Tennessee State Sen. Charlane Oliver and Constituents Challenge Illegal Retaliation in Response to Gerrymandering Fight

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. This retaliation, in the form of unlawful punishments, also violated her constituents’ Fourteenth Amendment right to equal representation in the legislature. The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP), Campaign Legal Center Action, and Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, PLLC represent Senator Oliver and her constituents.

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. In violation of her constitutional right to free speech, Senate leadership retaliated against Senator Oliver 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 the unlawful retaliation 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.

“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.”

“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.”

“Senator Oliver took a bold stand against racial gerrymandering in her state, an act that should be commended,” said Brent Ferguson, senior director for strategic litigation at Campaign Legal Center Action. “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.”

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