Leech v. Wayne County

588 S.W.2d 270, 1979 Tenn. LEXIS 516
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 24, 1979
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 588 S.W.2d 270 (Leech v. Wayne County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leech v. Wayne County, 588 S.W.2d 270, 1979 Tenn. LEXIS 516 (Tenn. 1979).

Opinions

OPINION

HARBISON, Justice.

This case involves the constitutionality of certain provisions of Chapter 934 of the [271]*271Public Acts of 1978, providing for the restructure of county governments.

Under the terms of the act, in Wayne County a county executive was to be elected in 1978, but the county judge remained in office for the remainder of his term for the purpose of performing judicial duties. Thereafter these duties were to be transferred to the county executive. Also, the county legislative body was subjected to special statutory restrictions not imposed upon such bodies generally. The trial judge held all of the special provisions of the 1978 act applicable to Wayne County invalid and impermissible class legislation under Article XI, § 8 of the state constitution.

In the case of Waters v. State ex rel. Schmutzer, 583 S.W.2d 756 (Tenn.1979), the Court considered some of the provisions of this statute which are involved in the present litigation, particularly those conferring judicial authority upon the county executive. In the Waters case the provisions of Chapter 934 of the Public Acts of 1978 purporting to transfer the judicial functions of the county judge or county chairman to the county executive were held to violate Article VI, § 4 of the state constitution. For that reason, a significant part of the structure or plan for county government contained in the 1978 statute cannot and will not be implemented.

With some exceptions, the legislation contemplated the election in 1978 of a county executive in those counties which had formerly had a county chairman, county administrator or county manager as the chief executive or fiscal officer. There were some nineteen of these counties. Seventy-four counties, prior to the 1978 legislation, had incumbent county judges, many of whose terms of office did not expire until 1982. In some of these, however, the county judge had been divested of judicial duties by private acts and the term of office reduced to four years. The 1978 legislation permitted most of the county judges, except in some of the larger counties and except in Wayne and Roane Counties, to remain in office until the expiration of their terms, performing both judicial and executive, or fiscal, duties. In Wayne and Roane Counties, a county executive was to be elected in 1978, as in those counties formerly having county chairmen, but judicial functions were not conferred upon the county executive and were not to be transferred until 1982 or until the death or resignation of the county judge. In most of the other counties having a county judge, judicial functions were to be transferred to the county executive in 1982, or sooner in the event of the death, resignation or removal from office of a county judge.

As a result of the holding of this Court in the Waters case, the provisions of the 1978 legislation respecting the transfer of judicial functions have been invalidated. The decision in that case does not affect the legislative plan to have county executives elected in most of the counties, but it does require that a separate or special provision be made for the judicial functions of the county-paid judge or judges holding the juvenile and/or monthly county courts in all counties where county executives were given judicial duties either in 1978 or in future years. In effect, unless the legislature revises the entire scheme, after Waters there will have to be separate officials in each county, one or more performing judicial functions and another those of the county executive.

This is what the legislature has already provided in Roane and Wayne Counties in the 1978 Act.

According to the 1970 census Wayne County had a population of 12,365 and Roane County 38,881.

In or before August 1978 county executives were elected in twenty-four counties. In six of these, other than Wayne and Roane Counties, there formerly had been county judges. These six counties and their respective populations are:

Giles 22,138
Hamilton 255,077
Overton 14,866
Rutherford 59,428
Sevier 28,241
Van Burén 3,758

[272]*272In the following counties, county executives were chosen to replace former county chairmen, administrators or managers. Population figures are from the 1970 census.

Anderson 60,300
Cannon 8,467
Chester 9,927
Cocke 25,283
Crockett 14,402
Dyer 30,426
Fayette 22,692
Hamblen 38,696
Jefferson 24,940
Johnson 11,569
Meigs 5,219
Moore 3,568
Putnam 35,487
Rhea 17,202
Unicoi 15,254
Washington 73,924
White 16,329

The foregoing tables do not include Wayne and Roane Counties where county executives were called for in 1978 to replace the county judge except for judicial duties. An election was held in Wayne County, but has not yet been held in Roane.

It is apparent that, pursuant to the 1978 legislation, many counties having approximately the same populations as Wayne and Roane were required to elect county executives to replace their former chief county officers. It is also apparent that in those counties where judicial duties were transferred to the county executive, there will have to be special provisions made by the local legislative bodies to choose someone else to perform those duties, pursuant to the Waters decision, until remedial legislation is provided. Accordingly, Wayne and Roane Counties are not alone in having a county executive without judicial duties, nor are they treated differently by the 1978 legislation from many other counties close to them in size and population.

The statutory provisions pertaining to Wayne and Roane Counties, insofar as they affect the county judge and the county executive, are part of a transitional plan made necessary by recent constitutional changes. In our opinion, they are not part of any general, mandatory uniform scheme of county government. Rather, these two counties were classed with twenty-three other counties having a county chairman, a similar chief officer or outgoing county judge. The net effect of the 1978 legislation was that twenty-four county executives had been elected by August 1978 and some sixty-nine others will be elected in 1982 or sooner in the event of a vacancy in the office of county judge.

The General Assembly has very broad powers and discretion with respect to the structure of local governments, including some special authority which was added in Article VII of the state constitution, as revised in 1978. That Article, in part, provides:

“The General Assembly may provide alternate forms of county government including the right to charter and the manner by which a referendum may be called.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jordan v. Knox County
213 S.W.3d 751 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2007)
Bailey v. County of Shelby
188 S.W.3d 539 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2006)
Walter Bailey v. County of Shelby
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2005
Walter Bailey v. County of Shelby - Dissenting
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2005
The City of Humboldt v. J.R. McKnight
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2004
Smith County v. Dave Enoch
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2003
Nolichuckey Sand Co. v. Huddleston
896 S.W.2d 782 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1994)
Knox County Ex Rel. Kessel v. Lenoir City
837 S.W.2d 382 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1992)
First Utility District of Carter County v. Clark
834 S.W.2d 283 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1992)
Civil Service Merit Board of City of Knoxville v. Burson
816 S.W.2d 725 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1991)
Knoxville's Community Development Corp. v. Knox County
665 S.W.2d 704 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1984)
Leech v. Wayne County
588 S.W.2d 270 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1979)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
588 S.W.2d 270, 1979 Tenn. LEXIS 516, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leech-v-wayne-county-tenn-1979.