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Work Underway to End Greensward Parking, Open New Forest Area

Work has begun on a project that will forever end parking on the Greensward at Overton Park and open new trails in a new part of the Old Forest, according to the Overton Park Conservancy (OPC).

A decades-long struggle to end Memphis Zoo overflow parking on the park’s signature field ended with an agreement by the zoo, OPC, and the city of Memphis in 2022. Read our story about the deal and a timeline of the saga here. 

Credit: Overton Par Conservancy

Parking project

The project to end Greensward parking is a multi-phase dance with specific choreography. OPC outlined those steps in a Greensward update on its website Monday.

The first phase — repaving and re-striping the zoo’s main parking lot — is complete. 

Credit: Overton Park Conservancy

The second phase will include demolishing crumbling asphalt in the park’s southeast corner (an are close to the corner of Poplar and East Parkway). That area will then be leveled and paved for a new public parking lot. This phase will also include getting some old city-owned buildings ready for the zoo’s new maintenance facility. 

This phase is now in the engineering and permit phase, OPC said, and work will begin when those permits are in hand. No timeline was given for its completion. 

When all the construction in Phase 2 is complete, the zoo will move its maintenance and adminstrative functions to that space, the former General Services facility on the park’s east side. This move will leave empty the zoo’s current maintenance area along North Parkway. 

That area will, then, be razed for a new parking lot there in Phase 3 of the plan. 

“When that lot opens,” OPC said in a statement Monday, “cars will no longer park on the Greensward.”

Credit: savethegreensward.com

In Phase 4, OPC will create a new walking loop around the Greensward.  

”We appreciate your patience as we complete all these steps!” OPC said. “We’re very fortunate that this project is being funded through a $3 million HUD Community Project Funding grant, thanks to Congressman Steve Cohen. 

Credit: Overton Park Conservancy

“We received HUD’s approval to proceed in fall 2024 and began the environmental review process at that time. Since then, the Conservancy has been working closely with the city and the zoo to refine the design of the parking area and new zoo maintenance facility.

“We’re happy to be teaming up with our partners at the zoo and the city on this long-awaited project, and to see so much progress underway.”

New trail, Old Forest

The deal for parking also included the zoo restoring 17 acres of forested parkland back to the OPC and the Old Forest. Work to open these acres has already begun and it will intensify and continue. OPC hopes to have access open and new trails ready by fall. 

Credit: Overton Park Conservancy

“If you’ve walked in the forest recently, you may have noticed some activity in the fenced acreage that’s currently on zoo property and will come under Conservancy management soon,” the statement said. “Crews have finished building a new boundary fence for the zoo that will allow us to eventually remove the old fence and open up these forested acres to the public.

“Before the old fence comes down, we have two more tasks to complete. We’ll be going out to bid in the next few weeks for a contractor who will build the new walking trail over the summer. 

“After the trail is created, we’ll have another contractor come in to remove invasive plants. When that work is substantially complete, we’ll take the fence down. Our goal is to have a ribbon-cutting and open the trail this fall!”

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Gov. Lee Backs Trump on Dismantling of Education Department, Mulls Voucher ‘Ramp Up’

Gov. Bill Lee and his staff have remained mostly silent in recent weeks regarding questions about the state legislature's current special session. Credit: Martin B. Cherry / Nashville Banner

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is all-in on dismantling the U.S. Department of Education and is leaving the door open to use federal funds to support his new school voucher program. 

Last week, hours before President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing his recently-appointed Education Secretary to begin the dissolution of the federal DOE, Lee reissued his support of Trump’s plan, telling reporters the state would be better off without the federal oversight of education. 

“I am one who believes that the federal Department of Education is largely a bureaucratic problem for states,” Lee said, calling the federal government “too big, too cumbersome and too bureaucratic.” 

The governor, who was set to attend the executive order signing, has been supportive of Trump’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education since at least November, when he said he “hopes it looks something like block-granting the dollars to states,” comparing the idea to a Medicaid block grant waiver that Trump approved in his first term, allowing Tennessee more discretion in spending money intended for Medicaid recipients. 

In an op-ed published Wednesday, Lee called the DOE an “$80 billion failure,” and said that states were better off managing federal education funding, as had been the case prior to the DOE’s formation in 1979.

When he initially endorsed Trump’s plan, Lee declined to comment on whether he would use the funds to benefit his private school voucher program, which later passed in a January special session, partly urged by Trump to address immigration. For each of the last three years, including 2025 projections, the DOE has reportedly provided Tennessee between $3.36-3.66 billion.  

