Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said his bill to require juvenile court judges to use dedicated courtrooms located in detention facilities is directly inspired from “Elon Musk and DOGE,” drawing comparisons between the move and those suggested by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
According to its legislative summary, Senate Bill (SB) 718 would require juvenile courts to use “a dedicated courtroom provided by the county that is closest in proximity to an approved detention center,” whenever holding hearings for any “child custody, detention, or adjudicatory proceeding.”
Taylor, in a video posted to the social media platform X, said the idea for the legislation was “taken right out of Elon Musk’s book, and DOGE.”
“We have a brand new facility that our community paid $32 million for to detain juveniles in Memphis and Shelby County. Inside that detention facility is a courtroom, and unfortunately that courtroom has remained as closed as a Chick-fil-A is on Sunday,” said Taylor, adding that his bill would “require the juvenile judge to come to the juvenile detention facility and have those hearings at the detention facility.”
Currently, without laws mandating judges show up at juvenile detention facilities, Taylor said that sheriff’s deputies are taken off the street to transport juvenile defendants.
“We’re having to take sheriff’s deputies off the street, handcuff and shackle these juveniles, then send them all the way downtown to juvenile court,” said the senator. “This will allow the juveniles to stay in class, they can walk down the class when their hearing comes up, and they can return to their classroom after the hearing.”
Taylor added in his post to X, “This means more focus on education at the center for the detained, less burden on our deputies, and a step to #MakeMemphisMatter in crime management.”
SB 718 has advanced from subcommittees in the State Senate, and is now waiting to be scheduled for a full vote, while House Bill (HB) 797 by State Representative Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville) is scheduled for consideration by the House Judiciary Committee next Wednesday.
Taylor recently celebrated the Senate passage of another bill modifying procedures for juvenile criminal defendants, SB 221, which will allow judges to consider a minor defendant’s prior criminal history when determining sentencing and bond status.
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.
Image “State Sen. Brent Taylor” by State Sen. Brent Taylor.