Court rules against lawmakers in Memphis National Guard suit

(The Center Square) – A group of state and local lawmakers who sued Gov. Bill Lee over the National Guard deployment in Memphis does not have the standing to sue, the Tennessee Court of Appeals said Tuesday.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Memphis City Councilmember J.B. Smiley Jr., Shelby County Commissioners Henri E. Brooks and Erika Sugarmon, and state Reps. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, Gabby Salinas, D-Memphis, and Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, sued over the deployment in October 2025. A Davidson County chancellor issued a temporary injunction in November, but allowed the guard to remain in place while the state appealed the decision.

The three-member panel said its ruling doesn’t mean that no one has standing.

“Six of the seven plaintiffs in this action are legislators who are endeavoring to assert legislative institutional injuries on behalf of legislative bodies that have not authorized them to do so,” the court said. “The final plaintiff is a county mayor who does not purport to have a...