Where do you appeal a Tennessee general sessions court's order of protection: the Court of Appeals or the local circuit/chancery court?

Subject

Opinion No. 14-69, Appeals of Orders of Protection, July 8, 2014

Plain-English summary

Representative Art Swann asked whether appeals from final rulings on orders of protection issued by Tennessee general sessions courts go to the Court of Appeals or to the local circuit/chancery court. The AG said the local circuit or chancery court.

Tennessee orders of protection can be issued by circuit and chancery courts (§ 36-3-601(3)(A)-(C)) and, in most counties, by general sessions courts exercising concurrent jurisdiction (§ 36-3-601(3)(B), (C), (E)). Before 2001, there was a split-authority problem. The Tennessee Court of Appeals in Collins v. Pharris and Garrison v. Burch (both 2001) and earlier in Haskett v. Haskett (2000) had held that general sessions decisions on orders of protection were appealable directly to the Court of Appeals because general sessions courts held concurrent jurisdiction with circuit and chancery courts. The Court of Appeals relied on Op. 98-43.

The General Assembly responded by adding subdivision (F) to § 36-3-601(3) in 2001 (2001 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 96, § 3): "Any appeal from a final ruling on an order of protection by a general sessions court . . . shall be to the circuit or chancery court of the county. Such appeal shall be filed within ten (10) days and shall be heard de novo." That language displaced the Collins/Garrison/Haskett reading.

The AG noted Harbin v. Jones (2013), where the Court of Appeals had recited the older Collins holding, but the case involved a chancery-court order of protection being dissolved and did not actually address (F). The 2001 amendment remains the controlling rule.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. 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

What is an order of protection?

A civil court order entered under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-601 et seq. (the Tennessee domestic-abuse protection statute) directing the respondent to stop specified conduct (typically harassment, threats, contact, presence at certain locations). It is the primary civil remedy for domestic violence in Tennessee.

Why does the appeal go to the trial-level court instead of the appellate court?

Because general sessions courts in Tennessee are courts of limited jurisdiction, and Tennessee's general appellate scheme routes appeals from general sessions courts to the circuit or chancery court for de novo review. The 2001 amendment to § 36-3-601(3)(F) brought orders of protection in line with that general scheme.

What does "de novo" mean here?

A new trial. The circuit or chancery court does not review the general sessions court's record for legal error; it conducts an entirely new evidentiary hearing and decides the case fresh.

What is the deadline to appeal?

10 days from the final ruling. The deadline is jurisdictional. Missing it means the general sessions court's order becomes final.

Can you appeal further?

A circuit or chancery court ruling on the de novo appeal is itself appealable to the Tennessee Court of Appeals under the ordinary appellate rules.

What if the order of protection was issued by a circuit or chancery court in the first instance?

That goes directly to the Tennessee Court of Appeals under the normal civil appellate rules, not through the de novo path. § 36-3-601(3)(F) only governs appeals from general sessions court orders of protection.

Background and statutory framework

Tennessee's order-of-protection framework lets the General Sessions Court act quickly in most counties because that court is geographically distributed and has streamlined procedure. The trade-off is more limited jurisdiction and a different appellate route. Before 2001, the appellate route was unclear and decisions had drifted toward the appellate court. The 2001 amendment locked in the trial-court route with de novo review.

This is one of several Tennessee statutes routing appeals from general sessions courts to the circuit or chancery court for de novo review. The pattern reflects the General Assembly's policy preference: speed and accessibility at the general sessions level, full record-building at the circuit/chancery level if either party objects.

Citations

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-601(3)(A)-(C) (orders of protection may be issued by circuit, chancery, or general sessions courts)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-601(3)(B), (C), (E) (general sessions concurrent jurisdiction)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-601(3)(F) (appeals from general sessions orders of protection to circuit or chancery court; 10-day deadline; de novo)
• 2001 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 96, § 3 (adding subdivision (F))
• Collins v. Pharris, No. M1999-00588-COA-R3-CV, 2001 WL 219652 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 7, 2001) (Tennessee Court of Appeals; pre-amendment view)
• Garrison v. Burch, No. M1999-02819-COA-R3-CV, 2001 WL 47001 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 22, 2001) (Tennessee Court of Appeals; pre-amendment view)
• Haskett v. Haskett, No. E1999-01471-COA-R3-CV, 2000 WL 228261 (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 29, 2000) (Tennessee Court of Appeals; pre-amendment view)
• Harbin v. Jones, No. W2012-01474-COA-R3-CV, 2013 WL 1249050 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 28, 2013) (Tennessee Court of Appeals; chancery-court order of protection; did not address (F))
• Tenn. Op. Att'y Gen. No. 98-43 (Feb. 17, 1998) (pre-2001 amendment opinion)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2014/op14-069.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
July 8, 2014
Opinion No. 14-69
Appeals of Orders of Protection

QUESTION

Is a final ruling on an order of protection issued by a general sessions court properly appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals or to the circuit or chancery court of the county?

OPINION

An appeal from a general sessions court's order of protection is properly taken to the circuit or chancery court.

ANALYSIS

Tennessee law provides that orders of protection may be issued by circuit and chancery courts. Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-601(3)(A)-(C). In most counties, however, the court of general sessions may exercise concurrent jurisdiction to issue orders of protection. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-601(3)(B), (C), (E).

Relying on this Office's opinion in Tenn. Op. Att'y Gen. No. 98-43 (Feb. 17, 1998), the Tennessee Court of Appeals has held that "general sessions courts' decisions on the grant or denial of orders of protection are properly appealed to [the Court of Appeals], because those courts hold concurrent jurisdiction with circuit and chancery courts in this area." Collins v. Pharris, No. M1999-00588-COA-R3-CV 2001 WL 219652, at 4 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 7, 2001) (also citing Garrison v. Burch, No. M1999-02819-COA-R3-CV 2001 WL 47001, at 1 n.2 (Jan. 22, 2001)); see also Haskett v. Haskett, No. E1999-01471-COA-R3-CV, 2000 WL 228261 (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 29, 2000) (deciding appeal from an order of protection issued by a general sessions court). But in 2001, the General Assembly added subdivision (F) to Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-601(3), see 2001 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 96, § 3, which expressly provides that "[a]ny appeal from a final ruling on an order of protection by a general sessions court . . . shall be to the circuit or chancery court of the county. Such appeal shall be filed within ten (10) days and shall be heard de novo."

A general sessions court derives its jurisdiction to issue orders of protection solely from § 36-3-601(3). See, e.g., Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-601(3)(C) (for purposes of issuing orders of protection, "court" means "any court of record with jurisdiction over domestic relations matters or the general sessions court") (emphasis added).

In Harbin v. Jones, No. W2012-01474-COA-R3-CV, 2013 WL 1249050 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 28, 2013), the Court of Appeals recited the holding in Collins, but the case involved only whether the dissolving of an order of protection by a chancery court was a final, appealable order and did not mention § 36-3-601(3)(F). 2013 WL 1249050, at *4.

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

JOSEPH F. WHALEN
Acting Solicitor General

ALEXANDER S. RIEGER
Assistant Attorney General

Requested by:
The Honorable Art Swann
State Representative
G-19A War Memorial Building
Nashville, Tennessee 37243