Tenn. R. Sup. Ct., 11
This Rule is promulgated pursuant to the inherent power of this Court and particularly the following subsections of Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-3-502(3), providing that the Supreme Court shall have the power:
* * *
Its purpose is as follows:
Clerks for courts of record other than juvenile court shall require that any complaint and summons filed to commence, reopen, or reinstate a civil action shall be accompanied by a Civil Case Cover Sheet for reopened cases, which has been completed by the initiating party or his/her representative. The clerks shall also require a new Civil Case Cover Sheet (Reopened Cases) to be completed upon the grant of a new trial. Upon issuance of a final order disposing of the case, the clerk of court shall complete the disposition portion of the Civil Case Cover Sheet in full. For clerks who report electronically, all initial filings, reopens and the subsequent dispositions shall be reported in the monthly data file to the AOC according to the specifications provided by the AOC. For clerks who cannot report electronically, a copy of the cover sheet containing this disposition information shall then be forwarded to the AOC on a monthly basis.
In addition, the clerks of courts of record other than juvenile shall require that any indictment, presentment or criminal information that initiates a criminal action in circuit or criminal court shall be reported to the AOC according to the specifications provided by the AOC (accompanied by a Criminal Case Cover Sheet which has been completed by the district attorney general or his/her office. The clerks shall complete a new Criminal Case Cover Sheet upon the grant of a new trial, upon a case appealed from a lower court, or upon any petition to re-open or reinstate a criminal action. Upon issuance of a final order or judgment disposing of the case, the clerk of the court shall report electronically the disposition for each docket number and all related charges according to the specifications provided by the AOC.
clerks' offices that are automated shall report statistical information monthly to the AOC by submitting an electronic file according to the specifications provided by the AOC. In the event that a clerk is unable to do so due to technical difficulties, the clerk may report by sending the completed Criminal Case Cover Sheets and/or Civil Case Cover Sheets to the AOC.
Compliance with the reporting requirements includes, but is not limited to, submitting data files or, if for those who cannot report electronically, cover sheets within the fifteen (15) day time frame, submitting data every month, submitting data according to guidelines specifications provided by the AOC, and using correct case numbering and definitions.
The Administrative Office of the Courts will provide written notification to any responsible reporting party found not to be in compliance with the statute or reporting guidelines. Written notification will detail the type of non- compliance and recommend the corrective action to be taken. If compliance is not achieved during the subsequent reporting period following notification, the Administrative Office of the Courts will no longer accept data from the office not in compliance, until such time as the error(s) are corrected. Notification of this action will be sent to all judges, district attorneys general, district public defenders, and court clerks within the district that the non-complying office is located in. Notification will also be sent to the District Attorneys General Conference, the District Public Defenders Conference, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the County Officials Association of Tennessee. Any periods of non-compliance will also be reported in the annual report to the chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
The Technology Services Division of the AOC shall provide an Implementation Manual that contains commentary and explanatory material pertaining to these rules and the report forms required by these rules. The Implementation Manual shall also contain a dictionary outlining data be submitted, and the format for that data.
Each criminal case shall be assigned a unique docket number. A criminal case shall be defined and reported as a single charge or set of charges arising out of a single incident concerning a single defendant in one (1) court proceeding. An incident shall be all criminal activity occurring on the same date. A court proceeding refers to a single level of court, such as general sessions or circuit. An appeal, probation revocation, or other post-judgment proceeding shall be considered a separate case. This definition shall not alter the practice in the Tennessee rules of criminal procedure dealing with joinder and severance of criminal cases. In addition, in courts of record, multiple incidents shall be counted as a single case when the charges are of a related nature and it is the district attorney general's intention that all of the charges be handled in the same court proceeding pursuant to a single charging document.
A civil case shall be defined as all motions, petitions, claims, counter claims, or proceedings between the parties resulting from the initial filing until the case is disposed. A docket number will be assigned to a civil case upon filing. Until said cases are disposed all subsequent motions, petitions, claims, counter claims, or proceedings between the parties resulting from the initial filing will be handled under the assigned docket number and will not be assigned a new docket number. Once a civil case has been disposed and further actions occur on the case, the original case will be reopened using the same docket number under which it was originally filed. All subsequent motions, petitions, claims, counter claims, and proceedings relating to the reopened case will be handled under the one reopened case docket number until disposed. Any subsequent reopenings will still use the original docket number.
Clerks of general sessions and municipal courts with general sessions jurisdiction shall submit data monthly according to specifications provided by the AOC.
