NASHVILLE — Today, Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver and four of her constituents filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Senator Oliver’s First Amendment rights were violated when she was retaliated against for speaking out against racial gerrymandering.
The lawsuit states that the retaliation, in the form of unlawful punishments, also violated Oliver’s constituents’ Fourteenth Amendment right to equal representation in the legislature.
“I filed a federal lawsuit alongside my constituents challenging retaliation by Tennessee Senate leadership,” Oliver said in a statement.
The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP), Campaign Legal Center Action, and Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, PLLC represent Senator Oliver and her constituents.
“When I stood on my Senate desk, I did it because the legislature swiftly moved to silence the voices of Black Tennesseans,” said Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville). “An injustice of that magnitude demanded an equally urgent response. As the only Black senator representing Nashville, I carry the voices of people who have been pushed to the margins of this state’s policies for generations. I stood for my constituents and for every Tennessean who needed a voice to reflect their staunch opposition. Punishing me for that speech punishes them.”
At a special legislative session in May 2026, Senator Oliver denounced a new congressional map drawn by the Tennessee legislature to split the predominantly Black city of Memphis into three separate congressional districts. Oliver says in violation of her constitutional right to free speech, Senate leadership retaliated against her by refusing to count her vote against the gerrymander and imposing financial punishments that interfere with her ability to represent her constituents.
The new lawsuit seeks to reverse action against Senator Oliver and to correct the legislative record to reflect her vote, cast on behalf of her constituents, against the disenfranchisement of Black voters in Tennessee.
“The First Amendment protects the right to speak out on issues of public importance,” said Jonathan Backer, Senior Counsel at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. “When Senator Oliver took a stand against the dismantling of Tennessee’s only majority-Black congressional district, she did so not only to convey her own views but also those of her constituents. The punishment of Senator Oliver for her speech is not what democracy looks like.”
Brent Ferguson, Senior Director for Strategic Litigation at Campaign Legal Center Action said Oliver took a bold stand against racial gerrymandering in her state, an act that should be commended,
“Instead, her vote was not counted, she was deprived of key funds that are essential for her work serving her constituents, and Senate leadership removed her from key committee assignments. That is not a price anyone should have to pay for their speech. The court must uphold Senator Oliver’s constitutional rights and reverse these egregious and unlawful punishments,” Ferguson said.
The lawsuit – filed by The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Campaign Legal Center Action and Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, PLLC. — alleges that Senate leadership illegally punished Oliver after she spoke out against a congressional map that split Memphis into three districts and eliminated Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of their choice.
It says the retaliation included refusing to count Oliver’s vote, imposing financial penalties that hinder her ability to serve constituents, and removing her from committee assignments.
“Elected officials do not lose their First Amendment rights when they take office. Legislators must be free to speak out on matters of public concern without fear of punishment,” Oliver said in a statement. “The rush to enact gerrymandered maps in Tennessee and the punishments imposed on me for opposing those maps are both part of the same campaign to silence black voices. The leaders of the Tennessee Senate want to give themselves and their allies all the power, want to rig elections so no one can challenge them for that power, and want to silence anyone who complains about it.”
