Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons announced Tuesday that the D.A.’s office entered into a consent order with Elbert Jefferson in which the Memphis city attorney is prevented from performing the duties of his office until a hearing scheduled for October 19, the same date through which he is scheduled to be on sick leave.
A hearing seeking a temporary order to prevent Jefferson from carrying out his job was scheduled for Tuesday.
“While there was no hearing held today, this consent order achieves the same result as what we intended to seek. Jefferson is suspended from performing his duties pending a further hearing,” District Attorney Gibbons said.
Under the consent order signed by Judge James Lammey, Jefferson is ordered to notify the court within 72 hours if he is physically able to resume any of his duties. If that occurs, a hearing can be held immediately.
The D.A.’s office filed a petition for ouster against Jefferson on September 29 alleging that Jefferson “knowingly or willfully” committed misconduct in office or neglected to perform duties by expending city funds “for purposes other than lawful municipal purposes.” The ouster petition was filed after an investigation that included the review of subpoenaed documents from the City of Memphis and testimony of several City of Memphis employees.
