In Tennessee, who can appoint a courtroom bailiff or court officer authorized to carry a weapon, and what training is required?

Plain-English summary

Tennessee bars carrying weapons into a courtroom, but Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1306(c) makes an exception for a "bailiff, marshal or other court officer who has responsibility for protecting persons or property or providing security." A Hawkins County juvenile court judge asked the AG who has authority to appoint such a person, whether judges can do it directly, and what training and bonding requirements apply.

The AG's answers:

• In every Tennessee county except Davidson, the county sheriff is the one who provides bailiffs and court officers. Three statutes converge on this conclusion: Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(A) (sheriff's general duty to attend all county courts), § 16-15-715 (sheriff provides bailiffs to general sessions courts), and § 37-1-213 (sheriff furnishes deputies and special deputies to juvenile courts).
• In Davidson County, trial judges have the authority to appoint their own court officers. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(B)(i) creates this exception for "any municipality having a metropolitan form of government and a population of over four hundred fifty thousand (450,000)." The AG applies the canon expressio unius est exclusio alterius (State v. Hawk): granting this authority only to qualifying counties means it is denied to all others.
• Training requirements: All deputy sheriffs must hold POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission) certification under Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-105. Deputies newly assigned to courts must complete a POST-approved basic training program in courthouse security (40 hours), then 16 hours of annual continuing education in POST-approved courses. Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-7-108(a)(2).
• Bonding: No statute requires deputy sheriffs to post a surety bond. The sheriff personally must post a bond on assuming office (§ 8-8-103), but that requirement does not extend to deputies.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a juvenile court judge in a non-Davidson county appoint his or her own bailiff?
A: No. The statutes vest that authority in the county sheriff. Outside Davidson County, the judge would need to ask the sheriff to assign a deputy or special deputy.

Q: Why does Davidson County get an exception?
A: Davidson County has Tennessee's only metropolitan form of government with the required population. The legislature carved out an exception for that consolidated city-county government, where the courts and sheriff's office have a different administrative relationship than elsewhere in the state.

Q: What does POST certification require?
A: Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 38-8-102 through 38-8-122 set up the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission. Certification involves age, education, character, and training prerequisites and is required before someone can serve as a peace officer (including as a deputy sheriff).

Q: What's in the 40-hour courthouse security training?
A: The opinion does not specify the curriculum, only that it is a POST-approved program for deputies newly assigned to courts under Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-7-108(a)(2). POST sets the curriculum.

Q: Can off-duty law enforcement officers carry firearms in courtrooms?
A: No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350(c)(4) explicitly prohibits off-duty officers from carrying firearms into courtrooms. The exception in § 39-17-1306(c) is for officers acting in their official duties.

Q: What other people can carry weapons into courtrooms?
A: § 39-17-1306(c)(1) and § 39-17-1350(a) list the categories: bailiffs/marshals/court officers responsible for security, on-duty military and national guard members carrying weapons under applicable regulations, on-duty law enforcement officers, and guards employed by penal institutions.

Q: Does the sheriff have to post a bond?
A: Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-103 requires sheriffs to post a surety bond upon assuming office. But this requirement does not extend to deputies.

Background and statutory framework

Tennessee's general weapons statute (§ 39-17-1306) prohibits carrying firearms into rooms where judicial proceedings are in progress. The exception in (c) for court officers is what authorizes the bailiff or marshal to be armed.

The question this opinion addresses is who controls staffing of court security. The answer matters: a judge who wants armed protection in the courtroom needs to know whether to ask the sheriff or hire someone directly.

Tennessee chose a sheriff-driven model. Three statutes anchor it:

• § 8-8-201(a)(2)(A) makes attending all county courts in session a duty of the sheriff.
• § 16-15-715 directs the sheriff to "provide sufficient bailiffs to serve the general sessions courts."
• § 37-1-213 directs sheriffs to "furnish the necessary deputies and special deputies to attend and dispense with the business of [juvenile] courts."

Davidson County's metropolitan-government exception in § 8-8-201(a)(2)(B)(i) is the only carve-out. The AG's reading is reinforced by State v. Hawk's articulation of expressio unius est exclusio alterius: when a statute expressly grants authority to one identifiable group, the unwritten implication is that the authority does not extend beyond that group.

