Herbert H. Slatery III (born March 8, 1952)[1] is an American attorney from the state of Tennessee. A Republican, he served as the Attorney General of Tennessee from 2014 to 2022.
Herbert Slatery | |
|---|---|
| 27th Attorney General of Tennessee | |
| In office October 1, 2014 – September 1, 2022 | |
| Governor | Bill Haslam Bill Lee |
| Preceded by | Robert Cooper |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Skrmetti |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1952 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | University of Virginia (BA) University of Tennessee (JD) |
Early life
editHerbert Slatery received his bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and his Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law.[2]
Career
editSlatery served as Bill Haslam's campaign treasurer when Haslam ran for mayor of Knoxville, and as chief legal counsel during Haslam's governorship. The Supreme Court of Tennessee chose Slatery to succeed Robert E. Cooper Jr. as attorney general on September 15, 2014.[3] He was sworn in on October 1.[4]
In April 2016, Slatery argued that an anti-transgender discrimination bill would cost the state of Tennessee millions in federal funding.[5] However, in May 2016, he said Tennessee would cover the legal costs incurred by lawsuits should specific schools in the state choose not to follow federal non-discrimination policies towards transgender students.[6] He also decided to sue the United States Department of Education over the policy.[7]
In June 2017, Slatery joined with Republican Attorneys General from nine other states, plus Idaho Governor Butch Otter, in threatening the Donald Trump administration that they would litigate if the president did not terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy that had been put into place by President Barack Obama. On August 31, Slatery reversed his position, withdrew his support of the proposed lawsuit, and urged passage of the DREAM Act.[8][9]
On February 8, 2019, Slatery issued an opinion that gender identity is covered under Tennessee's hate crime laws.[10]
On December 8, 2020, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, where certified results showed Joe Biden the electoral victor over President Donald Trump, in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Slatery joined the lawsuit (Texas v. Pennsylvania) and an amicus brief filed by the Missouri A.G., seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election by challenging election processes in four states where Trump lost. State Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro criticized Slatery for spending taxpayer money to interfere with the elections in four other states, terming his intervention as, "...embarrassing and marks a low point in the history of the office," of the Tennessee Attorney General. He termed the legal work as "notably shoddy."[11][12] Slattery and 16 other states' Attorneys General who support Paxton's challenge of the election results alleged numerous instances of unconstitutional actions in the four states' presidential ballot tallies, arguments that had already been rejected in other state and federal courts.[13]
Personal life
editSlatery and his wife live in Nashville, Tennessee.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Lawyercentral.com profile". Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ a b "Herbert Slatery: Governor's lawyer and friend". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
- ^ "Herbert Slatery III, Haslam's chief legal counsel, picked as Tennessee attorney general". The Tennessean. September 15, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
- ^ "Slatery to be sworn in as Tennessee's 27th AG". October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
- ^ Ring, Trudy (April 11, 2016). "Tenn. AG: Anti-Trans Bill Will 'Almost Certainly' Cost State Millions". The Advocate. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ Hale, Steven (May 25, 2016). "Tennessee Joins States Suing Obama Administration Over Transgender Student Bathroom Rules". The Nashville Scene. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ Gervin, Cari Wade (May 25, 2016). "Tennessee sues over transgender bathroom ruling". The Nashville Post. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ Tennessee’s attorney general: I’ve changed my mind, DACA is good, pass the DREAM Act, Vox.com, Dara Linddara, September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
- ^ Texas leads 10 states in urging Trump to end Obama-era immigration program, Texas Tribune, Julián Aguilar, June 29, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
- ^ STATE OF TENNESSEE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
- ^ Senator Jeff Yarbro Bashes AG Slatery's Support for Election Lawsuit, Memphis Flyer, Toby Sells, December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Missouri, Kansas sign onto lawsuit seeking to overturn presidential election, Kansas City Star, Bryan Lowry, December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Trump thought courts were key to winning. Judges disagreed, Associated Press, Coleen Long and Ed White, December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.