Title 16, Courts

Any incorporated city or town may by ordinance provide for the election of a city judge or judges by popular vote. The popular election of the judge or judges may be an alternative to the method provided in the charter or applicable general law provisions or in addition to that m…

Any city judge elected by popular vote must meet the requirements established in Tenn. Const. art. VI, § 4 for judges of inferior courts.

The term of office of the city judge elected pursuant to this part shall be eight (8) years, except for any initial term that may be shorter. Once the ordinance is adopted providing for the popularly elected judge, the municipal governing body may appoint a qualified person to se…

A vacancy in the office of the popularly elected city judge shall be filled by appointment by the governing body. The person appointed, however, may serve only until the next regular August general state election. At this election, a person shall be elected to serve any unexpired…

(a) The salary of the popularly elected city judge shall be established in one (1) of the following ways:(1) The salary may be fixed by the governing body by ordinance or resolution prior to the term of office and shall not be increased nor diminished during the term;(2) (A) The …

(a) Notwithstanding another provision of law, constitutional provision, or judicial interpretation thereof, a municipal judge who was duly elected or appointed to office prior to March 7, 2025, and who is qualified for such office under the laws and interpretations in effect at t…

(a) The municipal governing body may by ordinance require the city court clerk serving the popularly elected city judge to be elected by the voters of the city or town for a term of four (4) years. The elected clerk may be an alternative or in addition to the court clerk provided…

(a) This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Municipal Court Reform Act of 2004.” (b) As used in this part:(1) “Any law to the contrary” includes, but is not limited to, any conflicting provision of any general statute, local law, private act, charter provision, municipa…

(a) For any municipality that does not have, on May 5, 2009, a municipal court that was ordained and established by the general assembly, a municipal court is created to be presided over by a city judge. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary:(1) A municipal court possesses juri…

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, every popularly elected or appointed judge of a municipal court is authorized to administer oaths.

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, municipal court costs shall be set and collected in the amount prescribed by municipal law or ordinance. From such amount, two dollars ($2.00) shall be forwarded by the municipal court clerk to the state treasurer for deposit and shall…

(a) Notwithstanding § 67-4-602, or any other law to the contrary, there is levied a state privilege tax on litigation of thirteen dollars and seventy-five cents ($13.75) in all cases in a municipal court. All taxes levied pursuant to this subsection (a) shall be collected in acco…

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, contempt of a municipal court shall be punishable by fine in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00), or such lesser amount as may be imposed in the judge's discretion.

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person dissatisfied with the judgment of a municipal court, in any case or cases heard and determined by the court acting pursuant to § 16-18-302(a), may, within ten (10) days thereafter, Sundays exclusive, appeal to the circuit court …

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a judge of a municipal court may not concurrently hold any other office or employment with the municipality. This section does not apply to any municipal official or employee who, on March 1, 2005, concurrently holds office as judge of…

(a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a)(4), each calendar year, the judge of each municipal court must attend at least three (3) hours of training or continuing education courses provided by, through or with approval of the administrative office of the courts (AOC…

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, at all times there shall be a person elected, appointed or otherwise designated to serve as clerk of the municipal court. Immediately upon each such election, appointment or designation, the chief administrative officer of the municipa…

(a) (1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, on or after May 12, 2003, concurrent general sessions jurisdiction shall be newly conferred upon an existing or newly created municipal court only in compliance with the procedures and requirements set forth in this section.(2) A m…

(a) If a municipal judge is unable to preside over municipal court for any reason, then a special substitute municipal judge shall be determined pursuant to an ordinance of the governing body of such municipal court. In the absence of such an ordinance, then the municipal judge m…

(a) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, if a municipal court has found a person or entity to be in violation of a municipal ordinance related to the maintenance of property and the person or entity in violation of the municipal ordinance has failed to remedy the property…

This chapter is known and may be cited as the “Mental Health Treatment Act of 2022.”