Training and qualification requirements come from POST (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 38-8-102 to 38-8-122) plus a court-specific layer in § 5-7-108(a)(2): 40 hours of POST-approved basic courthouse security training and 16 hours per year of continuing education.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1306 (carrying weapons into judicial proceedings)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1306(c) (bailiff/marshal/court officer exception)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350(a), (c)(4) (off-duty officer prohibition)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(A) (sheriff's general court duty)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(B)(i) (Davidson County exception)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-103 (sheriff's surety bond)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-15-715 (general sessions bailiffs)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-213 (juvenile court deputies)
• Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 38-8-102 to 38-8-122 (POST commission)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-105 (POST certification)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-7-108(a)(2) (court security training)

Cases:

• Auto Credit v. Wimmer, 231 S.W.3d 896 (Tenn. 2007) (statutory construction: legislative intent)
• Brown v. Erachem Comilog, Inc., 231 S.W.3d 918 (Tenn. 2007) (plain meaning)
• State v. Hawk, 170 S.W.3d 547 (Tenn. 2005) (expressio unius)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2010/op10-077.pdf

Original opinion text

June 1, 2010
Opinion No. 10-77

Appointment of Court Officer Authorized to Carry Weapon In Courtrooms

QUESTIONS

1. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1306(c) authorizes a "bailiff, marshal or other court officer who has responsibility for protecting persons or property or providing security" to carry a weapon in a courtroom while in the discharge of their official duties. Who is authorized to appoint a person as a bailiff, marshal or other court officer?

2. May the judge appoint a person to serve as court officer?

3. What training, qualifications, bond or other issues surround the appointment of that person?

OPINIONS

1. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(A), Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-15-715, and Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-213, the sheriff for each county is required to furnish court officers for the county's courts.

2. Judges in Davidson County are the only judges who have the authority to appoint their own court officers. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(B)(i).

3. Deputy sheriffs are required to be certified as peace officers by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST). Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 38-8-102 to 38-8-122. Deputy sheriffs assigned to the courts must also successfully complete forty hours of POST-approved basic training in courthouse security and sixteen hours of annual training. Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-7-108(a)(2). Deputy sheriffs are not required to post surety bonds.

ANALYSIS

1. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1306 prohibits persons from carrying weapons into any room where judicial proceedings are in progress. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1306(c)(1) provides an exception for a "bailiff, marshal, or other court officer who has responsibility for protecting persons or property or providing security." You have asked who is responsible for appointing a bailiff, marshal, or other court officer.

Other classes of persons who are authorized to carry weapons into rooms where judicial proceedings are in progress while discharging their official duties include members of the military and national guard who are on duty and are carrying such weapons pursuant to applicable regulations, law enforcement officers, and guards employed by penal institutions. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1306(c)(1) and 39-17-1350(a). Off-duty law enforcement officers may not carry firearms into courtrooms. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350(c)(4).

Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(A) states that it is the sheriff's duty to "attend upon all the courts held in the county when in session." Tenn Code Ann. § 16-15-715 states that: "The sheriff shall, unless otherwise provided, provide sufficient bailiffs to serve the general sessions courts." Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-213, when referring to juvenile courts, states: "The sheriffs of the various counties shall furnish the necessary deputies and special deputies to attend and dispense with the business of such courts."

The primary objective of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the legislature. Auto Credit v. Wimmer, 231 S.W.3d 896 (Tenn. 2007). If a statute is clear and unambiguous, courts will find the intent in the plain and ordinary meaning of its language. Brown v. Erachem Comilog, Inc., 231 S.W.3d 918 (Tenn. 2007). Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(A), Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-15-715, and Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-213 clearly and unambiguously specify that the sheriff is responsible for providing adequate personnel to attend to the courts for the purposes of security and to act as bailiffs. This does not apply to Davidson County, where trial judges are authorized to select their own court officers. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(B)(i). Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-15-715 states that the sheriff is responsible for providing bailiffs to general sessions courts "unless otherwise provided."

2. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-201(a)(2)(B)(i) states that trial judges may appoint their own court officers in "any municipality having a metropolitan form of government and a population of over four hundred fifty thousand (450,000) according to the 1990 federal census or any subsequent federal census…" At the present time, only Davidson County meets this exception. Under the rules of statutory construction, the express inclusion of one thing normally means the exclusion of all other things not mentioned. State v. Hawk, 170 S.W.3d 547 (Tenn. 2005). The granting of such authority to trial judges in a county in the specified classification indicates that the legislature did not intend to confer such authority upon judges in any other county.

3. Deputy sheriffs who serve as bailiffs, like all other deputy sheriffs, are required to obtain peace-officer certification from the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST). Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-105. In addition, deputies who are newly assigned to courts are required to successfully complete POST-approved basic training in courtroom security and thereafter obtain additional continuing education in POST-approved courses on an annual basis. Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-7-108(a)(2).

There is no statutory requirement for deputy sheriffs to post a surety bond. (A sheriff is required to post a surety bond upon assuming office. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-103.)

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

GORDON W. SMITH
Associate Solicitor General

BENJAMIN A. WHITEHOUSE
Assistant Attorney General

Requested by:

Honorable James F. Taylor
Judge, Hawkins County Juvenile Court
110 E. Main Street, Room 302
Rogersville, TN 37857