State Ex Rel. Barker v. Harmon

OPINION

ANDERSON, Justice.

In this appeal, we are asked to decide whether a private legislative act, 1 which authorized a monthly expense allowance for a General Sessions Judge, violates Article VI, § 7 of the Tennessee Constitution, 2 which prohibits increasing or diminishing judges’ salaries during their term of office.

The trial court found that the expense allowance was an increase in compensation during the judge’s term of office and was, therefore, unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court, finding that the private act was unconstitutional, but concluded that the…