TN AG hasn't issued single opinion at request of a Democrat as party's frustrations mount

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office hasn't yet responded to an official request for a legal opinion sent seven months ago by Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, though the office technically serves as legal representation for state lawmakers.

Democrats have decried what they call an increasing "politicization" of the Attorney General's office, which has the statutory authority to publish legal opinions on behalf of the office's clients, such as the governor and elected state House and Senate members.

Last week, Jones confronted Skrmetti about his request, sent last May regarding the use of public funds spent in the wake of a lawmaker harassment probe. Jones said the AG's office has not responded to the request. Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, also requested an opinion earlier this year on a new House ticketing policy.

The Attorney General's office has statutory authority to issue official opinions, which essentially act as attorney advice, to its clients at their request. It is not unusual that Skrmetti's office would issue more opinions for Republicans, given the GOP's supermajority in the Tennessee General Assembly and Republican Gov. Bill Lee's administration.

Still, the office has produced no opinions for Democrats since Skrmetti took office in September 2022 following his appointment by the Tennessee Supreme Court, according to a Tennessean review of opinions.

More on the AG: Why Tennessee is taking on NCAA in federal court while other states stay on sideline

By contrast, the office under former Attorney General Herbert Slatery published four opinions for Democrats between 2020 and 2021 for three General Assembly lawmakers and a Davidson County judge.

The number of legal opinions published annually has plummeted over the last decade. In 2013, the last full year a Democrat held the job, the office published 110 opinions requested by a mix of Democrats and Republicans, compared to the 11 published in 2023.

"The office is supposed to be neutral and about upholding the Constitution, and what is constitutionally and legally sound," Jones said. "Instead of offering opinions when we ask if there's anything in the statute, a basic legal question, he's refused to respond."

Outside the House chamber

Jones approached Skrmetti just outside the House chamber doors last week after Lee's State of the State address, which Skrmetti attended with members of the Lee administration and state Supreme Court justices. As the two men spoke, Jones brought up his May 2023 opinion request, which he told The Tennessean has not been responded to.

"We treat every member exactly the same," Skrmetti told Jones.

Jones continued to press Skrmetti on the issue, at one point telling the attorney general his "office has become so politicized." Skrmetti couldn't speak specifically one Jones' request, but he continued to maintain his office's neutrality.

"If we can issue an opinion, we issue an opinion. If we can't, we can't," Skrmetti told Jones outside the House chamber as fellow lawmakers and members of the public and media moved around them.

AG's office: Goal to 'issue thorough, well-researched legal opinions'

After The Tennessean requested all opinion requests sent to the attorney general during Skrmetti's tenure, the office declined to "confirm or deny the existence or details of any Attorney General opinion request submitted by our clients."

The AG's office maintains the requests are private due to attorney-client privilege, though any request the office chooses to opine on must be published publicly.

AG sues NCAA: Tennessee attorney general sues NCAA over ‘NIL-recruiting ban’ as UT fights back

"Our office’s goal is to issue thorough, well-researched legal opinions to our clients who request them, the timing of which will depend on the nature of the request submitted," Brandon James Smith, Skrmetti's chief of staff, said in a statement. "And generally, we do not issue Attorney General opinions on topics that are either in litigation or could soon be in litigation.”

The Attorney General's opinions act as legal advice that state leaders can choose to follow, and opinions over the last year have touched topics ranging from handgun carry policies to tax revenue and tax sale issues.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, who had an an AG opinion written at his request about public defenders and appointed cases in December 2022, praised the attorney general for the work he is doing.

“Attorney General Skrmetti is a dedicated public servant who does a remarkable job upholding the rule of law, keeping our citizens safe and fighting for the rights of Tennesseans in a fair and nonpartisan way," Lamberth said in a statement.

The office's opinions aren't legally binding, but are instead akin to attorneys' advice to their clients. For example, Skrmetti's office told two lawmakers in January that a proposed bill to limit when Tennessee National Guard can be mobilized by Congress was likely constitutionally "suspect" and vulnerable to legal challenges. Rep. Jay Reedy, R-Erin, and Sen. Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City, moved forward with filing House Bill 1609 anyway.

Still, Democrats like Jones argue which requests, and which clients, the office chooses to respond to privately and publicly is indicative of a broader politicization of the attorney general's role.

The role is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court, a setup unique in the U.S. and designed to insulate the office from partisan elections. But, as the state's top judges are political nominees, the politics of the ruling gubernatorial administration has historically seeped into the role.

House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons noticed a drop-off in overall published opinions around eight years ago, when "they at least had the courtesy to reject your request."

Clemmons, an attorney, is sharply critical of Skrmetti's "outright political agenda" that he say violates the "clear intent and spirit" of the office.

"The reason we have a Supreme Court-appointed AG is in large part to maintain that independence from partisanship or politicization," Clemmons said. "They are to represent the entire state of Tennessee — not only half the state, not only one political party, not only the governor."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee AG: No opinions for Democrats yet as party gets frustrated