Subpoenaed senators say action is unconstitutional

Southern Standard
January 24, 2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  -- Three senators have been subpoenaed to appear in court following Sen. Ophelia Ford's federal injunction against the Senate for its attempt to void her special election victory, but two of them say the move is unconstitutional.

Republican Sens. Mark Norris of Collierville and Curtis Person Jr. of Memphis, and Sen. Don McLeary, D-Humboldt, are among the 32 senators named in the complaint filed last week to stop the Senate from holding a floor vote to unseat Ford over her disputed 13-vote victory.

A special committee of the Senate voted 17-14 the day before to nullify the District 29 election.

Hours after the complaint was filed, U.S. District Judge Bernice Donald blocked the Senate and scheduled a hearing for Jan. 25 in Memphis, the same day the Senate is to convene.

But being required to travel to West Tennessee would be unconstitutional because no senator "can be called on to testify anywhere else about the debate in the Senate," Norris said.

"I've been subpoenaed by a federal judge to leave while I'm in session and go back to West Tennessee and give testimony about my actions as a senator," Norris said Monday. "That is unconstitutional."

"This is historically unprecedented," Person said. "I've been here 40 years, and I've never encountered anything like this."

McLeary, who was the only Democrat to vote for the resolution, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Ford was declared the winner of the seat held by her brother John Ford until he was arrested on federal corruption charges last year. She received 4,333 votes, while Republican challenger Terry Roland had 4,320 in the Sept. 15 election.

Roland and his supporters contend that felons and nonresidents of District 29 were allowed to vote in the election. They describe 146 votes as improper. The Commercial Appeal newspaper, meanwhile, has found two ballots cast in the names of dead people.

Ford, whose district is predominantly black, has said the action taken by the Senate was a racist attempt by the Republican Party to get her seat.

There have been no allegations that Ophelia Ford did anything wrong and she is still awaiting results from investigations by a Senate committee and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

While in Memphis Monday speaking to National Guard troops, Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen said the Senate moved too quickly to overturn the election and Ford should remain in office while investigations are underway.

"My reaction when I heard what was going on in the Senate was, 'Gosh, if I were in her shoes, I'd sure think about going to court' ... And I genuinely feel that if she were a Republican, I would feel the same way," Bredesen said.

The Senate would set a "bad trend" if the majority party used incomplete evidence on alleged irregularities to overturn an election won by its opposition, he said.

If serious wrongdoing is found, a new election should be held, Bredesen said, but "there's always some question about any election. You can always find something wrong, I imagine."