Legal questions arise after Ford ruling

Nashville City Paper
By John Rodgers
January 20, 2006

Senators raised legal questions about state’s rights versus federal rights Thursday, one day after a federal judge ordered the state senate to not take any action on voiding Sen. Ophelia Ford’s election.

U.S. District Court Judge Bernice Donald ordered an injunction late Wednesday, which prohibited the state Senate from taking any action on Ford until a court hearing can occur, which is scheduled for Wednesday in Memphis.

In response to reporters’ questions about the legality of Donald’s move, Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville), a lawyer, said the action raises an “interesting question” since the state’s constitution grants the General Assembly the right to say who can serve in the body.

The U.S. Constitution, however, has legal precedent over the state’s constitution. But Norris said he expects the attorney general’s office to argue about whether the federal courts have jurisdiction about membership in the legislature.

“It is an interesting time in the history of this state, in terms of the federalism and state’s rights provisions under the Tennessee constitution,” Norris said. “This will be a rather interesting question to see whether federal law trumps the laws of the state of Tennessee.”

Tuesday, the Senate, acting as a committee, voted to void Ford’s election. Final passage of that move was expected Thursday.

But Wednesday, Ford sued the state Senate. Ford’s suit was based on the grounds that the Senate violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment as well as the voting rights act by racially discriminating against Ford and three other black defendants.

“The actions of the Senate unfairly discriminate against Sen. Ford (and) the African-American plaintiffs on the count of their race,” the lawsuit states.

Sen. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville), who sponsored the move to void Ford’s election, said he’s disappointed in Ford’s move, but wouldn’t directly comment on whether he felt it was appropriate for a federal judge to intervene in this matter.

“I’m disappointed that we’re going that way, so I think that may speak for itself,” Ramsey said.

In the hearing Wednesday, the state’s attorney general’s office will defend the state Senate in the proceedings, but would not say whether they would specifically question the federal court’s jurisdiction in the Ford case.

But in a letter to Lt. Gov. John Wilder, Attorney General Paul Summers wrote that his office would be taking Ford’s lawsuit “very seriously” and defending the senate’s rights.

“We will do everything we can to preserve the ability of the Senate to take any action it deems appropriate,” Summers wrote.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle (D-Memphis), another lawyer, defended the federal court’s action since its mission is to uphold the U.S. Constitution and that the Senate is still under the federal constitution.

“We’re still in the United States, the last I looked,” Kyle said.

In addition, Summers’ letter also says that the Senators or their personal lawyers don’t have to be present since the Attorney General’s Office is representing the body and the senators are being sued in their official capacity, not their individual capacities.

The federal hearing Wednesday will come more than four months since the allegedly fraudulent election occurred in Memphis.

In September, Ford defeated Republican Terry Roland by 13 votes in the election to replace her brother, John Ford, who resigned from the Senate after being indicted on corruption charges.

Tuesday, the state Senate voted narrowly, 17-14, to void Ford’s election after at least six and possibly eight illegal votes were cast and questions about several more possibly improper ballots were raised.

After that vote, Ford said the Republican-backed move was “about racism” and said she would file a federal lawsuit.

The judge’s order in response to that lawsuit does not prevent a special Senate committee investigating the election from continuing to proceed and making a final recommendation to the senate.

That special committee will meet next week and make that recommendation to the full body.