On Thursday, with the voucher bill signed into law and the end of the DOE in sight, Lee suggested that the legislature could conceptually tap into the DOE money for vouchers. 

“The funding from the federal government shouldn’t impact that strategy,” Lee said. “It should just continue to give us the resources necessary to fund the education for all the children of the state, both public and private, through education freedom scholarships or through traditional funding to our public schools.”

Lee noted that he expects to see a “ramp up” in the voucher program, but added that “the law, as it stands today in Tennessee, is how I view that it will be going forward, until the Legislature makes a decision to change.”

Educators and parents across the country have expressed concern that a lack of federal oversight could prevent some students, like those with disabilities or special needs, from receiving adequate and fair education. 

“If successful, Trump’s continued actions will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in a statement, calling supporters “anti-public education.”

Lee dismissed those concerns, arguing that the state is better equipped to manage those students than the federal government, repeating a common refrain that the states know best how to handle education.

“I don’t have one bit of concern about a lack of services or a lack of educational opportunities for children when the federal Department of Education is removed,” Lee said. 

Lee’s wholesale support of a Trump plan before the details have been shared echoes his alignment with Trump’s deportation policies, which Lee loudly supported and urged other Republican governors to support before Trump was in office or had shared specifics. 

On the other hand, Lee continued his streak of refusing to comment on pending Tennessee legislation when he was asked about several measures that have been through statewide legislative committees, including a bill that would allow school boards to deny undocumented students education, in a direct challenge to U.S. Supreme Court precedent. 

“I can’t speak to how I feel about that, because that’s not been decided yet,” Lee said, adding that he was broadly supportive of addressing what he described as issues caused by illegal immigration, “including how they impact our education system.

Though he lacked details, the governor said ending the DOE would benefit Tennessee because more money would be spent at the state level.

“That’s more dollars directly spent on education services for children, and not on jobs in D.C.,” Lee said. 

Asked if the state would have to replicate any of the administrative roles being axed in the federal department of education — or the “bureaucracy” described by Lee — the governor was unsure. 

“We have no idea what’s coming,” Lee said. “We’ll know a lot more, probably after today, and then we’ll begin to plan to work with the federal government on being a good partner.”

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Bill Could Strip Key Oversight from Tennessee Human Rights Commission

Jonathan Skrmetti (Photo: tncourts.gov)

State lawmakers want to take oversight of possible discrimination in federal funding from the Tennessee Human Rights Commission (THRC) and give it to the Tennessee Attorney General.

State agencies have to follow federal rules when they get federal money. One of those rules — Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — disallows discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin.

In 2002, then-Governor Don Sundquist, a Republican, created the Title VI Complain Commission. In 2009, the THRC was given the authority to verify that state government entities comply with the requirements of Title VI.

But new legislation would strip this oversight and enforcement from the state group and would give that power to Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti’s office.

The bill is sponsored by state Sen. John Stevens (R-Huntingdon) and Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville). It would transfer from the THRC to the AG “the responsibility of identifying state laws, rules, programs, services, and budgetary priorities that conflict with the components, guidelines, and objectives of a comprehensive state policy established by the commission to ensure compliance with Title VI requirements.”

A review of the bill was slated for the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday afternoon. No further details of the legislation — including the motivation for it — have been heard so far. However, the bill passed on partisan lines in a House subcommittee last week. Only two members, Rep. Larry Miller (D-Memphis) and Rep. Jesse Chism (D-Memphis), voted against the bill.

THRC is an independent and neutral state agency that takes and investigates complaints of alleged discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. It also monitors Title VI compliance for state agencies and entities getting federal money. It is the primary state agency responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws in the state of Tennessee.

“The Commission plays a key role in ensuring that the citizens of Tennessee are aware of their civil rights, their responsibilities under the laws that THRC enforces, and have a viable means for justice when their rights are violated,” the group said in its latest annual report.

Last year, the group received 1,097 inquiries of alleged Title VI discrimination. Of those, 332 complaints were accepted. Of those, 162 cases were closed. Settlements and mediations resulted in $4,000 to be awarded to complainants.

Most of those complaints were on alleged discrimination of race, retaliation, sex, and disability.

Credit: Tennessee Human Rights Commission

THRC found that all of the 49 state agencies reporting to it were in compliance of Title VI requirements.

