Fri
Aug 22 2008
10:51 am
Patton Remains Constable, No Sunshine Violation
By: Rockwood Lawyer

The Chancellor ruled this morning that Roane County Commission never accepted Patton's resignation from his position as Constable prior to his revocation of that resignation. Therefore, there never was a vacancy, and he remains Constable. On a side note, this was predicted here nine months ago.

The Chancellor also ruled that Patton had not proven that there was any violation of the Open Meetings Act in connection with the Patton "resignation" and "appointment" discussions.

After the ruling, Patton put on his badge, retrieved his "big stick" from his car, and issued a statement to the media about said stick and local law enforcement.

The Roane County News broke the story, and indicates that more will be available online at the Roane County News site and in Monday's dead tree edition.

So has Tommy gotten one

Submitted by WhitesCreek on August 22, 2008 - 10:59am.

So has Tommy gotten one right anytime recently?

This is getting rather expensive.

My question to you is "What

Submitted by ladybee on August 22, 2008 - 5:23pm.

My question to you is "What has Tom got wrong lately" It would be nice to know before you make a statement about anyone like this.

Well, you sure called that one, Mark!

Submitted by RoaneBooster on August 22, 2008 - 11:27am.

Congratulations.

I'm curious as to how the chancellor disposed of the precedents that had been set by years of previous resignations never having been acted on by a resolution of County Commission. And where is there a clear statement of law (I guess this makes one - by setting a new precedent) that says what the County Commission must do to accept a resignation. And I'm not clear on why the County Commission has to accept (or not) a resignation from an elected office.

These are all real questions for me - I'm not trying to argue at all :-)

Were you able to hear what Patton said about local law enforcement and his stick?

WC - do you have any idea of what Tom McFarland's win/lose record is for the county? I don't have a tabulation, either, but I bet there are more wins than losses. Bigger headlines - versus no headlines - isn't the same as an actual count.

RB

Ruling

Submitted by Rockwood Lawyer on August 22, 2008 - 11:33am.

The Court will probably issue a ruling citing the authorities it considered. Or, perhaps, the parties filed briefs, and the Court will just issue a short order stating the bottom line ruling. I'll try to get whatever is filed in the case and post it online. That way you can go directly to the source.

I didn't personally hear the comments about the big stick, which is why I haven't attempted to repeat them. I'm sure there will be quotes from all involved in the media.

Thank you very much!

Submitted by RoaneBooster on August 22, 2008 - 11:37am.

I really am at a loss to understand the ruling. I'd like to see the chancellor's rationale.

He is really an interesting character! Being in his court is an experience unto itself.

RB

You Mean Chancellor White?

Submitted by Rockwood Lawyer on August 22, 2008 - 12:06pm.

Chancellor White, not our normal Chancellor Williams, decided this one.

Exactly!

Submitted by RoaneBooster on August 22, 2008 - 12:30pm.

Sorry for not being so clear. Billy Joe White. I remember him smoking like a dragon on the bench. Nobody else in the courtroom did, but Hizonner did :-)

That was years ago, of course. Had some amazing things to say about the litigiousness of East Tennesseans once, too.

He's something.

RB

What I was told...

Submitted by WhitesCreek on August 23, 2008 - 7:13am.

Any Board, Council, or Commission speaks through its minutes. The accepted minutes are THE official record of the legal actions of the Roane County Commission and there was nothing in the minutes of the Commission ever accepting Mark Patton's resignation.

So who would be the legal advisor to the Roane County Commission whose paid responsibility it is to advise them on the proper conduct of legal business? I don't have intimate knowledge of the charter, but I would put that on the County Attorney. If I'm in error, I apologize to my friend Tom McFarland.

I think you heard right, WC

Submitted by RoaneBooster on August 23, 2008 - 11:38am.

Based on what Mark told us of what the Chancellor said. Yet the question remains as to precedent. What had happened prior to that to inform the County Attorney of that issue, or to let him know that Chancellor White - well known for decades of sometimes surprising rulings - would have ruled in precisely that manner?

The previous County Mayor/Executive, Ken Yager, was a licensed attorney who had had a private practice as well, and I don't recall any issues of resignations during his administrations. They didn't make specific minutes of resignations, I don't believe.

Is there a document called the Roane County Charter that spells out such things that could have informed him merely by his reading it? Is there a statute that tells him the same?

I don't think there's ANY lawyer ANYWHERE that will tell you he/she couldn't be surprised by something like that that they had no precedence for. So that's what happened to Tom McFarland, unless you have other evidence that he should be labeled an incompetent attorney.

RB

RB, I never ever said Tommy

Submitted by WhitesCreek on August 23, 2008 - 12:41pm.

RB, I never ever said Tommy was incompetent. That was your word.

On the boards I serve on, we typically have a legal advisor present and expect advice as required based on the advisor's observation. It doesn't have to be asked for. It is the role of that advisor to interject himself when he thinks his advice will help fulfill the aims of the board.

If the County Attorney is just a lawyer on call, I will be disappointed in the County Charter. (Not for the first time) I am expecting the CA to be proactive, something which I feel should have been done at the time Patton offered his resignation.

