Judicial Department

Judicial Department

Overview

The primary functions of the Judicial Department are to keep records of all violations of city ordinances and to collect all fines and costs. The personnel consist of the City Judge, the Chief Court Clerk and three Court Clerks.
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Court Fines

The Murfreesboro City Court has a cash appearance bond schedule for speeding, parking, and most other violations. You may pay the cash appearance bond before court and avoid the court appearance and court costs.

The minimum cash bond for speeding offenses is $116 plus $1 per mile in excess of 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. The maximum amount is $161.

Regarding Court Procedure

When your name is called, proceed to where the judge is seated at the front of the room. You will be asked if you are "guilty" or "not guilty" of the charge for which you have been cited.

If you plead "guilty", your case can be adjudicated right then. If you plead "not guilty", a hearing will be scheduled with you and the officer and any necessary witnesses. If both sides are ready, that hearing will normally take place at the end of the docket after concluding all cases for persons who plead "guilty".

If you are found "not guilty" or if your case is dismissed, you will owe nothing and may leave the courtroom

If you are found "guilty", a fine will be entered from $2 to $50. In addition to the fine, you may also have to pay the court cost which is a minimum of $113.50. Court costs are substantially less if your ticket is for a parking violation and all court costs are waived if your ticket is for a seatbelt violation on persons over nine years of age.

For payments of fines and costs, the Clerk can accept cash, a cashier's check, money order, and personal checks written on a local bank so long as your current name, address and phone number are preprinted on the check. The Clerk cannot at this time accept credit or debit cards.

If you cannot pay all of your fines and costs on the day Court is held, you must file a motion for additional time to pay with the Clerk's office.

Some persons appear in court to try and keep a citation off their driving records. We do not have a driving school for you to attend. However, the Court will consider keeping a ticket off your driving record if it is issued for one of three types of violations but then only under certain certain circumstances. For example, if you plead "guilty" to failure to obey a sign, failure to obey a signal, or speeding not more than 20 miles over the speed limit, and if you have not been issued a ticket anywhere in the last three years, whether that ticket appears on your record or not, then under those circumstances, the Court will consider "retiring" your ticket, which means you pay all the court costs but the ticket does not go on your driving record at this time.

Even if you meet these requirements, the Court may refuse to retire your ticket if other circumstances are present. Examples include you causing an accident or being disrespectful to the police officer. The Court can refuse to retire your ticket for many other reasons.

If the Court agrees to retire your ticket, your driving history will be checked, and if any tickets are found in the last three years that you did not disclose to the Court, your tickets will not be retired. If your ticket is to be retired, you must make sure that your current mailing address is on the citation before you leave the Clerk's office in the event we need to get in touch with you.

If you have any questions, please call Murfreesboro City Court at 890-2142.

Welcome!
from City Judge Ewing Sellers

Welcome to the Murfreesboro Judicial Department's home page.

Most inquiries of the Judicial Department involve City Court. If you have a question about a citation for violation of a Murfreesboro City Code, please call City Court at 890-2142. The personnel are pleased to answer your questions in a complete, professional and courteous manner.

The mailing address for City Court is:

PO Box 1985
Murfreesboro, TN
37133-1985

If you choose to post a cash appearance bond in person, the City Court Clerk's Office is located in Room 202 on the second floor of City Hall. If you choose to answer your citation by appearing in Court, please go to the Courtroom (Room 213).