Failure to meet Title VI requirements could result in loss of federal money. Last year, Tennessee got $31 billion in federal funds. TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, got the largest share at $19.2 billion.

The THRC also offers technical assistance to the state’s many agencies, including the University of Memphis. Last year, the group said it fielded 237 requests for such help.

Read THRC’s Title VI annual report here.

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Railgarten Closed, Property Listed

Credit: Railgarten via Facebook
Credit: Railgarten via Facebook

Railgarten is permanently closed and its property is up for sale, according to a listing from commercial real estate firm Colliers. 

The entertainment complex closed in the winter. But the sign outside the popular Midtown hangout read that it was closed only for renovations. 

Credit: Railgarten via Facebook

However, a new sign hanging on the front of the indoor music venue part of Railgarten now reads “available.” The property listing from Colliers calls it “the former Railgarten dining, entertainment, and recreational venue.”

The listing includes the entire complex together: the diner, the tiki bar, indoor music hall, the backyard and beer garden, volleyball court, and Ping-Pong pavilion.  All of it totals nearly 10,000 square feet of indoor entertainment space on 1.35 acres. 

Credit: Colliers

Here’s how Colliers describes the property: 

“It’s designed to offer diverse dining, drinks, live music, and recreational activities across both indoor and outdoor spaces. The property benefits from being in the heart of the Cooper-Young district, a social, cultural, and entertainment hotspot. 

“Whether it’s a local Memphian looking for a weekend hangout, a tourist exploring the city, or a music fan catching a live show, this property is perfectly positioned to attract foot traffic and engagement year-round.

The area is a convenient location in Cooper Young District — packed with award-winning restaurants, coffee shops, and craft breweries. Just minutes from the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers University, Liberty Park, Downtown Memphis, and Overton Square, making it easy to access many city attractions. Nearby favorites include: Alchemy, Beauty Shop Restaurant, Tsunami, Soul Fish Café, Young Avenue Deli, Central BBQ, and Jack Brown’s Burgers.

“The Diner — A retro-style American eatery. Casual, relaxed seating with booths and bar seating. Family-friendly atmosphere with a nostalgic touch.

“The Tiki Bar — A separate indoor bar area with a tropical island theme. Cozy, dim lighting and fun decor, including palm-themed murals and bamboo furniture.

“Indoor Music Hall — Intimate club-like setting with standing room and some seating areas. Fully equipped with professional sound and lighting systems.

Credit: Railgarten via Facebook

“The Backyard & Beer Garden — A large open-air space with picnic tables, string lights, and communal seating. Outdoor stage to host larger music gatherings and pop-up events.

Credit: Railgarten via Facebook

“Volleyball Court — A full-sized sand volleyball court for pickup games and league play.

“The Ping-Pong Pavilion — Multiple Ping-Pong tables available for casual play and competitions. Covered area for shade and protection from weather conditions.”

Railgarten has not yet made any announcement of the move on its social media channels. It did note a venue change of a New Year’s Eve show from Railgarten to Loflin Yard. A post about that show, featuring The Neon Mooners, was the last post from Railgarten on its Facebook page.  

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Tennessee Poultry Experts Say Egg Prices Due to Remain High

Credit: Sequatchie Cove Farm

As Americans look toward the Easter season, and the price of eggs continues to climb, many Tennesseeans are considering changing their usual Easter plans in order to keep eggs on their menus and hidden in their yards.

Ginny Minniger’s grocery budget isn’t as tight as some people’s, she says, but she will forgo a few things in order to buy eggs to color for Easter. 

“There are some traditions I must carry on,” the Chattanooga woman said. “So I’ll forgo some of the chocolate bunny treats so that I’ll be able to afford two dozen eggs to color. I’ll defy hard times and buy those eggs!”

Dr. Tom Tabler, University of Tennessee Poultry Extension and Research Specialist, doesn’t foresee a decline in the price of eggs any time soon. “Don’t expect much relief from high egg prices as we head into the Easter season, always a time of high egg demand,” he said.

Tennessee poultry industry not as hard-hit by avian flu, data show

In 2023, the average annual consumption of eggs in the U.S. was estimated at 281 per person.  Egg demand has increased for the past 23 consecutive months while avian influenza continues to plague egg-laying chicken flocks across the nation, keeping egg prices at an all-time high.

Tabler said the disease has decimated the egg supply in recent months. And at a time when egg demand is high, supply and demand are also helping to fuel egg prices.

“That is not likely to change in the near future,” Tabler said. “Since the start of the most recent avian influenza outbreak in February 2022, roughly 100 million table-egg laying hens have been lost to the disease.”