(a) It is the intent of the general assembly through this chapter to create programs to facilitate the implementation of new, and the continuation of existing, mental health treatment court programs in all counties within this state. (b) The goals of the mental health treatment c…

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Nonadversarial approach” means that the district attorney general and the defense attorney work together for the benefit of the mental health treatment program participants and the mental health treatment court program;(2) “Severe and persistent m…

(a) This chapter creates mental health treatment court programs within the state that follows the general principles referenced in § 16-19-107 and that is approved by the department of mental health and substance abuse and established by the judge of a court in this state exercis…

(a) The department of mental health and substance abuse services shall administer mental health treatment court programs by:(1) Defining, developing, and gathering outcome measures for mental health treatment court programs relating to the purposes and goals in § 16-19-102;(2) Co…

(a) A court exercising criminal jurisdiction within this state or an existing drug court treatment program or a veterans treatment court program created by a court exercising criminal jurisdiction may apply for mental health treatment court program grant funds. If the department …

(1) All mental health treatment court programs in this state must be established and operate according to the following principles:(1) The community and a broad-based group of stakeholders representing the criminal justice system, mental health, substance abuse treatment, and rel…

(1) Each participant in a mental health treatment court program:(1) Shall not be a violent offender or sexual offender;(2) Must have a diagnosis of a severe and persistent mental illness; and(3) Must be willing to participate in the program. (1) Shall not be a violent offender or…

(a) The general assembly finds and declares that:(1) The resolution of felony, misdemeanor and juvenile delinquent disputes can be costly and complex in a judicial setting where the parties involved are necessarily in an adversarial posture and subject to formalized procedures; a…

(a) A victim-offender mediation center may be created and operated by a corporation organized to resolve disputes. The corporation shall not be organized for profit and no part of the net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private shareholders or individuals. The majority o…

(a) All memoranda, work notes or products, or case files of centers established under this chapter are confidential and privileged and are not subject to disclosure in any judicial or administrative proceeding unless the court or administrative tribunal determines that the materi…

Any person who voluntarily enters a dispute resolution process at a center established under this chapter may revoke the person's consent, withdraw from dispute resolution and seek judicial or administrative redress prior to reaching a written resolution agreement. No legal penal…

(a) Members of the board of directors of a victim-offender mediation center are immune from suit in any civil action based on any proceedings or other official acts performed in good faith as members of the board. (b) Employees and volunteers of a center are immune from suit in a…

(a) A victim-offender mediation center may raise and disburse funds from any public or private source for the purposes of this chapter. (b) A center's share of funding from the state shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the approved estimated cost of the program; provided, tha…

(a) The clerks of circuit courts and the clerks and masters of chancery courts shall report, on a monthly basis, to the administrative office of the courts on a form to be devised and distributed by the administrative office of the courts, the following data:(1) The number of cas…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Drug Court Treatment Act of 2003.”

(a) The general assembly recognizes that a critical need exists in this state for criminal justice system programs to reduce the incidence of drug use, drug addiction and crimes committed as a result of drug use and drug addiction. It is the intent of the general assembly by this…

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Chemically dependent” means a maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress as manifested by two (2) or more of the predeterminate symptoms occurring at any time in the same twelve-month period;(2) “…

(1) All drug court treatment programs in this state shall be established and operate according to the following general principles as established by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, Drug Court Standards Committee:(1) Drug courts integrate alcohol and other dr…

(1) The department of mental health and substance abuse services shall administer the drug court treatment program by:(1) Defining, developing, and gathering outcome measures for drug court treatment programs relating to § 16-22-102;(2) Collecting, reporting and disseminating dru…

(1) Through the department of mental health and substance abuse services, a court exercising criminal jurisdiction within this state or an existing drug court treatment program created by a court exercising criminal jurisdiction may apply for drug court treatment program grant fu…

(1) Department of mental health and substance abuse services grant awards may not be:(1) Used to pay for wages not directly related to drug court treatment program operations;(2) Made to any court that does not agree to operate its program in accordance with the principles in § 1…

The commissioner of finance and administration shall establish an advisory committee composed of seven (7) members, two (2) of whom shall be judges who have presided over a drug court for at least two (2) years and two (2) of whom shall be drug coordinators who have functioned as…

(a) The clerks of all courts of general sessions, circuit and criminal courts and municipal courts exercising the jurisdiction of courts of general sessions shall collect the sum of seventy-five dollars ($75.00), or in counties establishing or operating a veterans treatment court…

The assessment collected and remitted to the state shall be placed in a drug court treatment program resources fund for the purposes of funding drug court treatment program administration and the grant awards as provided in §§ 16-22-105 and 16-22-106. The office of criminal justi…

Nothing contained in this chapter shall confer a right or an expectation of a right to treatment for an offender within the criminal justice system.