PETITION TO REMOVE JIMMY DUNN FROM OFFICE
The Issue
We Demand Tennessee Officials Take Immediate Action to Remove District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn
To Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the Tennessee House of Representatives, and the appropriate courts and the Judges of the Fourth Judicial District of Tennessee:
We, the undersigned citizens, call upon Tennessee's public officials to use the lawful powers available to them to immediately investigate and pursue the removal of District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn from public office where the applicable legal standards are satisfied.
This is not simply a political disagreement.
This is a demand for accountability, transparency, and equal application of Tennessee law.
District attorneys exercise some of the most consequential powers entrusted to government. They make decisions concerning criminal prosecutions, investigations, grand juries, plea agreements, law enforcement matters, and the liberties of Tennessee citizens.
With that extraordinary authority comes an equally extraordinary obligation to obey the law, respect the courts, faithfully perform the duties of office, and maintain the public trust.
Tennessee law provides mechanisms for holding public officials accountable—including ouster and impeachment.
We are asking Tennessee officials to use them.
1. JUDGES OF THE FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE HAVE AUTHORITY TO REMOVE DUNN
Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-101 establishes grounds under which public officials may forfeit and be ousted from office.
Among other things, the statute applies when an official knowingly or willfully commits misconduct in office or knowingly or willfully neglects a duty imposed upon that official by Tennessee law.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-101:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-101/
Read the complete Tennessee Removal of Officers statutes, § 8-47-101 through § 8-47-127:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/
We call upon the officials empowered by Tennessee law to examine Jimmy Dunn's conduct and determine whether grounds for ouster exist.
If those grounds are established, we demand that the lawful process for removing him from office be pursued.
2. ATTORNEY GENERAL JONATHAN SKRMETTI HAS AUTHORITY TO INITIATE OUSTER PROCEEDINGS
The Tennessee General Assembly has given the Attorney General and Reporter specific authority to initiate ouster proceedings.
Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-102 provides that the Attorney General and Reporter has the power, on the Attorney General's own initiative, to institute ouster proceedings against state, county, and municipal officers under the chapter.
In other words, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti does not have to wait for someone else to initiate the process.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-102:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-102/
We therefore call upon Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to immediately review the allegations, public records, court proceedings, and other relevant evidence concerning Jimmy Dunn and determine whether grounds exist to institute an ouster proceeding.
3. TENNESSEE LAW ALSO PROVIDES FOR INVESTIGATION OF WRITTEN OUSTER COMPLAINTS
Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-103 provides another important protection for Tennessee citizens.
The statute addresses written notice alleging that an officer has committed conduct described in § 8-47-101.
It provides for investigation by the Attorney General and Reporter and other specified prosecuting attorneys within their respective jurisdictions. When that investigation establishes reasonable cause for the complaint, the statute directs that proceedings be instituted in the appropriate court to seek the officer's ouster.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-103:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-103/
The citizens of Tennessee should not be required to simply accept allegations of serious misconduct involving a powerful government official without an independent review.
Investigate the evidence. Determine whether reasonable cause exists. And, if it does, institute the proceedings Tennessee law provides.
4. TENNESSEE COURTS HAVE AUTHORITY WITHIN THE OUSTER PROCESS
Once an ouster action is properly brought, Tennessee's statutory process places the matter before the courts.
Tennessee law even provides a mechanism through which an accused official may be suspended from performing the duties of office pending the final hearing and determination of an ouster proceeding.
See Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-116.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-116:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-116/
And if the defendant is ultimately found guilty in the ouster proceeding, Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-120 provides for a judgment of ouster removing the defendant from office.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-120:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-120/
We therefore call upon the appropriate Tennessee courts and judges to faithfully exercise the authority granted to them should an ouster proceeding against Jimmy Dunn come before them.
5. THE TENNESSEE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HAS THE SOLE POWER OF IMPEACHMENT
Ouster is not Tennessee's only mechanism for holding public officials accountable.
The Tennessee Constitution provides a separate constitutional remedy: impeachment.
Under Article V, Section 1 of the Tennessee Constitution:
The House of Representatives has the sole power of impeachment.
Article V, Section 2 provides that impeachments are tried by the Tennessee Senate and establishes the requirements for conviction.
Most importantly for this petition, Article V, Section 4 identifies the public officials subject to impeachment and expressly includes “attorneys for the State.”
We therefore call upon the Tennessee House of Representatives to investigate whether Jimmy Dunn's conduct provides sufficient grounds for impeachment under the Tennessee Constitution.
