On Friday October 29, both the Tennessee House and Senate approved SB 9008/HB 9071. This bill allows the state Attorney General to request a replacement District Attorney who is not compliant in processing all cases. This bill comes one year after the Nashville District Attorney, Glenn Funk, announced his office would no longer prosecute simple cannabis possession cases. Additionally, Funk plans to not prosecute cases surrounding abortion rights, transgender people, and mask requirements for schools. 

SB 9008/HB 9071 was introduced by the Tennessee Lieutenant Governor, Randy McNally, R, and the House Speaker, Cameron Sexton, R. during this past special session. Many lawmakers who voted for the bill said District Attorneys don’t have the authority to decide if a law is good or not. They must uphold the law regardless of their personal opinion.

Opposition

However, there are still mixed emotions among lawmakers. Most democratic lawmakers oppose the bill, along with Representative Bruce Griffey, R. “We may have a situation where we have a district attorney who says we have these low-level marijuana cases, I just don’t have the resources to devote to them,” Griffey explained. 

Plus, if removed, then unelected lawyers would be placed in an elected official’s position. This would be going against the will of voters, lawmakers explained. This new bill could find District Attorney Glenn Funk in an interesting position as he isn’t prosecuting possession of small amounts of cannabis. However, his office has not responded to questions from local news reporters. 

Enforcing this new law may become impractical in certain areas. For example, the Metro Nashville Police don’t arrest people for possessing a half-ounce of cannabis or less. They write citations, which aren’t cases and won’t find their way to court. This new bill leaves a lot of loopholes in larger cities like Nashville. 

Indiana

SB 9008/HB 9071 is similar to another bill, SB 200 in Indiana. This bill would also allow the state attorney general to request a District Attorney be replaced for not upholding the law. Again, this Indiana bill comes in response to an Indianapolis District Attorney Ryan Mears. He stated, in 2019, that his office wouldn’t prosecute cannabis cases where a person possessed an ounce or less. Possessing a small amount of cannabis is not a real issue. Attorney Mears says his office would focus on real issues in the state’s capitol. 

However, SB 200 in Indiana has passed the Senate but not the House. Their state lawmakers recessed in April and have until November to close their legislative session. As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest. 

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