Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-1-108 (2026)

Original jurisdiction of circuit and criminal courts

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section JustiaTenn. Code CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

The circuit and criminal courts have original jurisdiction of all criminal matters not exclusively conferred by law on some other tribunal.

Code 1858, §4967; Shan., § 6928; Code 1932, § 11467; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-116.


Notes of Decisions
Cited in 28 cases (11 in the last 5 years), 1995–2025 · leading case: Thomas v. Haslam, 303 F. Supp. 3d 585 (M.D. Tenn. 2018).
Thomas v. Haslam, 303 F. Supp. 3d 585 (M.D. Tenn. 2018). · cites it 2× “A person who is "unable to pay all of the assessed litigation taxes, court costs, and fines but is able to pay some of them" may apply to the court of his conviction for a payment plan that would expressly shield him from the revocation of his driver's license: A person who is…”
Thomas v. Haslam, 329 F. Supp. 3d 475 (M.D. Tenn. 2018). · cites it 2× “A person who is "unable to pay all of the assessed litigation taxes, court costs, and fines but is able to pay some of them" may apply to the court of his conviction for a payment plan that would expressly shield him from the revocation of his driver's license: A person who is…”
State v. Coolidge, 915 S.W.2d 820 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1995). · cites it 2× “In response, the state relies upon Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-1-108, a statute enacted in 1858 and amended in 1932: Original jurisdiction of circuit and criminal courts.”
State v. Booher, 978 S.W.2d 953 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997). · cites it 2× “); Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-1-108 (1990). This issue is without merit.”
James M. Flinn v. State of Tennessee, 354 S.W.3d 332 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “See T.C.A. § 40-1-108 (2006). Additionally, we note that by granting a person the ability to move “the court” to suppress and return illegally obtained evidence, Rule 41 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure *335 contemplates that the court hearing the criminal case is…”
Vincent Sims v. Wayne Carpenter (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-1-108 circuit and criminal courts “have original jurisdiction over all matters not exclusively conferred by law on some other tribunal.”
Tyrone Chalmers v. Wayne Carpenter (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-1-108 circuit and criminal courts “have original jurisdiction over all matters not exclusively conferred by law on some other tribunal.”
Christopher D. Hodge v. Debra Johnson, Warden (Tenn. Crim. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “In fact, Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-1-108 provides that “[t]he circuit and criminal courts have original jurisdiction of all criminal matters not exclusively conferred by law on some other tribunal.”
Joe Clark Mitchell v. Debra Johnson, Warden (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “See Tenn. Code Ann. §40-1-108 (providing that “circuit and criminal courts have original jurisdiction of all criminal matters not exclusively conferred by law on some other tribunal”); State v.”
John Schmeeckle v. Hamilton Cnty., TN (Tenn. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 2× “”); Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-1-108 (“The circuit and criminal courts have original jurisdiction of all criminal matters not exclusively conferred by law on some other tribunal.”
Terrance Reese v. Frank Strada, Warden (Tenn. Crim. App. 2024). · cites it 2× “” T.C.A. § 40-1-108. -3- A habeas corpus petitioner may challenge the validity of an indictment “when the indictment is so defective as to deprive the court of jurisdiction.”
Dodson v. Tennessee Attorney Gen. (Habeas) (M.D. Tenn. 2019). · cites it 2× “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-1-108 . Tennessee law provides that “[a]ll criminal actions are prosecuted in the name of the state of Tennessee against the party charged with the offense.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.