31, 2024.

"According to this order signed by Judge Chris Craft, the district attorney of Shelby County, Tennessee, Steve Mulroy, delegated his authority and duty to investigate... and appointed counsel for plaintiff (the state). However, there are two major flaws with plaintiff's jurisdictional facts that glaringly illustrate plaintiff in this matter lacks standing to bring this present lawsuit against defendant (Halbert)."

Those two reasons, according to the motion to dismiss, are because appointing a pro tem prosecutor is only applicable for "specific criminal proceedings, including grand jury proceedings." The second reason is that, according to the motion to dismiss, the only person who has the ability to bring an ouster on behalf of the state is the DA with jurisdiction in that county.

A motion to suspend Halbert from office pending the outcome of the ouster case was set for June 25, but a timeline was not immediately clear since the new ruling.

Wamp said the cause for dismissal is the first of its kind in the state of Tennessee, meaning the state has never seen this kind of case before. She doubled down on her findings during the investigation Tuesday afternoon, saying her office discovered both willful neglect but also straight incompetence.

"We have done a substantial amount of work. We believe that Miss Halbert has committed willful neglect in her duties as county clerk of Shelby County, on top of that, we believe she's entirely incompetent," Wamp said.

The petition was brought by Wamp, who was assigned to the case after Mulroy recused himself from the case. Wamp said in the petition that incorrect financial reporting, strains on Shelby County's auto dealerships, comptroller deficiencies and Halbert not presenting a corrective action plan to the Shelby County Commission on May 1 as reasons for her ouster.

Related: Everything you need to know about the possible ouster of Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert

Halbert has been under investigation since June 2023, when Wamp was assigned to determine whether Halbert has been "willfully neglectful of office." In May, her investigation came to a close and Wamp filed a petition to oust her from office.

Among the findings were that financial reports from the clerk's office have been "consistently inaccurate, with collected dollar amounts not added properly," according to the petition, making it "impossible" for the county to rely on the office for funding distributions. Halbert has not turned in a single report in a timely, or accurate, manner, the petition alleged.

A spokesperson for the Shelby County DA's office said Mulroy and the Shelby County Attorney's Office would be meeting Tuesday to discuss possible next steps.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ouster petition against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert dismissed