The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that a Hamilton County Circuit Court judge did not have the jurisdiction in entering an injunction against the Election Commission. Mayor Ron Littlefield had filed suit against the Commission to stop the placement of a recall on the November 2010 ballot.
The Appeals Court sent the matter back to the Hamilton County Election Commission.
In its judgment summary the Appeals Court said, "The trial court acted without jurisdiction in entering an injunction against the Election Commission. The judgment of the trial court is vacated and the complaint dismissed."
Richard Beeland of Mayor Littlefield's office responded by saying, “This recall effort has been a costly distraction and a deterrent to the unprecedented progress that we have accomplished in this community. The Court of Appeals simply ruled that the election commission was entitled to make a final decision regarding the issues surrounding the recall ballot prior to judicial review. Please note that the Court of Appeals made no decision whatsoever with regard to the sufficiency of the recall petition and those issues are left to be judicially resolved another day.
"Mayor Littlefield is confident that the Election Commission has the courage and capacity to come to a legally-correct decision on how to proceed, especially in light of the inaccuracies and inconsistencies pointed out to the Circuit Court following the filing of this lawsuit.
Mayor Littlefield is exploring all legal options at this time."