Cocke County
Located on the eastern border of Tennessee, Cocke County was created in 1797 and named after one of the state's first senators, William Cocke. It has a land area of 435 square miles and a population of about 36,000. Newport is its county seat and largest city.
Cocke County court system comprises the following:
- Cocke County Circuit Court handles cases beyond the jurisdiction of other courts in the county. It hears felonies, civil proceedings, contested wills, annulments, divorces, real estate disputes, and adoptions
- Cocke County Chancery Court has jurisdiction over civil equity cases. It also handles divorces, legal separations, annulments, arbitration, paternity, name changes, administration of estates and trusts, appointment of guardianships and conservatorships, and admission of wills
- Cocke County General Sessions Court handles non-jury misdemeanor trials, preliminary felony hearings, some civil cases, and municipal ordinance offenses
- Cocke County Juvenile Court handles most juvenile cases, such as juvenile delinquency, child neglect, termination of parental rights, truancy, judicial consent to military enlistment, and child abuse
- Municipal Courts in Cocke County handle municipal ordinance violations and traffic offenses. The two municipal courts in Cocke County are in Newport and Parrottsville
Public court records in Cocke County are documents, exhibits, and files generated in the county's courts and made accessible to the public in text, audio, or video formats. Docket listings, court filings, warrants, writs, depositions, court hearings, court transcripts, orders, motions, and judgments are some examples of these records. The Cocke 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, Cocke County makes the following types of court records available to the public:
- Criminal Records
- Traffic Records
- Probate Records
- Civil Records
- Family Law Records
Record seekers can search for the county's nonconfidential court records using the Cocke County Online Court Records System. They can also visit any of the courts in the county to inspect or request their public court records.
