Penalties- Generally

The Tennessee Constitution limits fines to $50 in cases where there is no opportunity for a jury trial. "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. For our traditional city courts, there are no opportunities for a jury trial. Even if the case is appealed to the circuit court as permitted by T.C.A. § 16-18-307, the circuit judge will hear the matter, not a jury.

For municipal courts with concurrent general sessions jurisdiction, if those offenses are being heard as state criminal offenses, those fines can exceed $50 because a criminal general sessions case can be appealed to a circuit court and a jury can be demanded by either party. See T.C.A. § 27-3-131.

A fine for a municipal ordinance violation may not exceed $50 unless the fine is "remedial." See City of Chattanooga v. Davis and Barrett v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, 54 S.W. 3rd. 248 (Tenn. 2001). Examples of fines that are remedial include those that recover administrative expenses, disgorge ill-gotten gains, provide restitution, or are prospectively coercive. Home rule municipalities may recover actual administrative expenses incurred to enforce ordinances that prohibit false threats or hoaxes involving biological weapons, destructive devices, or weapons of mass destruction. T.C.A. § 6-54-306.

It is questionable whether any municipal court in Tennessee may impose jail sentences for municipal ordinance violations. The only exception may be the willful non-payment of a fine for an ordinance violation. An indigent person may not be jailed simply for non-payment of penalties. See, Tenn.Op.Atty.Gen 06-135 (8/21/06), 2006 WL 2929088; T.C.A. § 40-24-104; Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395, 28 L.Ed. 2d 130 (1971)(equal protection discussion relative to nonpayment of a fine).

T.C.A. § 29-9-108 makes failure to appear without just cause a contempt of court offense punishable by a $10 fine and up to five days imprisonment. However, this statute applies only to municipal courts with a metropolitan form of government, general sessions courts that also hear violations of municipal ordinances, and city courts that exercise jurisdiction over certain environmental cases in cities in Shelby County. In the latter instance, the defendant also may be punished for contempt of court for failure to correct a violation of the municipal code relating to health, housing, fire, or building and zoning codes.

$50 per day fines for property maintenance code violations and other continuing violations

For violations of a city's property maintenance codes (Title 13 in the MTAS Sample Code) a judge can impose a fine of $50 per day for each day the violation continues. There are two cases that support this, Town of Nolensville v. King, 151 S.W.3d 427 (2004) and City of Johnson City v. Paduch, 224 S.W.3d 686, 687 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006).

However, please ensure that your city's code includes the "Violations and Penalties" provision that grants the authority for the per day fine. This provision is found in Title 13, Chapter 1, Section 13-107 of the MTAS Sample Code. It reads, "13-107. Violations and penalty. Violations of this chapter shall subject the offender to a penalty under the general penalty provision of this code. Each day a violation is allowed to continue shall constitute a separate offense."

In many of these property maintenance cases, the primary goal is the clean up and compliance. Many judges have success by assessing the per day fine but allow the property owner to correct the violation before the next follow up court date, and if the violation is resolved, the judge will dismiss the fines.

Additionally, the $50 per day fine can apply to other types of continuing violations like sign ordinances or similar per day violations. Be sure to check your city's code first to ensure authority to implement a per day fine structure.