MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Shelby County Circuit Court judge has once again dismissed the ouster proceedings facing Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert.
Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson dismissed the case for the second time on the grounds that the attorneys who filed the second petition lacked jurisdictional standing to file the suit.
“Ms. Halbert is ready to continue to do her job,” said Darrell O’Neal, Attorney Representing Wanda Halbert.
This is the second time the case has been dismissed for this reason.
Johnson said that she didn't see how the case could go forward due to the wording of the statutes.
In her ruling, Johnson said the state's statute clearly said that it had to be County Attorney Marlinee Iverson who would file the lawsuit and conduct the investigation.
However, Iverson herself said she had a conflict of interest since she represented Halbert. The task was then passed on to Chief Litigation Attorney Lee Whitwell, who then hired Robert Meyers to handle the case, but Johnson said this would not suffice.
“The county, respectfully, cannot have it both ways," said Johnson, "Even if he could hire a private counsel, he could not institute this petition.”
Previously, the complaint was filed by Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp, who was appointed after Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy recused himself.
"The law is also very clear that if the plaintiff does not have standing (authority) then this court does not have subject matter jurisdiction," Johnson said at the time of the first dismissal. "And as we all know, this court is only authorized to adjudicate cases where this court has subject matter jurisdiction. The court is of the opinion that Ms. Halbert’s motion has merit and that it should be granted."
Womp said at the time that she was disappointed in the outcome.
"We hope someone can pick this up," Wamp said. "If not, it's going to be a long 2 years. I'd hate for this to happen to Hamilton County."
Wamp said she believes a Shelby County Attorney can file to remove a county elected official and would be in good position to pick up the proceedings.
The second complaint, filed in August 2024, reiterated many of the positions from the initial ouster case, including inaccurate and untimely financial reporting, strain on auto dealerships, comptroller deficiencies and leasing issues.
The complaint requested Halbert be suspended from office until a final hearing is conducted.
The initial 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 alleged 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.
While Meyers argued Judge Johnson was looking at the statute too narrowly, and that county attorney meant to include the entire office including Whitwell, it was not enough to sway Johnson. While it is unclear if the state will appeal this decision, Meyers said it could be on the table.
“I think that’s certainly a strong consideration that it will be appealed, but I don’t know yet,” said Meyers.
Johnson admits this case is unique, and now since both the District and County attorneys are off the table, it might fall on state leaders to change the statute to oust Halbert.