“Roughly 52 million of those 100 million were lost between October 2024 and February 2025,” said Tabler. “The loss of so many birds in such a short time-frame has driven egg prices to record high levels.”

According to federal government policies, if one bird in a flock of laying hens is affected by avian influenza, the entire flock must be depopulated. 

Support your local farmer

Historically, eggs purchased directly from farms are lower-priced than in supermarkets.

“Local farmers that have signs near the road saying ‘Farm fresh eggs for sale’ is a good way to find eggs cheaper,” Tabler said. “Social media may be another potential source to find eggs.  Your local county Extension office may be another possibility.”

Kelsey Keener has farmed his family land in Marion County since he was a young boy and now offers organic vegetables, native plants, grass-fed meats, fruits, farmstead cheese, and pasture-raised eggs at the farm stand at his Sequatchie Cove Farm. 

He has a flock of 5,000 laying hens and expects that number to grow to 7,000 layers by late April. And with the high demand for eggs and consumers looking for lower prices, business has never been better, he said.

“The national egg shortage caused by the avian flu outbreak has actually been really good for our family’s egg operation, as we have had more demand for our eggs than we have ever experienced in our 20-plus years of farming,” he said, adding that the price of the farm’s eggs rose 50 cents a dozen, a price increase that was planned before the avian flu epidemic became widespread. Keener sells his eggs for $7 per dozen from the farm and $8 per dozen at Main Street Market on Wednesdays in Chattanooga.

To ensure the eggs his customers buy are safe, he feeds his chicken high-quality food and offers them outdoor space in the fresh air to roam.

“That being said, if you have any concerns about the safety of the eggs you are eating, be sure to cook them,” Keeler said. “The heat from cooking kills all potentially harmful viruses and bacteria.”

“The national egg shortage caused by the avian flu outbreak has actually been really good for our family’s egg operation, as we have had more demand for our eggs than we have ever experienced in our 20-plus years of farming,” said Kelsey Keener of Sequatchie Cove Farm (credit: Sequatchie Cove Farm)

Eggs on the menu

Restaurants, too, are feeling the pinch of high prices and, in turn, passing the higher prices on to their customers.

Mason Whitman, manager of Brother Juniper’s, a popular breakfast eatery in Memphis, said his restaurant has added a $1 surcharge per each egg dish on the menu, such as omelets and eggs Benedicts.

“This is a temporary measure, though,” he said. “We can do away with that once the prices we pay from our suppliers in Arkansas come down.”

Farmers and table egg companies are working to replace lost flocks, but it’s a process that takes time.

“Replacement birds must be hatched and raised for up to six months before they can begin laying eggs,” Tabler said. “As long as we continue to lose laying flocks to avian influenza on a regular basis, we will continue to be playing catch up with replacement flocks and egg prices will remain high and possibly go higher for the remainder of the year.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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Taylor Resolution Limping

Young at Kiwanis: Leery of “BS” issues (Photo: Jackson Baker)

After a lengthy period of inaction on it, state Senator Brent Taylor’s much-vaunted legislative resolution to remove Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy from office was scheduled for a hearing in the state House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on Wednesday of this week.

Asked about the matter following his appearance before the Downtown Kiwanis Club last week, Mayor Paul Young had this to say: “I don’t think they should remove a duly elected individual. I told Brent that, but I opt not to get into all of the public back-and-forth on DA Mulroy or the school board because I believe that Memphis needs a leader that can stay above the fray. And I get so sick of the drama. It’s just nauseating. Every day is some BS that people want us to respond to that’s all personality-driven that does not help our people, so I stay out of it and let them figure it out.”

What the House subcommittee will try to figure out was expressed this way in Taylor’s original Senate resolution: “General Assembly, Statement of Intent or Position – Authorizes the Speaker of Senate to appoint a committee to meet with a like committee from the House of Representatives to consider the removal of Steven J. Mulroy from the office of District Attorney General for the Thirtieth Judicial District by the Tennessee General Assembly acting pursuant to Article VI, Section 6 of the Constitution of Tennessee.” 

The Senate resolution has not so far advanced. It is the House version, more or less identically worded and co-sponsored by state Representative Kevin Vaughn, that will be considered on Wednesday, to be regarded either (in Young’s phrase) as “BS” or, as Senator Taylor has argued, as an important element of his soi-disant “Make Memphis Matter” campaign.

