Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is asking a Shelby County chancery judge to toss District Attorney Steve Mulroy’s challenge to two new oversight laws targeting the Memphis Safe Task Force and the local prosecutor’s office. Skrmetti wants the case dismissed before any judge rules on whether the measures violate the state constitution, setting up a courtroom clash between Nashville and Memphis over who controls key prosecutions.
Mulroy filed the suit on May 26 in Shelby County Chancery Court, asking the court to strike down the Memphis Safe Task Force Accountability Act and a companion measure widely known as the AG Audit Bill. The complaint argues both laws apply only to the judicial district that includes Shelby County, impermissibly single out the county, and intrude on prosecutorial independence, according to a press release from the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.
Court records show Skrmetti filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on May 29 and then a reply in support of that motion on June 2. His filings seek to disqualify Mulroy’s counsel and strike parts of the complaint, moves that Mulroy’s office says are an effort to get the lawsuit dismissed before a court can fully consider the issues, according to WATN‑TV.
What the laws require
The Memphis Safe Task Force Accountability Act would require the DA’s office to file frequent reports, including notifications every 10 business days when a task force case is dismissed, settled, or reduced. The AG Audit Bill would give the state attorney general authority to review internal prosecutorial files and petition the Tennessee Supreme Court to appoint a pro tem prosecutor for task force cases. Those provisions are central to Mulroy’s challenge, according to Action News 5.
Mulroy’s argument
Mulroy’s complaint contends the measures violate equal protection and the separation of powers by singling out Shelby County for different treatment from the rest of the state. “These bills target Shelby County unfairly and infringe on the rights of Shelby County voters,” the DA’s office said in its release, according to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.
AG’s procedural push
In its filings, the Attorney General’s office argues the court lacks grounds to move forward and asks the judge to either dismiss the case outright or narrow it significantly. The AG’s side is also seeking to disqualify Mulroy’s lawyers and strike the complaint, steps Mulroy characterizes as an attempt to short-circuit the judicial process while his office continues to press its constitutional claims, according to WATN‑TV.
Case status and next steps
The lawsuit remains pending in Shelby County Chancery Court, where both sides have filed competing briefs as the judge weighs whether the complaint survives the initial push for dismissal. Mulroy is represented by the Washington Litigation Group and Donati Law, and the result could determine how far the state can go in overseeing locally elected prosecutors, according to the Daily Memphian.
Legal stakes
The case tests long-standing questions about prosecutorial independence and the reach of state power, with Mulroy arguing the bills improperly shift authority away from local voters and their chosen prosecutor. Legal analysts and local coverage note that the dispute could set a Tennessee precedent on when and how the state may step into the work of county DAs, according to the Tennessee Lookout.
For now, Memphis’ elected prosecutor and the state attorney general are headed toward a chancery court test over who gets to call the shots in prosecutions tied to the high-profile federal task force. The judge will decide whether the case advances to a full hearing or is pared back or tossed in response to the AG’s procedural moves.
