The Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Criminal Appeals and Appellate Court Clerk's Office will move into this historic United States Post Office Building in Knoxville. In remarks at an open house, Justice E. Riley Anderson thanked the City of Knoxville, Knox County and others for "their significant contributions" to the building’s restoration. The judicial branch will lease 46,000 square feet from owner Samuel J. Furrow, who will use a $500,000 historic preservation grant for renovations. The space includes a large former federal courtroom on the second floor. The Tennessee appellate courts, clerk's office and library, with about 50 employees, have 32,000 square feet in their present Knoxville building, which is in serious need of repairs. The first home of the Supreme Court in Knoxville was in a tavern, Anderson said. Later the court moved to a log cabin rented for $30 a year. The state’s three appellate courts hear cases in Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson.
The Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Criminal Appeals and Appellate Court Clerk's Office will move this year from cramped quarters in the Knoxville Supreme Court Building on Locust Street to the historic United States Post Office Building on Main Street.
The State Building Commission has approved the move, tentatively set for July 1, after nearly a decade of discussion and debate about possible sites to house the courts, clerk's office and legal library. The Supreme Court is mandated by the state Constitution to sit in Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson. The other appellate courts sit in panels of three to hear cases in the three locations.
"This move is positive for everyone involved and it is due in large measure to the diligence and hard work of Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Gary Wade of Sevierville and the cooperation of the owner, Samuel J. Furrow, who helped make it happen," said Justice E. Riley Anderson of Knoxville, who first proposed the building and has been involved since the project started. "Under this plan, the beautiful historic building will be saved and renovated, the courts will have the space they desperately need and the city and county will have the opportunity to purchase the building we presently occupy and adjacent property, which is across from the new convention center."