MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Shelby County Circuit Court Judge is recusing himself from the case involving Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert.
Division 6 Judge Cedrick D. Wooten filed the order of recusal May 7, 2024, “for good cause shown,” but the order did not elaborate on what that cause entails. Wooten has not responded to ABC24's request for more information.
Following the recusal, the case was assigned May 8 to Division 1 Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson, according to court records.
This all comes after Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp filed a petition May 6 on behalf of the State of Tennessee to remove Halbert from office as Shelby County Clerk.
The 49-page petition asks the court to remove Halbert from office "due to willful neglect to perform a duty enjoined upon the Shelby County Clerk by the laws of the State of Tennessee."
In a post to social media, Halbert cited repeated requests she said she made for an investigation into concerns within the office.
"The Office of the Shelby County Clerk over the last 5+ years has repeatedly 'sounded the alarm' regarding a host of findings/concerns (financial included)," Halbert wrote. "Said concerns have been documented and reported to multiple legal County & State entities but never investigated. Fortunately, the day has come that FINALLY begins direct attention to the matters we have raised. While our team cannot discuss these and other matters, we will not be afraid to do what the law requires of us. When given authority, we commit to being transparent and will report accordingly."
The filing said that Halbert consistently fails to turn in monthly reports to the trustee in a timely manner and said there is no legitimate reason for the failure to do so. The petition also said the reports were inaccurate “with collected dollar amounts not added properly."
The petition alleges that Halbert's reporting became so "untrustworthy," that the Shelby County finance department had to stop submitting the final reports in a timely manner because the inaccuracies were jeopardizing Shelby County budgetary numbers.
According to the petition, Halbert maintains she does not have the funding to fully staff her office but is consistently underbudget and has historically given a "significant amount" of her budget back to the county at the end of each fiscal year.
The filing also said that the county estimates that Halbert's office owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to Shelby County government due to financing technology issues with the county.
It also said that the "neglect of duties" has had a strain on Shelby County businesses, specifically car dealerships who rely on the Clerk's Office to conduct business.
The filing also mentions past issues with the office, including office closures during Halbert's tenure and comptroller audits.
Halbert is allowed 20 days from service of the petition to answer allegations listed in the filing. The petition also requests that Halbert be suspended from office until a final hearing is conducted, and the State of Tennessee requested a date be set for a hearing on suspending Halbert before the trial.