Juvenile & Family Courts

Tennessee is home to 98 juvenile courts with 109 juvenile court judges and 45 magistrates. Of these 98 courts, 17 are designated "Private Act" juvenile courts while the remaining 81 are general sessions courts with juvenile jurisdiction. Each court, with the exception of Bristol and Johnson City, is county-based and administered with at least one juvenile court located in each of the state's 95 counties. While all of Tennessee’s courts with juvenile jurisdiction do their best to follow the procedural guidelines established by the Tennessee Rules of Juvenile Procedure, there is little standardization in juvenile court size, case management procedures, and court administrative practices. This means that the systems and practices in Tennessee’s juvenile courts vary widely and tend to reflect the needs and preferences of the people living in that particular community.