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The General Sessions Court is a lower court established in 1957 by private act for Dickson County, Tennessee. The Judge is elected by the general population of Dickson County and according to a private act appoints the Clerk for the Court. The Clerk is to administer the office of the Court as established by state statute. At this time there is a total of five (5) deputy clerks working within the office. Presently, the Clerk is a Certified Public Administrator and recertifies annually. The Court also has five (5) Judicial Commissioners—two (2) working in the clerk’s office from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm five days a week; the other three (3) split the night and weekend calls. The role of the Judicial Commissioner is to determine probable cause by talking with either the officer or individual before issuing warrants/summons. The Judicial Commissioners are members of JCAT (an association organized for training and education). The General Sessions Court serves the following entities as well as individuals: Dickson County Sheriff’s Office; Department of Safety Troopers; The Judicial Drug Task Force; Burns City Officers; TWRA; Department of Conservation; and TBI. The Cities of Charlotte and Vanleer have the required documents filed requesting and allowing the General Sessions Court jurisdiction of their municipalities for which the clerk serves. The General Sessions Court is considered to be the peoples’ court as individuals have the right to represent themselves in filing and defending civil lawsuits and criminal proceedings but are required to adhere to Rules of Evidence and other civil and criminal procedures as set out in the Tennessee Code. Deputy Clerks can issue criminal and civil warrants/summons. Regarding the civil process filings on forms which must be provided by the General Sessions Court Clerk’s office; the following applies: Please contact our office for current filing fees which must be paid in advance.
The General Sessions Court Clerk’s office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. It is located in the Old Historic Building in the center of the Court Square in Charlotte, Tn. The Judge is available to hold bond hearings and extradition hearings on a daily basis as needed and required by law. Judicial Commissioners are available after office hours and weekends for issuing warrants. The Judge or a Judicial Commissioner will check and set bonds each weekend. The Court is in regular weekly session each Tuesday for civil court with docket call at 10:00 A.M. and Friday for traffic and criminal with docket call at 9:00 A.M. Durwood G. Moore is the General Sessions Judge of Dickson County having been elected in 1974; 1982; 1990; 1998; 2006 and will continue serving until 2014. Barbara Spann is the General Sessions Court Clerk having been appointed in 1991; 1998 and 2006 and her term will expire in 2014. General Sessions Court P.O. Box 217 Charlotte, Tn. 37036-0217 Telephone # 615-789-5414 Fax # 615-789-3456
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