The Tennessee Constitution grants the authority to create all the courts in Tennessee. Article VI, Section 1, states as follows:

Section 1. The judicial power of this state shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such Circuit, Chancery and other Inferior Courts as the Legislature shall from time to time, ordain and establish; in the judges thereof, and in justices of the peace. The Legislature may also vest such jurisdiction in Corporation Courts as may be deemed necessary. Courts to be holden by justices of the peace may also be established.

Tenn. Const. Art. VI, § 1 (emphasis added).

Let’s focus on two of these courts, “Corporation Courts” and “Inferior Courts.”

Corporation courts are “traditional city courts.” These courts are considered civil in nature and do not handle any criminal cases. See City of Chattanooga v. Davis, 54 S.W.3d 248 (Tenn 2001). Traditional city courts hear violations of city codes (items like grass too tall, dogs off leashes, unkempt property, sign violations) and also hear Class C misdemeanors that are adopted into the city code. The most common examples of this are motor vehicle violations and traffic offenses, but it could be any Class C Misdemeanor even if it does not involve vehicles at all, such as criminal trespass.

The specific authority for the jurisdiction of a traditional city court is found in the Municipal Court Reform Act, T.C.A. § 16-8-302(a)(1) and (2). The statute states as follows:

(1) A municipal court possesses jurisdiction in and over cases:

(A) For violation of the laws and ordinances of the municipality; or

(B) Arising under the laws and ordinances of the municipality; and

(2) A municipal court also possesses jurisdiction to enforce any municipal law or ordinance that mirrors, substantially duplicates or incorporates by cross-reference the language of a state criminal statute, if and only if the state criminal statute mirrored, duplicated or cross-referenced is a Class C misdemeanor and the maximum penalty prescribed by municipal law or ordinance is a civil fine not in excess of fifty dollars ($50.00).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-18-302 (West)

There is a monetary cap of fines not to exceed $50 for an offense heard in a traditional city court. This fine limit is found in the Tennessee Constitution, Article VI, § 14.

Section 14. No fine shall be laid on any citizen of this state that shall exceed fifty dollars, unless it shall be assessed by a jury of his peers, who shall assess the fine at the time they find the fact, if they think the fine should be more than fifty dollars.

Tenn. Const. art. VI, § 14

In short, if a court does not allow a fine to be assessed by a jury of the defendant’s peers, then the fine limit is $50. Traditional city courts do not offer jury trials, and any appeals from city court to circuit court will also not offer jury trials. Therefore, the fine is limited to $50.

Inferior courts are courts of general sessions jurisdiction. These are the 95 county general sessions courts and certain municipal courts that exercise concurrent general sessions jurisdictions. These general sessions courts can hear all criminal misdemeanor cases (like theft, drugs, DUI, etc.) but not felony cases. A case can originate in a general sessions case, but when the facts become apparent that the offense meets felony criteria, then the general session court judge will bind the case over to a circuit criminal court.

If a municipal court with concurrent general sessions jurisdiction hears a Class A or B misdemeanor case, those are considered criminal in nature and the defendant can face jail time and fines higher than $50. Because a criminal general sessions case can be appealed to a circuit court and either party demand a jury trial in circuit or criminal court, the fines can exceed $50. T.C.A. § 27-3-131. That is why many misdemeanor offenses have fines of $100, $300 or more.

These municipal courts with concurrent general sessions jurisdiction also can hear municipal code violations and Class C Misdemeanors as city ordinance violations. These violations are considered the same as a traditional city court violation and are considered civil in nature. In short, if a person is cited for the Class C misdemeanor for speeding in a city court with concurrent general sessions jurisdiction, the city should hear that violation as a civil ordinance violation, not a criminal violation, and there is no risk of going to jail for that offense and the fine is limited to $50.

At the time of this writing in 2025, there are 277 municipal courts in Tennessee. 253 of these are traditional city courts while the remaining 24 are municipal courts with concurrent general sessions jurisdiction. As you can see, traditional city courts are the most common.