PRESS RELEASE -- Attorney Elliott J. Schuchardt has sued the State of Tennessee for harassment and a declaratory judgment. Schuchardt alleges in the complaint that Tennessee state employee Sandy Garrett is using conflicts of interest in the existing rules to harass attorneys critical of state officials.
Attorney Sues Tennessee for Harassment and Declaratory Judgment.pdf
1. NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATTORNEY SUES TENNESSEE FOR HARASSMENT
AND DECLARATORY JUDGMENT
Knoxville, Tennessee -- October 7, 2022 -- Tennessee lawyer Elliott J. Schuchardt has
filed a lawsuit against the State of Tennessee, alleging harassment.
The complaint alleges that Sandy Garrett, the chief lawyer at the Tennessee Board of
Professional Responsibility, is using conflicts of interest in the court rules to unlawfully harass
Schuchardt on political grounds. Between 2017 and 2022, Schuchardt defended a case against
two senior federal government employees, located in Knox County. The complaint alleges that
Garrett has filed dozens of frivolous claims against Schuchardt, in retaliation for Schuchardt's
defense of the case.
According to the complaint, several Tennessee attorneys have sued either Garrett or the
Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility for unlawful political retaliation. For example,
attorney David Danner sued the Board for retaliation after Danner published an opinion in the
Nashville City Newspaper criticizing Tennessee's system for selecting judges. Attorney Brian
Manookian sued the Board for retaliation, after Manookian filed suit against a Tennessee state
official. Attorney Yarboro Sallee sued the Board for unlawful retaliation, after she litigated
against certain prominent Tennessee politicians. Schuchardt contends that he is also a victim of
retaliation.
The complaint alleges that Garrett is using conflicts of interest in the present system to
engage in political retaliation. A majority of the persons on the Tennessee Board of Professional
Responsibility are lawyers subject to Garrett's review and regulation. Schuchardt alleges in the
2. complaint that the attorneys on the Board have an interest in approving Garrett's actions, in order
to protect their own licenses to practice law.
Schuchardt is asking the court to find the current system unlawful, and require that non-
lawyers make up a majority of the persons on the Board. Tennessee adopted a similar system for
the regulation of state judges in 2019.
Schuchardt is a 1993 graduate of Columbia Law School. Schuchardt has spent much of
the last ten years engaging in civil liberties work in the courts. In 2015, he obtained an
injunction preventing Sweet Briar College, located in Amherst, Virginia, from closing.
Schuchardt has also challenged federal government policies alleging unlawful collection of e-
mail.
The case is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, in
Nashville.
CONTACT:
Elliott J. Schuchardt
8033 Ellisville Lane
Knoxville, Tennessee 37909
Phone: (865) 304-4374
E-mail: elliott016@gmail.com
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