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County Court Records index |
Roane County Chancery Book: 1824 - 1845
Roane County Circuit Court Witness Docket Book For 1820
Types of Cases Heard in the Courts after 1834
County Court: Appointment of administrators and guardians; reports of same; wills proved; widow's provisions laid off; road crews appointed; apprentices bound; wildcat/wolf bounties paid; paupers and "idiots" provided for; taxes adjusted.
Circuit Court: (Heard cases of LAW -- where laws had been broken and guilt or innocence was to be decided.) Civil Cases include debt, divorce, assault. State/Criminal Cases include theft, gambling, fighting, murder, bastardy.
Chancery Court: (Heard cases of EQUITY -- disputes in which court had to decide what would be fair to all parties.) Estate disputes; land and slave ownership disputes; business partnership dissolutions; division of property in divorces; incompetency rebuttals; claims against public officials.
Prepared by Charles Sherrill, 1996 and taken from:
COURTS WHERE
TENNESSEE COURT CASES WERE TRIED
| TIME PERIOD | TYPE OF CASE | COURT |
| 1796-1809 | Any minor matter | Court of Common Pleas & Quarter Sessions |
| Any larger matter; all appeals | Superior Courts of Law & Equity | |
| 1809-1834 | Any minor matter | Court of Pleas |
| Larger law cases | Circuit Court | |
| Larger equity cases | Supreme Court (see 1822-1834 also) | |
| Appeals of law cases | Supreme Court | |
| 1822-1834 | Larger Equity Cases | Chancery Division of Supreme Court |
1834-present |
Business matters only (not disputes) | County Court |
Any law case |
Circuit Court (which divided into Civil & Criminal courts in some places after 1847. Criminal heard "State" cases and Civil heard cases between individuals.) | |
| Any equity case | Chancery Court | |
| Appeals of all cases | Supreme Court |