Nashville, Tenn. - The Tennessee Supreme Court has one case set for its October 3, 2024 docket in Nashville, Tennessee. The case will be heard at the Tennessee Supreme Court building in Nashville, beginning at 9:00 a.m. CDT. The cases will be livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page at: www.youtube.com/@TNCourts/featured. The details of the case are as follows:
• Gary Wygant and Francie Hunt v. Bill Lee et al. – This direct appeal arises from a challenge to the maps of state legislative districts implemented after the 2020 census. In 2022, Plaintiffs Gary Wygant of Gibson County, Francie Hunt of Davidson County, and Telise Turner of Shelby County filed the operative complaint in this action challenging the maps as unconstitutional. Ms. Turner was later dismissed from the lawsuit. The case was tried before a three-judge panel, which reached a split decision in November 2023.
Mr. Wygant alleged that the House of Representatives map violated Article II, § 5 of the Tennessee Constitution by dividing more counties than necessary. The panel unanimously found that Mr. Wygant only had constitutional standing to challenge the split of Gibson County, where he is from, and dismissed all claims relating to other Tennessee counties. A majority of the panel judges then concluded the House map did not violate the Constitution because the State established the legislature acted in good faith. One panel judge dissented, disagreeing on which party bears the burden of proof, and finding that the State had not proven that the House map split as few counties as possible.
Ms. Hunt alleged that the Senate map violated Article II, § 3 because the districts in Davidson County are not consecutively numbered. The State offered no defense on the map’s constitutionality but argued that Ms. Hunt lacked standing to bring her challenge. A majority of the panel judges found that Ms. Hunt satisfied the requirements for constitutional standing and struck down the map as unconstitutional. One panel judge dissented, finding that Ms. Hunt had failed to demonstrate how the non-consecutive numbering of the Davidson County senatorial districts had caused her an injury sufficient to establish constitutional standing.
Both parties appealed the panel’s decision directly to this Court pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 20-18-105.
Media members planning to attend oral arguments should review Supreme Court Rule 30 and file any required requests to:
Samantha Fisher
Communications Director
Administrative Office of the Courts
Samantha.fisher@tncourts.gov