Comptroller finds Weakley Co. Court Clerk sought improper expungements

The Weakley County Circuit Court clerk resigned on Dec. 2, 2025. Six days later, the Tennessee Comptroller said she improperly sought expungements for someone who was not eligible. (Photo: Courtesy of the Office of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury)

A Tennessee Comptroller’s Office investigation found that the Weakley County Circuit Court clerk improperly signed petitions to expunge criminal records for someone who was not eligible for expungement under Tennessee law.

The office released its report on Dec. 8, six days after Weakley County Circuit Court Clerk Courtney McMinn submitted her letter of resignation. 

McMinn’s resignation is effective Dec. 31, according to her letter, and she wrote she would “support a smooth transition.”

The Circuit Court clerk maintains court records and carries out administrative duties, including expungement — a process in which legal records of certain criminal cases can be “erased in the eyes of the law,” as defined by Tennessee’s Administrative Office of the Courts. 

State law requires individuals seeking expungement to file a petition to expunge records, which the clerk must serve to the District Attorney. The District Attorney may then submit recommendations and evidence to the court. An expungement order becomes official when it is signed by the District Attorney or Assistant District Attorney and the judge, and submitted to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to remove the charge or charges from the public record.

Someone is eligible for expungement if they are convicted of two eligible offenses or less, and anyone with more than one conviction must be determined eligible for expungement by the court.

McMinn prepared four petitions for a person convicted of forgery crimes in Weakley, Obion, Henry and Carroll Counties and sent the petitions to the corresponding court clerks between June and July 2023, according to the comptroller’s report. She also admitted to investigators that she signed the individual’s name on all four petitions.

Officials in the District Attorney’s office for the 27th Judicial District in Tennessee, which serves Obion and Weakley counties, told investigators that McMinn was told that the person was not eligible for expungement because they were convicted in multiple counties, the report states.

When another court clerk asked if the individual was eligible given his charges in multiple counties, McMinn emailed a TBI supervisor to clarify. The supervisor wrote that the court would have to determine eligibility. McMinn then told the clerk that the supervisor said “all of the 4 counties are considered a single criminal episode as the dates are all within the same time frame,” and if judges agree, “he should be eligible for the expungement,” according to the comptroller’s report.

“Because (McMinn) provided misleading information, the court clerk prepared the order and sent it to the DA’s office, where it was ultimately signed by an (assistant district attorney) and the judge,” the report states.

Expungements were signed and completed by the TBI in Weakley and Carroll counties. The judges in those counties were “not aware that the individual had convictions in multiple counties,” investigators wrote. The District Attorney’s office reported that it never received the expungement petition for the Weakley County charges, and only became aware of the expungement in August 2023 when a clerk from another county told the office about a signed petition and order she received, according to the report.

The expungement was signed by an ADA and judge in Obion County, but it was not sent to the TBI. The expungement process in Henry County was halted once the improper expungements were discovered, the report states.

The improper expungements were reversed in September and October 2023.

McMinn has served as the Weakley County Circuit Court clerk since the Weakley County Commission appointed her to serve the remaining term of the former clerk in June 2021. She was elected to serve in the position for a full term in August 2022.

McMinn’s resignation letter does not mention the investigation. 

“This role has been an honor, but it also demands a significant time commitment, and I’ve recognized the need to prioritize my family during this season of life,” she wrote.

McMinn did not respond to a request for comment.
WeakleyCountyCircuitCourtClerkReport (1)
Courtney McMinn Resignation Letter