The Tennessee court system, as the one prevalent in the rest of the states in the country, comprises of appellate courts and trial courts. While the lower courts are the ones that conduct the trials, appeals against the decisions of the lower courts are generally filed in the appellate courts. The Tennessee Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the state. There are three courts of general jurisdiction and three different courts that have a limited jurisdiction. The courts that have a general jurisdiction include the Probate Courts, the Circuit Courts, the Criminal Courts and the Chancery Courts. On the other hand, the limited jurisdiction courts include the Juvenile courts, the General Sessions Courts and Municipal Courts.
The Circuit Courts along with the criminal courts in the state have original jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases. Criminal cases in districts that already have a criminal court cannot be filed in the respective circuit courts. In matters related to arbitration, divorce, appointment of trustees, probate proceedings, trustee petitions, adoption, property claims and affidavits filings can be made in the circuit courts as well as the Chancery courts.
The General Sessions Court along with the circuit courts have the power to adjudicate cases that involve civil claims, like one for property and cases filed on instances of forcible entry.
The criminal courts and circuit courts of the state have original jurisdiction in criminal cases that may include murder, kidnapping, rape and physical assaults. The Tennessee Juvenile courts handle cases of juvenile delinquency and decide on the consequences of offences committed by minors. These include acts like disorderly conduct, truancy, unauthorized use of a vehicle, theft property, traffic offenses, drug offenses, burglary and vandalism.
The Tennessee probate courts have the right to pass judgments on the administration of estates, guardianships and the probate of wills.
The Tennessee Supreme Court occupies the top most position in the judicial system of the state. It has the power to make the appointment of the Tennessee Attorney General. It comprises of five justices. The election of the judges would be made in such a way that each of the Grand divisions of the state namely West Tennessee, East Tennessee and Middle Tennessee has one representative each. The justices are elected to serve a term of eight years. Also the court is supposed to meet in three different places namely Jackson, Knoxville and Nashville so as avoid a regional favoritism. The Tennessee Supreme Court is the highest Tennessee Court in which one may file an appeal seeking the review of a particular decision that has been made by any of the lower courts. The Supreme Court then re-examines the legal proceedings to arrive at a decision. It does not have an original jurisdiction. There is one exception though and that is in cases that involve workers compensation. It hears criminal cases that have already been decided in the Court of Criminal Appeals and civil cases that have been decided in the Court of Appeals.
Tennessee Court files can be accessed either by visiting the Tennessee Courts or they can be accessed online with the help of a service called PACER (Public access to Court Electronic Records). Accessing Tennessee Court files online through PACER is secure but requires a nominal fee. You can also access Tennessee court records to uncover liens, lawsuits, judgments, details pertaining to property ownership, bankruptcy records, car loans and mortgage documents, dissolution of marriage, marriage records, death records, and criminal records.
These online records are a trusted source of legal data and often act as a point of reference for legal professionals. The best thing about these online court records is the fact that they can be easily accessed from anywhere and at anytime thus saving valuable time. The records cover all information related to the cases like their filing, the parties involved in the case, the attorneys, the judge, subsequent progress of the case and the final verdict. The court documents are usually scanned and their images uploaded on the website for public reference.
