(a) It is expressly provided that the municipal courts which are located in counties of this state coming within §§ 40-4-121 – 40-4-124 shall not have any jurisdiction of cases wherein a violation of the laws of the state of Tennessee is charged and alleged, it being the legislative intent of §§ 40-4-121 – 40-4-124 to vest jurisdiction of those cases in the various general sessions courts of the counties coming within §§ 40-4-121 – 40-4-124. The offenses enumerated in subsection (b) are declared to be state offenses, and any person charged for violation of those offenses shall be tried only in state courts, as provided in § 40-4-121, in which jurisdiction shall be exclusive. Any ordinance presently enacted to regulate any of the enumerated offenses, or to be later enacted, is declared to be void, repealed and of no effect.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 40-4-122
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The enumerated offenses are as follows:
(1) Driving while intoxicated or drugged, as forbidden by § 55-10-401;(2) Failing to stop after a traffic accident, as forbidden by title 55, chapter 10, part 1;(3) Driving while license suspended or revoked, as forbidden by § 55-50-504; and(4) Drag racing, as defined and forbidden by § 55-10-501.
