Subcommittee advances bill allowing attorney general to seek temporary replacement for DAs who refuse to enforce law

The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on April 7 voted 7–2 to send H.B. 483 as amended to the full House Judiciary Committee. The amendment gives the Tennessee attorney general a path to ask the state Supreme Court to appoint a temporary district attorney when an elected DA is alleged to be refusing to enforce the law in certain cases.

Supporters led by the bill sponsor said the change would give law enforcement and victims a quicker remedy in districts where prosecutors are not pursuing violent-crime cases. Chairman Farmer said the measure is focused on the 30th Judicial District (Shelby County) and described it as an oversight tool that would not give the attorney general unchecked power. "We are not gonna have another Miss Fletcher," the sponsor said, arguing the legislation would help ensure violent offenders face prosecution.

Opponents, including Steven Crump, executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys' General Conference, urged members to oppose the bill. "This bill fundamentally changes that," Crump said, arguing retrospectively auditing charging decisions tied to federal task forces would shift prosecutors from deciding cases on the facts and law to second-guessing decisions on paper. He warned it could inject politics into charging choices and place burdens on assistant district attorneys.

Representative Powell and others raised constitutional and practical concerns about oversight of locally elected prosecutors. Representative Salinas said the measure felt targeted at Memphis and that resource shortfalls — including untested evidence and case-processing backlogs — explained many failures to take cases forward. Supporters countered that targeted oversight is needed to protect victims when local offices refuse to act.

Crump also noted existing remedies allowing the attorney general to seek a pro tem replacement of a district attorney in some circumstances, saying the bill would expand that authority beyond current practice. Legal services and committee exchanges clarified that a Supreme Court petition and selection by the district attorneys' conference are part of the pro tem appointment process described during the hearing.

The subcommittee adopted the amendment to H.B. 483 and voted to send the bill to full judiciary, 7 ayes and 2 noes. The committee did not record individual member names in the tally on the record provided.

The bill is scheduled next for consideration by the House Judiciary Committee.