Taylor has issued a lengthy, if somewhat sketchy, bill of particulars to justify his essential claim that Mulroy’s tenure is injurious to the prospects for crime control in Memphis. 

Word to this point has been that few members of the legislature’s leadership or its rank and file have shared Taylor’s sense of urgency or timing.

The issue will be vying for attention with such matters as a pending measure authorizing state takeover of the Memphis Shelby County School Board and Governor Bill Lee’s announcement this week of a supplement to his budget.

And both Mulroy and Young, in his remarks to Kiwanis last week, have cited figures showing dramatic recent decreases in the incidence of crime in the city.

The mayor presented figures showing a 13.3 percent decrease in crime overall since 2022, with reductions occurring in every ZIP code except two. Homicides were down 30 percent, and motor vehicle thefts were down 39 percent, he said.

He also cited figures demonstrating that crimes in the FedExForum area were substantially lower than equivalent areas in Downtown Nashville.

“Results,” he said when asked why the city council, which failed to approve his reappointment of Police Chief C.J. Davis in 2024, had unanimously approved her this year.

• The appointment of Circuit Court Judge Valerie Smith to replace the retiring Judge Arnold Goldin on the state  Court of Appeals was finalized by the legislature on Monday.

• Inspired by the ongoing series of angry popular protests of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) actions at congressional town halls nationwide, Shelby County Democrats made ready to organize a protest action last Saturday at a scheduled local appearance by 8th District Republican Congressman David Kustoff.

The action had to be called off, however, when Kustoff’s speech to the men’s club at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Germantown was canceled because of what church officials called “safety concerns.” 

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GOP Wants to Teach Students High School, Job, Marriage, and Kids Will Keep Them Out of Poverty

Photo by Trust "Tru" Katsande on Unsplash
Photo by Trust "Tru" Katsande on Unsplash

Graduate high school.

Get a job. Or, graduate college or a technical school. (Then, get a job.)

Get married. 

Have babies. 

This is a poverty-fighting equation Tennessee GOP lawmakers want to be taught to every single Tennessee student. 

The equation is called the “Success Sequence” and it’s nothing new. A version of this sequence has probably been taught to kids for decades. But the idea took formal form in a 2009 book by Brookings Institution researchers called “Creating An Opportunity Society.” Those researchers aimed to ”improve the prospects for our less-advantaged families and fellow citizens” and help bridge gaps in income and wealth.

Two Tennessee Republicans — Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) and Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) — sponsor legislation before state lawmakers now that would require ”family life curriculum [to] include age-appropriate instruction and evidence regarding the positive personal and societal outcomes associated with the method.” 

“ ​Data shows that students who follow the sequence are more likely to excel in school and generally earn higher grade point averages than students who do not,” Bowling said when she introduced her legislation in a committee last week. “This program prepares students for a healthy, productive life.”

In very practical terms, if this bill is passed, it might mean that public school kids in Tennessee would hear this theory that following these steps will either lead you out of poverty or help keep you out of it. Also, in practical terms, a version of this bill died in committee in February before the Mississippi Legislature. 

So, how big of a deal is this idea of teaching the “Success Sequence,” really? Well, a strata of academics, think tanks, and policy advocacy groups think it’s a big one. 

Some will argue data say if you follow the sequence your chances of ending up in poverty are around 3 percent. Others have taken that further (answering critics) to say the equation works almost equally well for African Americans and Hispanics, even with the uphill climbs they may face in racist systems. 

”With the completion of each step of the success sequence, the racial gap narrows rapidly,” Melissa Byers Melissa, the Chief Marketing Officer at National Fatherhood Initiative, wrote in 2022. “For Millennials who followed all three steps, only 4 percent of [B]lacks and 3 percent of Hispanics are poor by their mid-30s. Stunningly, the racial gaps in poverty are almost closed.”

Maybe the biggest naysayer of the Success Sequence is Matt Bruenig, who studies and writes about class, labor, poverty, and welfare for the People’s Policy Project. He’s written posts headlined, “The Success Sequence Is About Cultural Beefs, Not Poverty,” and “The Success Sequence Continues To Be Complete Nonsense.” 

Bruenig argues, broadly, that full-time work alone will keep people out of poverty. The rest of the sequence, he said, is about pushing cultural agendas. Marriage, for example, won’t keep anyone out of poverty unless they marry another full-time worker, he said. Marriage could lead to poverty if someone marries someone with a disability or work limitation, he said. 

