The Dispute Index

Steve Mulroy

Portrait of Steve Mulroy
Barryfordmemphis, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0SourceCC BY-SA 4.0

Steven J. Mulroy is the district attorney general of Shelby County, Tennessee, elected in August 2022. In the 1990s he worked at the U.S. Department of Justice as a civil rights litigator and later a federal prosecutor. He taught criminal law, constitutional law and civil rights at the University of Memphis law school for 22 years and served eight years on the Shelby County Commission. He is the author of Rethinking U.S. Election Law: Unskewing the System.

Also known as Steven J. Mulroy, Steven MulroyWebsite (opens in a new tab)
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What we have documented

We have documented 1 statement by Steve Mulroy, in 1 case. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.

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Statements by Steve Mulroy

Portrait of Steve Mulroy

Steve Mulroy

Role at the time: Shelby County District Attorney, in a statement released by his office

Condemned

Response to this claim

At the trial-court level in Andrew Hayes's post-conviction case, the district attorney's office, not the Tennessee attorney general's office, is the proper party to represent the state.

“We respectfully disagree with the Court's remarks. It's entirely appropriate for the prosecution to agree with the defense when the prosecution is convinced that the facts and the law justify that position. In fact, it would be unethical for a prosecutor to do otherwise.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Shelby County District Attorney's Office: DA Mulroy Issues Statement Following Andrew Hayes Hearing · Steve MulroyFull release
Why we used this label

The reference point is Judge Lee Coffee's handling of Andrew Hayes's petition to vacate his conviction, including his remarks at the August 2026 hearing on the district attorney's role, which Hayes's lawyers cited as evidence of bias. Mulroy expressly rejects the court's remarks about his office's role, which criticizes the judge's handling of the petition.

Read statementFull case: Judge Lee Coffee steps aside from Andrew Hayes's wrongful-conviction case, denying bias; DA Steve Mulroy disputes his remarks on the prosecutor's role

A participant is a subject of the case. A speaker has a statement documented in it. A commentator has an opinion or editorial documented in it.

Case

Judge Lee Coffee steps aside from Andrew Hayes's wrongful-conviction case, denying bias; DA Steve Mulroy disputes his remarks on the prosecutor's role

Relationship to this case: Participant

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee recused himself on November 6, 2026, from Andrew Hayes's bid to vacate his murder conviction after Hayes's lawyers questioned his impartiality. Coffee denied any prejudice; the district attorney supports Hayes's petition.

Criminal Justice PolicyUpdated

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