Tennessee Code 6-33-103 – Operations and jurisdiction of city courts
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 6-33-103
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- City: means any city or territory to be incorporated that may adopt chapters 30-36 of this title. See Tennessee Code 6-30-102
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
- Officer: means the mayor, aldermen, city attorney and city judge. See Tennessee Code 6-1-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
A city court is created to be administered and presided over by a city judge. The judge of the city court shall have jurisdiction in and over all cases for the violation of and all cases arising under the laws and ordinances of the city. The city judge, in all cases heard or determined by such city judge for offenses against the corporate laws and ordinances, shall set and collect municipal court costs in accordance with § 16-18-304, and shall levy and collect the litigation tax in accordance with § 16-18-305. In all cases where the offender is committed to the jail or workhouse for failure to pay fines, costs or forfeitures, the offender shall be credited with two dollars ($2.00) for each day’s imprisonment. The city judge shall be vested with the jurisdiction formerly exercised by justices of the peace in all cases of violation of the criminal laws of the state within the limits of the city. Warrants, subpoenas, orders and other processes of the court shall be executed by the police officers of the city who for such purposes shall have the same powers and authority of a sheriff in executing process of a circuit court. The council may authorize any officer or employee of the court to accept pleas of guilty and to fix fines in cases of minor traffic violations, as defined by the city council, and to issue warrants and accept bail bonds. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, and money collected by the court, or the officers and employees thereof, shall be promptly turned over to the city treasury. The council shall require an audit of the accounts of the court at least annually. The records of the court shall be prescribed by ordinance.