”Success Sequence writers, realizing that full-time workers are rarely in poverty, end up advocating that ‘full-time work plus their cultural preferences’ will get you out of poverty,” he wrote. “This is technically true, but only because full-time work plus anything will get you out of poverty.” 

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Police Identify Rappers Shot Downtown Saturday

Sauce Walka (Credit: Sauce Walka via Instagram)

The Memphis Police Department (MPD) identified the two rappers targeted in Saturday’s shooting Downtown.

MPD said Monday that Letorian Hunt, 27, was killed in the incident, which occurred at the Westin Hotel, one block west of FedExForum. Albert Mondane, 34, was transported to the hospital with non-critical injuries.

Hunt was a rapper performing under the stage name Sayso P. He was arrested in 2020 by Las Vegas police for pimping and pandering. Police there became suspicious of Hunt after numerous Instagram posts and seeing lyrics to one of his songs, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

Mondane performs under the stage name Sauce Walka. His father has told media outlets that the Houston-based rapper was shot in the thigh and is expected to make a full recovery. 

“We want to assure our community and visitors that Downtown Memphis is a safe place,” MPD tweeted when news of the shooting surfaced this weekend. “This was not a random act of violence. We understand the concern and reiterate that this was not random. MPD is committed to bringing those responsible to justice.”

MPD is still investigating the shooting and say they will provide updates on the investigation as they come in. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.

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Memphis Flyer Podcast March 20, 2025: The Memphis Tigers Return to March Madness

Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway

Memphis Flyer sportswriter Frank Murtaugh talks with Chris McCoy about the Memphis Tigers’ long-awaited return to the NCAA basketball tournament. Murtaugh knows everything, McCoy knows nothing. Plus, the single worst bracket in March Madness history! Can you do better?

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State Suggests More Transparency for Shelby County Criminal Justice System

Shelby County Jail (Photo: Shelby County Sheriff's Department)

The criminal justice system in Shelby County is murky, a new report says. 

How many days does it take for a case to be taken care of? How many days are people incarcerated (if they can’t make bail) before their cases are taken care of? How often do people stay clean while they’re out on bail? How often are they re-arrested while out on bail? How often are people booked? How often do they ask for a trial? 

Some answers came to these questions in a report issued Wednesday by a division of the Tennessee State Comptroller’s Office. That report was requested in February 2024 by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) who wanted those answers (and more) about “issues in Shelby County,” specifically.   

For the request, the comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) sent agents to Memphis. Over the past year, those agents interviewed about 70 people and spent about 100 hours at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center. They conducted research, watched court proceedings, and analyzed datasets from at least 22 state and local entities. 

From August to September, the agents gathered data on about 1,033 cases as they made their ways through the criminal justice process here. They watched 417 cases in General Sessions Court and 616 cases in Criminal Court. For the sake of equal comparison, they included 145 sample cases for the report that had similar data. 

“The more than 1,030 cases observed represent a fraction of the cases heard in these courtrooms on any given day,” reads the report. “Across all eight General Sessions courtrooms that hear felony cases, more than 480 cases are heard daily. In the nine Criminal Court courtrooms, this number rises to over 500 cases heard daily.” 

Here’s some of what they found in Criminal Court:

• Half of cases were completely through court (or disposed) in two months.

• A quarter of cases were disposed in 37 days or fewer.

• Nearly all the cases were disposed within 266 days, or nine months.

• Shelby County had the highest number of open felony charges (2,335) at the time, double the Nashville count of 1,024.

• Of the 95 defendants OREA watched, only seven re-offended while on pretrial release (bail or free release). 

• A majority (60 percent) of felony charges did not change at the end of a case from 2018 to 2023. The remaining charges either decreased (about 20 percent) or increased (about 21 percent). 

Here’s some of what they found in General Sessions Court: 

• Over half of the cases were dismissed.

• A quarter of cases were disposed with a guilty plea.

• About 10 percent of cases were bound over to a grand jury.

However, no one in Shelby County is collecting this information. These observations are from a small sample size from a small group of OREA agents. 

Without aggregate data, it’s impossible to judge the efficiency, throughput capacity, or overall health of the Shelby County Justice system. The OREA group thinks someone here should be responsible for gathering that data and sharing it with the public. 

“The result is that the public cannot assess overall, aggregate trends and patterns; the public cannot see the big picture,” reads the report. 

The group offered a list of detailed recommendations to improve the situation here, but it is unknown what next step may come in the situation. 

Read the full report below:

ShelbyCoExecSummaryDownload