The World According to Oatney

Federal intervention

A federal judge has said that he will ask the Tennessee Supreme Court to intervene and rule immediately on the validity of the Knox County Charter.

I am not normally a fan of federal intervention except in some emergency of the most grave sort (no, this does not qualify as an emergency of any sort), and in most circumstances I think the federales should keep their grimey hands off of our State and out of our business. However, the very purpose of having the federal government in a strict constitutional sense is so that we might enjoy a common currency, weights and measures, a common defense, and that the federal government may act as an intermediary in a conflict such as this one.

U.S. District Court Judge James H. Jarvis has elected to send a "certified question" to the State Supreme Court. The Court is in no way obliged to answer him, which is why this sort of mediation is something that I find acceptable. The Justices will likely answer Judge Jarvis' question, and probably rule on the validity of the Knox County Charter.

If nothing else, this action will bring some finality to the issue of the Charter so that people know what the state of county government is in Knox County.

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 7:32 AM