State Representative Stacey Campfield requested a Tennessee Attorney General’s opinion on the 9th and 10th Amendment issue and Tennessee’s resolution pertaining to the 10th Amendment.

He could not successfully upload the pdf file so he asked that I post it here.  You can visit his site for his commentary on the issue.

And please note: AG Opinions are not law.  They are merely opinions.  As we have seen on various occasions, when the opinion meets the courtroom so to speak, they often are wrong.  Ask Knox County about the AG opinion on term limits.  

Thanks to Rep. Campfield for asking for the opinion.  It will be helpful as we move forward.  I intend to contact some attorney friends from a couple of other states who are qualified in this area and see if they would be willing to dissect the Tennessee opinion.

Here’s the file: 09-131campfieldjuly24

SPECIAL NOTE: Tom Humphrey reported yesterday that the Tennessee Crack Tax was smacked down by the Tennessee Supreme Court.  Read about it here.

Now how is this relevant to the opinion?  It buttresses my point that opinions are just opinions, and sometimes poor ones.  The same AG opining on the 9th and 10th is also the very same AG who gave some bad advice on the crack tax.  Looking back:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Attorney General Bob Cooper is arguing in a filing with the Supreme Court that the drug trade wouldn’t be profitable in Tennessee if it weren’t for the functions performed by the state.

Cooper makes that argument in his bid to get the court to hear an appeal of a September ruling that the state’s levy on illegal drugs – known as the “crack tax” – is unconstitutional.

The lower court said legitimate businesses can be taxed because the state provides the basic conditions that allow trade to take place. Since the state is trying to destroy the drug trade, it shouldn’t also be allowed to tax it.

But Cooper argues that if the state did not provide the infrastructure and economic environment that drives demand, the drug trade wouldn’t be profitable.

And from the City Paper 2007:

The Crack Tax may not be dead yet.  

After meeting today with Attorney General Bob Cooper, the Department of Revenue will ask the Tennessee Supreme Court to allow the state to appeal the ruling that the “Crack Tax” is unconstitutional.

**I wonder how much this bad opinion cost the taxpayers in litigation fees?