Outgoing Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert will be paid the majority of her attorney's fees tied to a long-lasting, failed ouster attempt, Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson ruled on Aug. 24.
Trial for Halbert's ouster was meant to begin on the 24th, but Robert Meyers, the attorney retained by Shelby County government to prosecute the ouster case, filed a motion for voluntary dismissal on July 17. Throughout the hearing on attorney's fees, Corbin-Johnson lambasted the county for what she described as a bad faith prosecution.
"You can't make allegations and then withdraw the suit when it's time to put up. That's not how we prosecute cases," Corbin-Johnson said.
She also described the timing of the dismissal as problematic and
said this case is "an example of how ouster cases should never be prosecuted," but specified repeatedly that her criticisms did not extend to Meyers or the attorneys retained by Shelby County. Instead, she said, the criticisms were directed directly at the county, saying sometimes there are "certain limitations lawyers have when representing certain clients."
Meyers brought the second ouster case in August 2024, about a year after Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp's original ouster case was dismissed. In the same way Wamp's ouster was dismissed, Corbin-Johnson dismissed Meyers' ouster for a lack of standing.
Meyers successfully appealed that ruling, with the Tennessee Court of Appeals overturning Corbin-Johnson's ruling in October 2025. Halbert's attorney, Darrell O'Neal, appealed that ruling to the Tennessee Supreme Court, but the highest court in the state declined to hear the case. In April 2026, the case returned to Shelby County Circuit Court, and Corbin-Johnson set a new trial date.
After the Aug. 24 hearing, Halbert will be awarded the attorneys' fees for the ouster case prior to the appeal on Corbin-Johnson's dismissal and the fees on all legal work done after the appeal returned to circuit court. It will not include fees for work done at the appellate level.
A formal amount has not yet been reached due to dedications and outstanding billing, O'Neal said on Aug. 24.
Corbin-Johnson, when awarding Halbert attorney's fees, said part of her consideration was the deterrent effect they can have on bringing a potentially baseless ouster. In the hourslong ruling, Corbin-Johnson said the circumstances behind the case and its eventual dismissal seemed to imply the "whole lawsuit could've been brought for an improper purpose," adding that the "real shame" of the case is that the county can "never prove that it brought the case for a proper purpose."
The voluntary dismissal of the case, according to Corbin-Johnson, was because the county believed it could not turn over all of its discovery to Halbert's attorneys prior to the trial date. Halbert is term-limited and will vacate the clerk's office at midnight on Aug. 31.
Halbert also lost her bid for Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk during the Democratic primary.
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: Shelby County ordered to pay Wanda Halbert's legal fees in ouster case
