Judicial Residency Requirement for General Sessions and Popularly Elected Judges

In 2025, the Tennessee Supreme Court issued a ruling in McNabb v. Harrison, 710 S.W.3d 653 (Tenn. 2025) that affected the residency requirements for judges of municipal courts with concurrent general sessions jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court reviewed the language of the Tennessee Constitution regarding the residency requirements of the Circuit, Chancery, and other inferior courts.

The Judges of the Circuit and Chancery Courts, and of other inferior Courts, shall be elected by the qualified voters of the district or circuit to which they are to be assigned. Every Judge of such Courts shall be thirty years of age, and shall before his election, have been a resident of the State for five years, and of the circuit or district one year. His term of service shall be eight years. Tenn. Const. art. VI, § 4.

McNabb v. Harrison, 710 S.W.3d 653, 659 (Tenn. 2025).

The Supreme Court focused its discussion on the definition of “district.” The trial court, the Court of Appeals, and some Attorney General opinions held that “district” meant the entire county and that a judge was eligible to serve as judge of a municipal court with concurrent general sessions jurisdiction as long as the judge lived within the county, but even if he or she lived outside the city limits.

The Supreme Court overruled the lower courts and defined the term “district” as meaning the city limits. In this case, the Supreme Court noted the “district” is the city limits, because a municipal judge’s ruling cannot extend past the city limits, therefore the residency requirement must be within the city limits for a period of one year prior to the election. McNabb v. Harrison, 710 S.W.3d 653, 663 (Tenn. 2025).

Popularly Elected Judges

T.C.A. § 16-18-201 allows a city by ordinance to provide for the election of the city judge by popular vote. It reads as follows:

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 method, with one (1) or more judges being chosen under charter or applicable general law provisions and one (1) or more being chosen by popular vote pursuant to this part. In the election for city judge, only qualified voters of the city or town may vote.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-18-201

Likewise, T.C.A. § 16-18-202 states, “Any city judge elected by popular vote must meet the requirements established in Tenn. Const. art.VI, § 4 for judges of inferior courts.” T.C.A. § 16-18-202.

As a result of the McNabb ruling discussed above, popularly elected city judges (including those without concurrent general sessions jurisdiction) must now live within the city limits of the city where they are elected. Realistically, most (if not all) cities with popularly elected judges have a residency requirement already in the charter or the city code, so this ruling will unlikely have any meaningful impact on traditional courts with popularly elected judges.

Residency Requirements for Traditional City Courts where the Judge is Appointed by the City Council or Board of Aldermen

If a city has a traditional city court, and the city’s charter or code does not have a residency requirement detailed, then the city judge can live outside the city limits. The Tennessee Constitution’s residency requirements do not apply to corporation courts, i.e. traditional city courts.

It is common for a city judge for a traditional city court to live outside the city limits for which he or she serves. Many counties are very rural and have very few attorneys who could serve as a municipal judge. It is common that in certain areas one person may serve as the judge for multiple municipalities. This is permitted if there are no prohibiting provisions in the city’s charter or code.

Training of City Judges and Court Clerks
City judges and city court clerks must receive three hours of training each year provided through or with approval of the Administrative Office of the Courts. Failure of the judge to receive the training after a six-month grace period renders his/her judgments null and void. Both judges and clerks must be compensated and reimbursed for the training in accordance with the municipality’s travel policy. T.C.A. § 16-18-309. The Administrative Office of the Courts and the Department of Safety must also provide annual training to court clerks on the necessity and importance of preparing and forwarding to the Department of Safety the abstract forms for conviction of traffic violations. T.C.A. § 55-10-306(f).

Concurrent Holding of Other Offices by Judge
The municipal judge may not hold any other office, such as city recorder or mayor, with the municipality. Judges holding other offices on March 1, 2005, who are recorders or mayors or another city official, are grandfathered. T.C.A. § 16-18-308.

Sitting by Interchange
T.C.A. §16-18-312 allows municipal court judges and general sessions court judges to sit by interchange for other municipal court judges.

Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference
Each municipal judge is a member of the Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference and must attend its annual meeting unless physically incapable. The AOC shall pay expenses, subject to available funding. Otherwise, the municipality is responsible for paying expenses. T.C.A. § 17-3-301(d). ^[1]

Other Provisions
City judges in cities with a population of more than 160,000 must be lawyers authorized to practice law in Tennessee courts. T.C.A. § 17-1-106(d). City judges in general law modified city manager-council cities also are required to be licensed attorneys. T.C.A. § 6-33-102(a). All municipal judges are under the jurisdiction of the Board of Judicial Conduct. T.C.A. §§ 17-5-102 and 17-5-201. T.C.A. § 16-18-303 empowers municipal court judges to administer oaths.

Every magistrate or judge of a court shall keep or cause to be kept a record of every traffic complaint, warrant, traffic citation or other legal form of traffic charge deposited with or presented to the court or the traffic violations bureau of its jurisdiction, and shall keep a record of every official action by the court or the traffic violations bureau of its jurisdiction in reference thereto, including, but not limited to, a record of every conviction, forfeiture of bail, judgment of acquittal and the amount of fine or forfeiture resulting from every traffic complaint, warrant, or citation deposited with or presented to the court or traffic violations bureau. T.C.A. § 55-10-306(a).

Administrative Inspection Warrants
Municipal judges, who are lawyers, may issue administrative inspection warrants. See, T.C.A. § 68-120-117. ^[2]

^[1] In 2018, T.C.A. §17-3-301(d) was amended under Public Chapter 620 (2018, eff. 4/2/18).

^[2] T.C.A. § 68-120-117 (a)(3)(C) specifies that an issuing officer means, "Any municipal court having jurisdiction over the agency making application for an administrative inspection warrant; provided, that the judge of the court is licensed to practice law in the state of Tennessee."