General Sessions Court is vested with a broad range of jurisdiction and is often the public’s first introduction to the judicial process. There are eleven divisions of the Metropolitan General Sessions Courts with an elected Judge to serve in each division. This Court handles both criminal matters and civil lawsuits. The eleven Judges rotate each week to preside over the various civil and criminal dockets. The General Sessions Courts are served by two different Clerks:

• Circuit Court Clerk, Richard Rooker
• Criminal Court Clerk, Howard Gentry

Mr. Rooker’s office files and manages the Court files and dockets for the General Sessions – Civil Division. The civil matters include several different type cases:

• Civil warrants with jurisdictional limit of $25,000
• Detainer warrants (landlord/tenant disputes)
• Recovery warrants
• Orders of protection
• Mental health committals
• Environmental codes violations