Wanda Halbert to appeal ruling to state high court
by: David Royer, Raven Copeland
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert will appeal Monday’s Appeals Court decision on an ouster attempt against her, sending it to the state Supreme Court, her attorney said Tuesday.
Halbert and her attorney held a news conference a day after the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision to dismiss the county attorney’s ouster proceedings against Halbert.
That would mean the county attorney did have standing to bring the ouster case against Halbert when it was filed in 2024, and would send it back to the lower court.
However, Halbert’s attorney Darrell O’Neal said that’s not the direction the case is going. They will now appeal the case to the state Supreme Court, he said.
“We believe that the trial court’s ruling was the correct ruling and we’re going to ask the Supreme Court to look at it and tell us whether or not it was in fact the correct or incorrect ruling,” O’Neal said.
He also addressed the recent controversy over the clerk’s branch office in Millington after officials in Shelby County and Millington said $40,000 in back rent was owed.
Halbert maintains her office never had a lease with Millington and was not part of the negotiations for the office space. She maintains it is the county’s responsibility to pay the lease for the clerk’s offices.
“This office has not in any way, intentional or otherwise, done anything wrong,” Halbert said.
The clerk’s office says there has been a major spike in auto registrations because of the threat of being pulled over for expired tags by the Memphis Safe Task Force. That has caused major lines that are overburdening the offices.
Since her election in 2018, Halbert has faced repeated attempts and calls for her removal from office from state and local political leaders who have complained about long backups at the clerk’s office and the closures of branch offices.
Last year, the state comptroller’s office temporarily took over Halbert’s office after several months of inaccurate revenue reports were submitted.
“The evidence of incompetence and willful neglect by management in the Shelby County Clerk’s Office is overwhelming,” said state Comptroller Jason Mumpower at the time.
There are about nine months left in Halbert’s term in office.
“I am absolutely not going to leave this office in the condition I found it,” Halbert said Tuesday.
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