§ 123. — Tennessee.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 28USC123]
TITLE 28--JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
PART I--ORGANIZATION OF COURTS
CHAPTER 5--DISTRICT COURTS
Sec. 123. Tennessee
Tennessee is divided into three judicial districts to be known as
the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Tennessee.
Eastern District
(a) The Eastern District comprises four divisions.
(1) The Northern Division comprises the counties of Anderson,
Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox,
Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier, and Union.
Court for the Northern Division shall be held at Knoxville.
(2) The Northeastern Division comprises the counties of Carter,
Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson,
Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington.
Court for the Northeastern Division shall be held at Greenville.
(3) The Southern Division comprises the counties of Bledsoe,
Bradley, Hamilton, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Polk, Rhea,
and Sequatchie.
Court for the Southern Division shall be held at Chattanooga.
(4) The Winchester Division comprises the counties of Bedford,
Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore, Van Buren, and
Warren.
Court for the Winchester Division shall be held at Winchester.
Middle District
(b) The Middle District comprises three divisions.
(1) The Nashville Division comprises the counties of Cannon,
Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys,
Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner,
Trousdale, Williamson, and Wilson.
Court for the Nashville Division shall be held at Nashville.
(2) The Northeastern Division comprises the counties of Clay,
Cumberland, De Kalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton,
Pickett, Putnam, Smith, and White.
Court for the Northeastern Division shall be held at Cookeville.
(3) The Columbia Division comprises the counties of Giles,
Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Marshall, Maury, and Wayne.
Court for the Columbia Division shall be held at Columbia.
Western District
(c) The Western District comprises two divisions.
(1) The Eastern Division comprises the counties of Benton,
Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Gibson, Hardeman,
Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, McNairy,
Madison, Obion, Perry, and Weakley.
The Eastern Division also includes the waters of Tennessee River to
low-water mark on the eastern shore wherever such river forms the
boundary between the western and middle districts from the north line of
Alabama north to the point in Henry County, Tennessee, where the south
boundary of Kentucky strikes the east bank of the river.
Court for the Eastern Division shall be held at Jackson.
(2) The Western Division comprises the counties of Dyer,
Fayette, Lauderdale, Shelby, and Tipton.
Court for the Western Division shall be held at Memphis and
Dyersburg.
The district judge for the Eastern District in office on November
27, 1940, shall hold court in the Northern and Northeastern Divisions.
The other judge of that district shall hold the terms of court in the
Southern and Winchester Divisions. Each may appoint and remove all
officers and employees of the court whose official headquarters are
located in the divisions within which he holds court and whose
appointments are vested by law in a district judge or chief judge of a
district.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 890; Pub. L. 87-36, Sec. 3(e), May 19,
1961, 75 Stat. 83; Pub. L. 87-86, July 11, 1961, 75 Stat. 203; Pub. L.
91-272, Sec. 12, June 2, 1970, 84 Stat. 298.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Sec. 188 (Mar. 3, 1911, ch.
231, Sec. 107, 36 Stat. 1124; Aug. 20, 1912, ch. 306, 37 Stat. 314; June
22, 1916, ch. 161, 39 Stat. 232; Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 289, 42 Stat. 1520;
May 17, 1926, ch. 310, 44 Stat. 561; Mar. 1, 1927, ch. 244, 44 Stat.
1262; May 13, 1932, ch. 179, 47 Stat. 153; June 16, 1933, ch. 94, 48
Stat. 253; July 30, 1937, ch. 539, 50 Stat. 546; June 12, 1940, ch. 341,
54 Stat. 348; Nov. 27, 1940, ch. 920, Sec. 1, 54 Stat. 1216; Dec. 3,
1943, ch. 332, 57 Stat. 595).
Words ``The said judge shall possess the same powers, perform the
same duties, and receive the same compensation as other district
judges,'' and words, ``The President is authorized to appoint, by and
with the consent of the Senate, a successor or successors to said judge
as vacancies may occur. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to
prevent said judge or his successors from becoming the senior district
judge by succession, or from exercising the powers and rights of senior
district judge of said district. The judge designated herein to hold
regular and special terms of court at Winchester and Chattanooga shall
make all necessary orders for the disposition of business and assignment
of cases for trial in said divisions,'' were deleted as superfluous, in
view of sections 132 and 141 of this title.
Words ``The district attorneys and marshals for the eastern, middle,
and western districts of Tennessee in office immediately prior to
November 27, 1940, shall be during the remainder of their present terms
of office the district attorneys and marshals for such districts as
constituted by this section. The district judge for the middle district
of Tennessee shall be the district judge for the middle district of
Tennessee as constituted by this section and shall hold regular and
special terms of court at Nashville, Columbia, and Cookeville. The
district judge for the western district of Tennessee shall hold regular
and special terms of court at Memphis and Jackson,'' at the end of the
section, were deleted as temporary, and as superfluous, in view of the
remainder of the section, prescribing the places for holding terms of
court.
A provision for furnishing rooms and accommodations by the local
authorities for holding court at Columbia ``but only until such time as
such accommodations shall be provided upon the recommendation of the
Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts in a
public building or other quarters provided by the Federal Government for
such purpose,'' was omitted on advice of the Director of the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts that Federal
accommodations are now available.
An identical provision with reference to Winchester is retained in
part, but the words quoted above were omitted as unnecessary since, when
such buildings become available, the Director will, under section 604 of
this title, provide court accommodations therein.
The last paragraph of the revised section consolidates the
provisions of paragraphs (e) and (f) of section 188 of title 28, U.S.C.,
1940 ed., relating to the terms of court to be held in the two divisions
of the eastern district by the two judges, and their respective powers
of appointment of court officers and employees.
Provisions relating to appointment and residence of deputy marshals
and maintenance of clerk's office, were omitted as covered by sections
542 [see 561] and 751 of this title.
The clerk of court in a letter dated February 7, 1945, calls
attention to a rule of court providing for hearing of all bankruptcy
matters arising in Haywood County at Jackson in the eastern division of
the western district.
The provision respecting court accommodations at Winchester was
omitted as covered by section 142 of this title.
Changes in arrangement and phraseology were made.
Amendments
1970--Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 91-272, Sec. 12(a), added Haywood
County to the enumeration of counties comprising the Eastern Division of
the Western District.
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 91-272, Sec. 12(b), struck out Haywood
County from the enumeration of counties comprising the Western Division
of the Western District.
1961--Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 87-36, as amended by Pub. L. 87-86,
provided for holding court at Dyersburg.
