Anderson County
Located in the northern part of Tennessee, Anderson County was formed from Grainger and Knox Counties in 1801 and named after the Senator representing Tennessee in the US Senate at the time, Joseph Anderson. Its County seat and largest city is Clinton. The county's residents of over 77,000 live within a land area of 336 square miles. The people of Anderson County are served by Circuit, Chancery, Juvenile, General Sessions, and Municipal courts.
The Anderson County Circuit Court is the premier court in the county and handles cases outside the purview of other courts. It hears felonies, misdemeanors, contested wills, divorces, annulments, adoptions, civil proceedings, and real estate matters. Anderson County Chancery Court has exclusive jurisdiction over civil equity cases. It also handles divorces, legal separation, arbitration, paternity, name changes, commitment to mental institutions, administration of estates, the probate of wills, and appointment of guardianships and conservatorships.
Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge and Clinton hears preliminary felony hearings, non-jury misdemeanor trials, municipal ordinance violations, and some civil cases. Most juvenile matters, including juvenile delinquency, child abuse, truancy, child neglect, termination of parental rights, custody, paternity, and judicial consent for military enlistment, are heard by the Anderson County Juvenile Court. The five municipal courts in Anderson County hear municipal ordinance violations and traffic offenses. They are in Clinton, Norris, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top.
Documents and files created in Anderson County's courts accessible to the general public are called public court records. Docket listings, court filings, writs, depositions, warrants, court proceedings, court transcripts, motions, orders, sentencing, and judgments are examples of public court records. These documents may be in text, audio, or video format. Court clerks create, prepare, organize, index, and maintain court records per state regulations. The Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk maintains records from the Circuit, General Sessions, and Juvenile Courts, while clerks of other courts keep their records.
Unless sealed by court orders, the following types of Anderson County court records are typically available:
- Criminal Case Records
- Traffic Case Records
- Probate Case Records
- Civil Case Records
- Family Law Case Records
Persons interested in inspecting or obtaining Anderson County public court records can visit any of the county's courts to access them. They can also use the Anderson County Case Search platform to access the county's nonconfidential court records from the Circuit and General Session courts.