If the House determines that the constitutional standard has been satisfied, we demand that the House exercise its constitutional impeachment authority.
Read the Tennessee Constitution through the Tennessee General Assembly:
https://www.capitol.tn.gov/about/docs/tn-constitution.pdf
OUR DEMANDS
We, the undersigned, call for immediate action.
We ask:
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to review the evidence concerning Jimmy Dunn and exercise his authority under Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-102 to institute ouster proceedings if the statutory grounds are satisfied.
We ask the appropriate officials to investigate any properly submitted written complaint pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-103 and, if reasonable cause is established, institute the proceedings required by Tennessee law.
We ask the appropriate Tennessee courts to exercise their statutory authority in any properly filed ouster proceeding, including the authority provided under § 8-47-116, when legally warranted.
We ask the Tennessee House of Representatives to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist to impeach Jimmy Dunn pursuant to Article V of the Tennessee Constitution and, if those grounds are established, initiate impeachment proceedings.
And we ask that the citizens of Tennessee receive full transparency concerning these proceedings and the decisions made by their public officials.
NO PUBLIC OFFICIAL IS ABOVE THE LAW
This petition is bigger than one person.
It is about whether Tennessee's system of accountability works when the person being scrutinized is himself one of the state's most powerful law enforcement officials.
The law cannot be enforced aggressively against ordinary citizens while accountability for those entrusted to enforce that law is ignored.
Public office is a public trust.
Prosecutorial authority is not immunity.
Political power does not place anyone above Tennessee law.
If the evidence establishes statutory or constitutional grounds for removal, Tennessee officials have mechanisms available to them.
We are asking them to use those mechanisms.
SIGN THE PETITION
If you believe Tennessee's public officials must be accountable to the law, add your name and demand that Tennessee officials investigate, act, and pursue the lawful removal of Jimmy Dunn if the statutory or constitutional grounds for removal are established.
Send a clear message to:
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti
The Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee Senate
The appropriate courts and officials of the State of Tennessee
Tennessee deserves accountability.
Tennessee deserves transparency.
Tennessee deserves equal application of the law.
No public official should be above it.
316
The Issue
We Demand Tennessee Officials Take Immediate Action to Remove District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn
To Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the Tennessee House of Representatives, and the appropriate courts and the Judges of the Fourth Judicial District of Tennessee:
We, the undersigned citizens, call upon Tennessee's public officials to use the lawful powers available to them to immediately investigate and pursue the removal of District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn from public office where the applicable legal standards are satisfied.
This is not simply a political disagreement.
This is a demand for accountability, transparency, and equal application of Tennessee law.
District attorneys exercise some of the most consequential powers entrusted to government. They make decisions concerning criminal prosecutions, investigations, grand juries, plea agreements, law enforcement matters, and the liberties of Tennessee citizens.
With that extraordinary authority comes an equally extraordinary obligation to obey the law, respect the courts, faithfully perform the duties of office, and maintain the public trust.
Tennessee law provides mechanisms for holding public officials accountable—including ouster and impeachment.
We are asking Tennessee officials to use them.
1. JUDGES OF THE FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE HAVE AUTHORITY TO REMOVE DUNN
Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-101 establishes grounds under which public officials may forfeit and be ousted from office.
Among other things, the statute applies when an official knowingly or willfully commits misconduct in office or knowingly or willfully neglects a duty imposed upon that official by Tennessee law.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-101:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-101/
Read the complete Tennessee Removal of Officers statutes, § 8-47-101 through § 8-47-127:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/
We call upon the officials empowered by Tennessee law to examine Jimmy Dunn's conduct and determine whether grounds for ouster exist.
If those grounds are established, we demand that the lawful process for removing him from office be pursued.
2. ATTORNEY GENERAL JONATHAN SKRMETTI HAS AUTHORITY TO INITIATE OUSTER PROCEEDINGS
The Tennessee General Assembly has given the Attorney General and Reporter specific authority to initiate ouster proceedings.
Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-102 provides that the Attorney General and Reporter has the power, on the Attorney General's own initiative, to institute ouster proceedings against state, county, and municipal officers under the chapter.
In other words, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti does not have to wait for someone else to initiate the process.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-102:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-102/
We therefore call upon Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to immediately review the allegations, public records, court proceedings, and other relevant evidence concerning Jimmy Dunn and determine whether grounds exist to institute an ouster proceeding.
