A federal judge could rule as soon as Oct. 19 on whether he will temporarily lift the ban on five advocates and one public official from upcoming Memphis City Council meetings.
On Oct. 16, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker for the Western District of Tennessee heard arguments from longtime City Council Attorney Allan Wade
, City Attorney Tannera Gibson and attorneys representing the plaintiffs.Parker did not indicate how he would rule, saying he needed to see more evidence, such as video footage, from an Oct. 6 Council meeting that recessed after protests broke out due to the Council's decision to delay voting on a data center moratorium.
The lawsuit followed six advocates receiving letters in the mail saying they were banned for two
meetings due to their conduct during that Oct. 6 meeting.
The lawsuit was filed on Oct. 15, making the Oct. 16 motion hearing a quick turnaround for the council and city's attorneys.
Wade acknowledged the lack of response from the City Council, saying he had been notified of the lawsuit a day before it was filed but only received full and proper notice of the lawsuit about 24 hours prior to the hearing. He agreed to submit evidence and a response to the lawsuit over the weekend.
Additionally, Wade pitched the possibility of punting some items on the Council's agenda if Parker could not rule on the bans by the scheduled Oct. 20 meeting. Those items, involving the future of data centers in Memphis, would be taken up by the Council at a later date after the bans had been adjudicated, Wade said.
Parker seemed interested in that as a solution, but attorneys representing the advocates said they would need to confer with their clients before agreeing to the terms. Jennifer Safstrom, one of the attorneys for the advocates, did say she was unsure of that as a solution since some of the plaintiffs speak on multiple items at Council meetings.
Why are activists suing the Memphis City Council?
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on Oct. 14, and an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order was filed the same day.
The lawsuit questions the constitutionality of the Council's public comment policies, which include decorum requirements barring people from calling out Councilmembers by name. But the temporary restraining order requests a court lift the bans those activists received so they can attend the Council's Oct. 20 meeting.
It is being brought by six people: community advocates Amber Sherman and LJ Abraham, activist KeShaun Pearson and his mother Kimberly Owens-Pearson, a high school senior, whom The Commercial Appeal is not naming due to their being a minor, and Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson.
Pearson, a Democrat, is in the midst of a contentious race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives against Republican Tennessee state Sen. Brent Taylor. Early voting for that race's general election began Oct. 14, the same day the lawsuit was filed, and Pearson has made data centers one of his campaign's focal points.
It was not previously clear how many people received bans from the City Council. During the Oct. 16 hearing, Wade said a total of seven bans — including the six plaintiffs — were issued. The only person to receive a ban who is not part of the lawsuit, Wade said, was local activist Brandy Price.
However, Price did not officially receive a ban in the mail because the address written down on Price's comment card did not correspond to a real address.
"It is a vacant lot. Nobody is living in a vacant lot, so we don't know how to serve [Price]," Wade said of the other ban.
Wade also provided context as to how the bans were decided. According to Wade, city staffers reviewed video footage and issued bans to people who he said were riling up the crowd by using the address on their comment cards. Because he said many people in the crowd were not regular attendees at meetings, those people could not be identified by rewatching footage.
Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Judge may lift Memphis City Council bans after data center protest
