Falls v. Goins

• Docket Number: M2020-01510-SC-R11-CV
• Decision Date: 29 June 2023
• Parties: ERNEST FALLS ET AL. v. MARK GOINS ET AL.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

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ERNEST FALLS ET AL.
v.
MARK GOINS ET AL.

No. M2020-01510-SC-R11-CV

Supreme Court of Tennessee, Nashville

June 29, 2023

Session: October 5, 2022.

Appeal by Permission from the Court of Appeals Chancery Court for Davidson County No. 20-0704-III Ellen Hobbs Lyle, Chancellor

In this appeal, we consider the interplay and applicability of two statutes that relate to suffrage rights of Tennessee residents previously convicted of infamous crimes in other states. Although the Tennessee Constitution recognizes the importance of the right of its residents to vote, the Constitution also allows the General Assembly to restrict the right of a person to vote "upon a conviction by a jury of some infamous crime, previously ascertained and declared by law, and judgment thereon by court of competent jurisdiction." Tenn. Const. art. I, § 5. Ernest Falls, a resident of Tennessee since 2018, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Virginia in 1986, an infamous crime under the laws of Tennessee. In 2020, Mr. Falls was granted clemency in Virginia by then-Governor Ralph Northam. The grant of clemency reinstated Mr. Falls' rights of citizenship in Virginia, including his right to vote. Subsequently, Mr. Falls attempted to register to vote in Grainger County, Tennessee, in June of 2020. The Grainger County Election Commission denied his restoration of voting rights request and cited "Incomplete/Insufficient Document(s)" as the reasoning for the denial. Mr. Falls and a co-plaintiff, who was left off the voter rolls under similar circumstances, filed a lawsuit in the Chancery Court for Davidson County, arguing that Tennessee Code Annotated section 2-19-143(3) requires the state to re-enfranchise persons convicted of out-of-state infamous crimes as soon as said persons are "pardoned or restored to the rights of citizenship by the governor or other appropriate authority of such other state." Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-143(3) (2014). Respondents, three public employees sued in their official capacity, countered that Mr. Falls also is required to comply with requirements set forth in another statutory provision, Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-29-202, which requires that persons convicted of infamous crimes pay outstanding court costs, restitution, and child support obligations before they can be re-enfranchised. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-29-202 (2018). The Chancery Court granted summary judgment in favor of the three state officials, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment with Mr. Falls acting as the sole remaining plaintiff. Like the Court of Appeals, we affirm the grant of summary judgment

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and conclude that, in order to regain the right of suffrage in Tennessee, Mr. Falls and other similarly situated individuals must comply with both section 2-19-143(3) and the additional requirements set forth in section 40-29-202.

Tenn. R. App. P. 11 Appeal by Permission; Judgment of the Court of Appeals Affirmed

William L. Harbison, Lisa K. Helton, and Christopher C. Sabis, Nashville, Tennessee, and Danielle Lang and Blair Bowie, Washington D.C., for the appellant, Ernest Falls.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Andrée S. Blumstein, Solicitor General; Janet M. Kleinfelter, Deputy Attorney General; and Alexander S. Rieger, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Mark Goins, in his official capacity as Coordinator of Elections for the State of Tennessee, Tre Hargett, in his official capacity as Secretary of State for the State of Tennessee, and Herbert H. Slatery III, in his official capacity as the Attorney General for the State of Tennessee.

Angela Bergman, Nashville, Tennessee, and Christopher J. Climo and A.J. Bolan, Washington, D.C., for the amicus curiae, League of Women Voters of Tennessee.

Steven J. Mulroy, Memphis, Tennessee, and Joshua Stanton, Nashville, Tennessee, for the amici curiae, Tennessee Law Professors, Arlene Amarante, Maha Ayesh, Mohamed Fazier, Demetria Frank, Donna Harkness, David Hudson, Susan L. Kay, Daniel Kiel, Katy Ramsey Mason, Steven Mulroy, David Romantz, Willie Santana, Daniel M. Schaffzin, Kevin M. Stack, Joshua Stanton, Cara Suvall, and Stevie Swanson.

Jeffrey S. Bivins, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roger A. Page, C.J., and Holly Kirby, J., joined. Sharon G. Lee, J., filed a dissenting opinion. Sarah K. Campbell, J., not participating.

OPINION

JEFFREY S. BIVINS, JUSTICE.

