New ouster petition filed against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert. Here’s what we know
Embattled Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert will continue to face ouster proceedings after a second petition to remove her from office was filed Friday evening.
The new ouster, brought by local attorney Robert Meyers, who is litigating this case for the Shelby County Attorney’s Office, was filed over a month after the initial ouster was dismissed by a Shelby County Circuit Court judge.
The ouster cites inaccurate and untimely financial reporting, strain on auto dealerships, deficiencies found by the Tennessee Comptroller, problems with building leases, and Halbert’s failure to present a corrective action plan during a scheduled Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Halbert on Friday said she had no comment on the new ouster proceeding.
There are some similarities between the initial ouster and the newest version, but there are differences that cite issues deeper in the office. One of which is issues in the office related to staffing.
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert gestures to her team while speaking during a Shelby County Board of Commissioners budget committee meeting in Downtown Memphis, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
The petition alleges that Halbert’s claim that it takes “too long to get employees ‘on-boarded,'” is “self-created.” The petition says that Shelby County Human Resources has an active list of applications of individuals that could be interviewed, hired or trained “at any time.”
“Defendant refused and failed to approve EIC personnel requisitions so that the Defendants CAO could then interview, hire and fill open positions, even though all the Defendant had to effectively do was hit a button and approve them,” according to the legal filing.
On staffing, the petition says that another County office offered to “loan” Halbert 20 unclassified employees for temporary work in the clerk’s office, to handle the backlog on vehicle plates and registrations. Halbert allegedly refused and also did not approve of overtime work for employees during the backlog.
What happened during Halbert’s initial ouster proceeding?
The Shelby County Attorney’s office hired Meyers, from the Glankler Brown law firm, to continue the proceedings, according to county officials, after the initial ouster petition was dismissed by Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson.
The initial ouster petition was filed on May 6, and Halbert’s attorney Darrell O’Neal rapidly filed a motion to dismiss. Halbert’s motion to dismiss claimed the case should be dismissed for a lack of standing to bring ouster proceedings against her.
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert stands up to speak to her attorneys after the first court appearance for Halbert’s ouster proceedings at Shelby County Circuit Court in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, May 31, 2024.
According to the ouster law in Tennessee, only three people within the state can file ouster petitions against a locally elected official. Per the ouster statute, the Tennessee Attorney General, the District Attorney of the locality or the county attorney’s office are the only three that can pursue ouster proceedings against a local official.
The motion to dismiss the initial petition argued that Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy “lacked the authority to delegate his duties to investigate to anyone in a civil ouster proceeding.” It also said that Mulroy should be the attorney representing the State of Tennessee in the case.
Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp was appointed to the case after Mulroy recused himself.
The first petition, brought by Wamp, said that incorrect financial reporting, strains on Shelby County’s auto dealerships, comptroller deficiencies and Halbert not presenting a corrective action plan to the Shelby County Commission on May 1 as reasons for her ouster.
Halbert later presented a plan but did not provide details on the plan.
Halbert has been under investigation since June 2023, when Wamp was assigned to determine whether Halbert has been “willfully neglectful of office.” In May, her investigation came to a close and Wamp filed a petition to oust her from office.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert faces new ouster petition
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