Free Republic

Let the appeals begin. Sixteen years after its adoption, the Knox County Charter was ruled "incomplete, invalid and ineffective" by Chancellor John Weaver in a bombshell ruling Friday that's sure to leave more questions than answers. But for now, the charter and its term-limits amendment are out. The written opinion upholds the argument of five term-limited county commissioners who filed a lawsuit in April challenging the charter's validity. In an attempt to void the charter's term-limits amendment as much as the charter itself, their suit contends that the document does not specify the duties of Tennessee's so-called "constitutionally mandated" county...

A chancellor ruled today that Knox County’s charter is "invalid and ineffective," meaning the county would revert to the form of government outlined in the state constitution. The ruling also invalidates term limits, which restricts the number of terms an elected official may serve. Appeals from the various parties are expected. The county won't lose any offices authorized when the government changed form in 1990, Law Director Mike Moyers said in an earlier interview, including his own. That's because the charter language regarding those offices, like many of the ordinances passed during the past 16 years, mirrors the language in...

Knox County's charter might not be legal, a chancellor presiding over some of the term-limits litigation suggested in an opinion this week. As part of an opinion he issued denying a request that Sheriff Tim Hutchison's name be removed from the May 2 primary ballot, Chancellor John Weaver wrote that the governmental structure outlined in the charter "appears to be a compromised form of government." Weaver added that "no such compromised form of government appears to be available" under either the Tennessee Constitution or state law. In motions filed Friday, lawyer Herbert S. Moncier argued that Weaver's reasoning "strains to...

Knox County Chancellor John Weaver granted the county's request for a stay Wednesday of his ruling that invalidated the county charter. Knox County officials had asked for the stay so the charter could be amended in the November election. In a written opinion, Weaver said the stay would be in effect for 180 days or during the duration of an appeal, whichever takes longer

The case of the Knox County charter's validity and the reach of its term limits limped along into a third day of hearings today as lawyers continued to argue over admissible evidence. Attorney Herbert S. Moncier offered massive volumes of county ordinances and previous trial transcripts for Knox County Chancellor John Weaver's review. Several parties objected to the relevance of any of it. Yet Weaver still accepted many of the documents, offering Moncier wide leeway to make his case. Moncier contends that the charter is valid albeit ignored by officials who have for years allowed several elected offices to continue...

A Knox County Chancery courtroom was packed with lawyers and clients today in a race against the clock to decide whether the county’s charter is valid and if any of its elected offices are term-limited. Before they could start debating the validity of Knox County’s term limits, however, the parties had to agree which version of the term limits to submit into evidence. Chancellor John Weaver eventually ruled to accept all three versions submitted by the various parties without giving preference to any one. Weaver accepted the original referendum question as it read on the 1994 ballot. He also accepted...