Family Law

The Tennessee court system has numerous levels of judiciary and due to political influences not always easy to change. In general, the first level court is known as General Sessions Court and is usually the first court a person will be in when charged with a crime or when a party desires to civilly sue another person when the amount sought is under a set amount ($15,000). In some cases, the General Sessions Court hears Divorce cases, however, this is the exception rather than the rule. General Sessions Courts hear Orders of Protection when there is no Divorce pending otherwise an Order of Protection must be heard by the Divorce Court. These courts' decisions are reviewed by a Circuit or Criminal court judge when requested by a party dissatisfied with the General Sessions Court's ruling. The review in this instance is de novo or basically all over again, from the beginning.

Circuit Courts are what are often referred to as "courts of record" because these courts have reporters, paid for by the parties, and their decisions are reviewed by the court of appeals when requested by a party, dissatisfied with the Circuit Court's ruling. The review in this instance is on alleged errors committed by the Circuit Court judge. The Circuit Court generally hears civil cases, including divorce cases. This Court hears cases involving juries.

Chancery Courts are similar to Circuit Courts and are basically holdovers from ancient English Chancery Courts. Tennessee is one of very few states that still have such courts. They generally hear civil cases, including divorce cases, in most counties or group of counties within a judicial district. This court generally hears cases that do not involve juries. It is equal in authority to the Circuit Court and is a court of record.

Criminal Courts are just what they sound like. They are courts equal in authority to Circuit and Chancery Courts, but in general hear criminal cases involving serious felonies by juries. Appeals from this Court are heard by the Court of Criminal Appeals. It is a court of record.

There are two middle level courts of appeal, known as the Court of Appeals and the Criminal Court of Appeals. As the names imply the Criminal Court of Appeals hears criminal cases on appeal and the Court of Appeals hears civil cases, including divorces on appeal. Of note is the fact that, by statute, the Court of Appeals hears criminal contempt cases. There are three sections of each court representing the three grand divisions of the State and each section has four full-time judges for a total of 24 judges. These Courts must hear an appeal, if it is filed properly and are courts of record.

The Tennessee Supreme Court consists of five members that hear appeals from the middle level courts of appeal only when they decide to hear the case. Thus, the make-up of this court can have profound impact on the lives of Tennesseans, unfortunately most Tennesseans do not even know their names. Appeals from this Court go to the United States Supreme Court.

As you can imagine, this discourse barely skims the surface of the complex system of courts in Tennessee. Rest assured, there are exceptions to all of the statements contained herein and the only way to find out precisely what your county's court system is like, requires some investigation at the local level.