Cummings v. Beeler, 223 S.W.2d 913 (Tenn. 1949)
The attorney general of Tennessee had issued an opinion that a law requiring the expenditure of funds was unconstitutional. The Tennessee Supreme Court did not speak in terms of whether state officials are bound by the attorney general’s opinion. Rather, the Court spoke in terms of duty: “State officials are presumed to do their duty…
Coble Systems, Inc. v. Armstrong, 660 S.W.2d 802 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1983).
Administrative interpretations of statutes made pursuant to attorney general opinions are entitled to great weight in statutory interpretation cases.
City of Cleveland v. Bradley County, 1999 Tenn. App. LEXIS 261, (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 16, 1999)
Attorney General opinions are not binding on courts because they are “neither statutes nor municipal ordinances, [and] do not carry the weight of law.
State ex rel. Comm’r of Transportation v. Medicine Bird Black Bear White Eagle, 63 S.W.3d 734, 773 (Tn. Ct. App. 2001).
The Tennessee Department of Transportation sought to widen a road and in the process discovered two ancient graves. The Department filed suit seeking permission to relocate the human remains found on the property and to discontinue the use of the property as a burial ground. The Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs, among others, intervened to…