General sessions courts and municipal courts with general sessions jurisdiction having an automated case management system shall report the collected data in accordance with the guidelines by electronic data file submission.
The following procedures are instituted in the thirty-one (31) judicial districts of this state.
The major objective of presiding judges should be to achieve an equitable distribution of the workload and an equal sharing of the bench and chamber time necessary to dispose of the total case load within acceptable time limits.
The director of the Administrative Office of the Courts has been instructed to make a continuing survey of case loads, docket congestion and related matters.
Circuit and criminal judges and chancellors will be assigned from time to time by order of the Supreme Court to hold court in other circuits and divisions when necessary to promote the orderly and efficient administration of justice.
In order to supervise the procedures herein set forth and to carry out the general supervisory power of this Court, each member of the Supreme Court has been designated as Circuit Justice for the judicial districts as follows:
Circuit No. 1
Circuit Justice: Sharon G. Lee
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Judicial Districts.
Circuit No. 2
Circuit Justice: Jeffrey S. Bivins
The 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 31st Judicial Districts.
Circuit No. 3
Circuit Justice: Cornelia A. Clark
The 14th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th Judicial Districts.
Circuit No. 4
Circuit Justice: Mary L. Wagner
The 17th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 26th Judicial Districts.
Circuit No. 5
Circuit Justice: Holly M. Kirby
The 25th, 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th Judicial Districts.
It shall be the responsibility of the Circuit Justices to aid, assist and supervise in the responsibility of this rule, under the Chief Justice who is recognized to be the executive head of the Judicial Department of Tennessee.
Legal Aid Society of East Tennessee 31.79%
Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Upper Cumberlands 39.55%
Memphis Area Legal Services 19.78%
West Tennessee Legal Services 8.88%
1This rule is promulgated pursuant to the Court's rule making power. It is not an adjudication of the validity or meaning of any of these statutes, and it does not address the meaning, validity, or constitutionality of the statute here pertinent.
| IN THE _________ COURT OF | ||
| ___________ COUNTY, TENNESSEE | ||
| ___________ | ) | |
| ) | ||
| ) | ||
| v. | ) | No. _______ |
| ) | ||
| ) | ||
| ___________ | ) | |
| SUBSTITUTE JUDGE CONSENT FORM | ||
| NOTICE: WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF ALL LITIGANTS OR THEIR ATTORNEYS, THE SUBSTITUTE JUDGE SHALL NOT PRESIDE ON THIS CASE. | ||
| Part A: (to be filled out by the absent judge) | ||
| 1. Date(s) of Absence(s): _____________________ | ||
| 2. Reason(s) for Absence(s) ( Judge must give specific reason): | ||
| _____________________ | ||
| _____________________ | ||
| _____________________ | ||
| _____________________ | ||
| _____________________ | ||
| ___________________________ | ________________ | |
| Signature of Absent Judge | Date | |
| Part B: (to be completed by the parties) | ||
| NOTICE TO PARTIES: | ||
| The substitute judge appointed to hear your case has not been elected by the citizens or appointed by the governor. You are not required to accept the service of a substitute judge. Without the consent of all parties the substitute judge shall not preside and the cause will be scheduled for another date. Consent must be granted by the parties who are present but may be granted by the attorney of record of any party who is not present at the beginning of the proceeding. | ||
| By signing this form, you consent to the use of the below-named substitute judge in this proceeding. | ||
| _____________________ | _____________________ | |
| Signature | Signature | |
| _____________________ | _____________________ | |
| Signature | Signature | |
| _____________________ | _____________________ | |
| Signature of Attorney of Record | Signature of Attorney of Record | |
| If there were no parties present at the beginning, the substitute judge will write "not present"across the above signature lines. | ||
| Part C: (to be completed by the substitute judge) | ||
| Name of Substitute Judge: _____________________ | ||
| Oath: | ||
| I, ___________ do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Tennessee, and that I will administer justice without respect of persons, and do equal rights to the poor and the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me as a judge to the best of my abilities. | ||
| ___________________ | ________________ | |
| Signature of Substitute Judge | Date | |
| Part D: (to be completed by the clerk of the court) | ||
| I, ___________, clerk of the above court certify that on the _____ day of _______, 20___, the Honorable ___________ appointed the Honorable ___________ to preside on the above case. I further certify that the substitute judge subscribed to the statutory oath of office before entering upon the duties of that office and that oath has been filed with the records of my office. | ||
| _____________________ | ||
| Clerk | ||
Tenn. R. Sup. Ct., 11