3. TENNESSEE LAW ALSO PROVIDES FOR INVESTIGATION OF WRITTEN OUSTER COMPLAINTS
Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-103 provides another important protection for Tennessee citizens.
The statute addresses written notice alleging that an officer has committed conduct described in § 8-47-101.
It provides for investigation by the Attorney General and Reporter and other specified prosecuting attorneys within their respective jurisdictions. When that investigation establishes reasonable cause for the complaint, the statute directs that proceedings be instituted in the appropriate court to seek the officer's ouster.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-103:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-103/
The citizens of Tennessee should not be required to simply accept allegations of serious misconduct involving a powerful government official without an independent review.
Investigate the evidence. Determine whether reasonable cause exists. And, if it does, institute the proceedings Tennessee law provides.
4. TENNESSEE COURTS HAVE AUTHORITY WITHIN THE OUSTER PROCESS
Once an ouster action is properly brought, Tennessee's statutory process places the matter before the courts.
Tennessee law even provides a mechanism through which an accused official may be suspended from performing the duties of office pending the final hearing and determination of an ouster proceeding.
See Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-116.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-116:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-116/
And if the defendant is ultimately found guilty in the ouster proceeding, Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-120 provides for a judgment of ouster removing the defendant from office.
Read Tennessee Code § 8-47-120:
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-8/chapter-47/section-8-47-120/
We therefore call upon the appropriate Tennessee courts and judges to faithfully exercise the authority granted to them should an ouster proceeding against Jimmy Dunn come before them.
5. THE TENNESSEE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HAS THE SOLE POWER OF IMPEACHMENT
Ouster is not Tennessee's only mechanism for holding public officials accountable.
The Tennessee Constitution provides a separate constitutional remedy: impeachment.
Under Article V, Section 1 of the Tennessee Constitution:
The House of Representatives has the sole power of impeachment.
Article V, Section 2 provides that impeachments are tried by the Tennessee Senate and establishes the requirements for conviction.
Most importantly for this petition, Article V, Section 4 identifies the public officials subject to impeachment and expressly includes “attorneys for the State.”
We therefore call upon the Tennessee House of Representatives to investigate whether Jimmy Dunn's conduct provides sufficient grounds for impeachment under the Tennessee Constitution.
If the House determines that the constitutional standard has been satisfied, we demand that the House exercise its constitutional impeachment authority.
Read the Tennessee Constitution through the Tennessee General Assembly:
https://www.capitol.tn.gov/about/docs/tn-constitution.pdf
OUR DEMANDS
We, the undersigned, call for immediate action.
We ask:
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to review the evidence concerning Jimmy Dunn and exercise his authority under Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-102 to institute ouster proceedings if the statutory grounds are satisfied.
We ask the appropriate officials to investigate any properly submitted written complaint pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-47-103 and, if reasonable cause is established, institute the proceedings required by Tennessee law.
We ask the appropriate Tennessee courts to exercise their statutory authority in any properly filed ouster proceeding, including the authority provided under § 8-47-116, when legally warranted.
We ask the Tennessee House of Representatives to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist to impeach Jimmy Dunn pursuant to Article V of the Tennessee Constitution and, if those grounds are established, initiate impeachment proceedings.
And we ask that the citizens of Tennessee receive full transparency concerning these proceedings and the decisions made by their public officials.
NO PUBLIC OFFICIAL IS ABOVE THE LAW
This petition is bigger than one person.
It is about whether Tennessee's system of accountability works when the person being scrutinized is himself one of the state's most powerful law enforcement officials.
The law cannot be enforced aggressively against ordinary citizens while accountability for those entrusted to enforce that law is ignored.
Public office is a public trust.
Prosecutorial authority is not immunity.
Political power does not place anyone above Tennessee law.
If the evidence establishes statutory or constitutional grounds for removal, Tennessee officials have mechanisms available to them.
We are asking them to use those mechanisms.
SIGN THE PETITION
If you believe Tennessee's public officials must be accountable to the law, add your name and demand that Tennessee officials investigate, act, and pursue the lawful removal of Jimmy Dunn if the statutory or constitutional grounds for removal are established.
Send a clear message to:
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti
The Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee Senate
The appropriate courts and officials of the State of Tennessee
Tennessee deserves accountability.
Tennessee deserves transparency.
Tennessee deserves equal application of the law.
No public official should be above it.
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Petition created on September 2, 2026