I would have expected, particularly in such a high profile situation impacting Roane County's image abroad, that the county attorney would have pointed out the actions needed to perfect that resignation.

Now...Do I think the County Commission is blameless? Why hell no. The first thing a potential commissioner should do is learn the duties and requirements of the job.

Demerits all around, with the strong exceptions of Russell Johnson and Jack Stockton.

To change the subject somewhat...I am curious about what the actual legal situation regarding resignations and the subsequent withdrawal of the offer. The way I see it, Mark Patton, by making his resignation effective immediately, quit his job, no ifs ands or buts. I think Patton's attorney was able to make the court case about something that was a gray issue and not about the unquestioned fact of his quitting. How was the resignation worded? Did he ask the Commission to accept his resignation or did he quit? If he quit...How can he "UN-quit"?

Whatever he did...steps should be taken to remove him from office for cause. Utlimately, Mark Patton loses this case and the only winner is Chris Caywood, for whatever legal fees and publicity he gets as a result.

Very good points, WC

Submitted by RoaneBooster on August 23, 2008 - 1:20pm.

I appreciate your saying what you did about Tom's not being incompetent. I serve - and have served - on boards that have legal advisers. I have been through enough with at least one of them to realize that, proactive as they may be, they cannot always be prescient and see precedents that haven't been set yet. To be sure, a failure to be prescient is not the same as incompetence.

I've never seen a "County Charter." Have you? Where is it? Is it later than 1801? Does it deal with this issue of resignations? I don't know, but if it doesn't, Tom would have had to be prescient - a soothsayer - to foretell the ruling of Chancellor Billy Joe White. For Tom to have been proactive with regard to "spreading upon the minutes" the commission's acquiescence to Patton's resignation, the information would have had to be available to him. Do you or I know that it was? I don't. Maybe you do.

I thoroughly agree that the ultimate winner will be Chris Cawood, as he will collect some fees and gain some notoriety.

I absolutely agree with you - as did Tom McFarland and the Commissioners and the County Executive - that the immediate wording in Patton's resignation said, "I QUIT - NOW!" Although the Chancellor obviously has the legal authority to decide (at least at his level), I did note that his wording said it was his OPINION. That can be different than RULING, although in this case it certainly had the EFFECT of a fuling. But Chancellor White is not an ignorant man. I have known him to be man that usually chooses his legal wording carefully. So I think there is significance in his use of the word "opinion." I may be wrong. But I think it is significant. Chancellors can be overturned on appeal. They're rulings aren't ALWAYS a perfect interpretation of the law. But the county has to decide whether their money would be better spent on an ouster suit or an appeal.

RB

But... this discussion isn't really about Tom McFarland

Submitted by RoaneBooster on August 23, 2008 - 11:38am.

I fear that this will set off a fairly quick move in the County Commission to get the legislature to allow the abolition of the office of constable in Roane County. That is sad, for the constables who do serve well and honorably, and for those (especially rural) citizens who value the services of their constable.

Yet given the options left to them, it also seems a pretty reasonable response. What else can they do?

It's interesting that even the Tennessee constables' group has withdrawn certification from Patton, and it seems questionable how much they would ever have to do with him again, given both his history and his stated intentions of how he will behave. Professionally behaving constables want nothing to do with him.

Yet I can't help but feel that Roane County will be safer without Mr Patton as a constable.

RB

Again I agree with you RB

Submitted by ladybee on August 23, 2008 - 3:10pm.

Again I agree with you RB about this case not being about Tom. It is a shame that some on here seem to be trying to do this and having nothing good to say about him. He , in my opinion, has done a good job for the county since he was elected the first time and spends a lot of time working for the county.

No Order Yet

Submitted by Rockwood Lawyer on August 27, 2008 - 10:06am.

I reviewed the Chancery Court file. There is no Order yet. Cawood is going to draft it and submit it to the Court to sign, which is common.

It was somewhat surprising to me that there were no briefs filed by either side addressing the issue of how the body authorized to fill the vacancy (in this case, County Commission) may accept a resignation. Instead, the attorneys went into Friday's hearing and orally argued a few cases, including Murray v. State ex rel. Luallen, 89 S.W. 101 (Tenn. 1904) and Bailey v. Greer, 468 S.W.2d 327 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1971). I have conveyed these cases to our host, and hopefully he can post them here.

Both of these cases were also included in the Tennessee Attorney General's Opinion regarding Patton's resignation. That opinion also cited two other cases on the vacancy question -- State ex rel Bergschicher v. Grace, 82 S.W. 485 (1904) and State ex rel. Wilson v. Bush, 208 S.W. 607 (1919). Those cases also may have been argued at Friday's hearing, and I forwarded them to our host for posting.

Thanks, Mark!

Submitted by RoaneBooster on August 27, 2008 - 10:17am.

That was really thoughtful of you to take the time to do! I want to try to dig into those cases and learn a bit from them. I appreciate your work to help get us educated.

RB

Link to Cases

Submitted by Rockwood Lawyer on August 27, 2008 - 10:52am.

Our host kindly posted the cases here.

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