Sumner County Court Records in Tennessee

Sumner County is situated in north central Tennessee. Named for an American Revolutionary War here, Jethro Sumner, Sumner County was founded in November 1786 and comprises 8 cities. The county covers a total area of 543 square miles and has over 195,000 residents.

The trial court structure in the county has a circuit court at the top and six municipal courts at the bottom. Between those courts, there is one juvenile court, general sessions court, criminal court, and chancery court each with different jurisdictions.

The municipal courts hear most cases pertaining to municipal ordinance violations and may also hear juvenile traffic violations if the judge in the juvenile court waives their jurisdiction. Sumner County juvenile court is a division of the general sessions court. It has exclusive jurisdiction over most juvenile cases, including delinquency, minors alleged to be unruly, and child abuse and neglect. In some cases, the court may share jurisdiction with the circuit court and chancery court.

The general session court handled matters relating to restraining orders and the enforcement of such orders. Civil cases heard in the court include general civil cases with no financial limit, recovery of personal property, and forcible entry and detainer. It also presides over preliminary hearings in all criminal cases and misdemeanor trials when a jury is waived.

The criminal court shares jurisdiction over some criminal cases with circuit courts, while the chancery court has exclusive original jurisdiction over cases of equitable nature. The chancery court has exclusive power over cases involving disputes over land boundaries, certain types of requests by creditors, and cases filed by the State against corporations.

The circuit court has jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases. It shares jurisdiction with the chancery court in matters of adoption, divorce, partition and distribution of real or personal property, release and appointment of trustees, paternity, and name changes.

Court records are usually available at the courthouses where cases are heard. However, the Sumner County Circuit Court Clerk maintains court information for all recorded court proceedings in the county. You can visit the Circuit Court Clerk to copy court records. The clerk's office is located at:

Also, the public can review case information and dockets through the Sumner County section of the Tennessee public court records website. Users can search case information by party name or case year and case number. The online court records system makes civil and criminal case information available from the circuit court and general sessions court.