I. Factual and Procedural History

Tennessee resident Ernest Falls ("Mr. Falls") brings this appeal as a challenge to the Grainger County Administrator of Elections' denial of his attempted voter registration in 2020. In this appeal, we address important questions of statutory interpretation and, more specifically, the interplay between two Tennessee statutes that impose reinstatement requirements for those who have forfeited their right of suffrage as a result of an out-of-state criminal conviction.

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Mr. Falls was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Virginia in 1986, an infamous crime under Tennessee law.^[1] More recently, he was granted individualized clemency in the Commonwealth of Virginia by then-Governor Ralph Northam in February 2020.^[2] In accordance with Virginia law, Mr. Falls' rights of citizenship, including his right to vote, were restored in Virginia upon the grant of clemency. Mr. Falls moved to Tennessee in 2018, two years before the restoration of his voting rights took effect in Virginia. He did not dispute at the trial court level that he was legally disenfranchised at the time he moved to Tennessee.

After his grant of clemency in Virginia, Mr. Falls attempted to register to vote in Tennessee in June 2020, prior to that year's primary and general elections. When he sought to register, Mr. Falls disclosed his out-of-state conviction and verified that his rights subsequently had been restored in Virginia. The Grainger County Election Commission ultimately denied Mr. Falls' restoration of voting rights request, citing "Incomplete/Insufficient Document(s)" as the basis for the denial.

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On July 21, 2020, Mr. Falls and a similarly situated co-plaintiff, Arthur Bledsoe,^[3]filed a Verified Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in Davidson County Chancery Court. The Complaint named three defendants-Mark Goins, the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections; Tre Hargett, the Tennessee Secretary of State; and Herbert Slatery, III, the then-Tennessee Attorney General (collectively, the "State Officials"), all of whom were sued in their official capacities as public employees.

Mr. Falls sought from the trial court a declaration that "[Mr. Falls] and those similarly situated with out-of-state convictions who have had their civil rights restored by the state of their conviction are eligible to vote." Mr. Falls argued that, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 2-19-143, his right to vote in Tennessee had been automatically restored at the moment the right was restored in Virginia. Section 2-19-143 is a statutory provision that "govern[s] the exercise of the right of suffrage for those persons convicted of [] infamous crime[s]." Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-143 (2014). Mr. Falls further requested a temporary and permanent injunction (1) ordering the State Officials to place Mr. Falls on the voter rolls and issue him a voter registration card, (2) ordering the State Officials to process voter registration applications of other similarly situated individuals, and (3) enjoining the State Officials from denying voter registration applications for similarly situated applicants in the future.

In an Order filed on July 31, 2020, the trial court denied Mr. Falls' motion for a temporary injunction related to the August 6, 2020 election. Mr. Falls subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment on August 21, 2020, asserting that his constitutional rights had been violated based on "an erroneous interpretation of Tennessee law." The State Officials countered that Mr. Falls' rights had not been restored in Tennessee because Mr. Falls had not complied with additional re-enfranchisement provisions set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-29-202. The State Officials argued that, in accordance with that statutory provision, Mr. Falls' ability to obtain a voter registration card was contingent upon proof of payment of any outstanding court costs, restitution, and child support obligations.^[4] See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-29-202 (2018). Because Mr. Falls had not provided such evidence, the State Officials asserted that Mr. Falls' voter registration application was properly denied.

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Ultimately, on October 6, 2020, the trial court denied Mr. Falls' motion for summary judgment and instead granted summary judgment to the State Officials. The trial court concluded that "[r]equiring [Mr. Falls] to comply with the laws of this state, including complying with child support obligations, restitution orders, and other court orders, is both rational and constitutional."

Upon direct appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court. Falls v. Goins, No. M2020-01510-COA-R3-CV, 2021 WL 6052583, at *5 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2021). The intermediate appellate court noted in its opinion that it could not "put Tenn. Code Ann. [section] 2-19-143 into a silo and ignore subsequent legislative enactments regarding re-enfranchisement," and ultimately held that "the requirements of Tenn. Code Ann. [sections] 40-29-201 to -205 supplement the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. [section] 2-19-143 by providing additional requirements for the reinstatement of voting rights for convicted felons regardless of their state of conviction." Id. Mr. Falls appealed the decision in accordance with Rule 11 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. This Court granted that appeal on June 9, 2022 and heard oral arguments as part of the October 5, 2022 docket in Nashville, Tennessee.

II....