A new study shows the Upper Cumberland is the only region statewide with enough judges to handle the caseloads,.
According to the completed by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office, Judicial District 13 is staffed at 1.50 judges above the level needed to manage its current caseload, while Judicial District 8 is staffed 0.01 judges above its projected need. Comptroller’s Office Director of Communications John Dunn said the designation does not suggest there are too many judges serving in those districts.
“There are enough judges to hear the cases, at least at the state trial court level,” Dunn said. “They do have the amount of time necessary to dedicate to the workload that they have, and they are in a fortunate position, whereas many other judicial districts in our state do not currently have enough staff to handle the amount of cases they have.”
Dunn said 25 of the 32 judicial districts in Tennessee are understaffed. Dunn said the study not only uses the average caseload, but also considers the time it takes for each case to be heard to determine whether a district has enough judges.
“For example, a first-degree murder trial takes a lot more time than, say, a simple theft case,” Dunn said. “So what this study looks at is how much time judges are spending on these cases, and are there enough judges to handle the amount of work that is required.”
Dunn said hiring more judges or a drop in caseload can be factors in why only seven judicial districts across the state are adequately staffed. Dunn said there is work underway to look at judicial redistricting to resolve some of the understaffing issues.
“In fact, there is a task force that is set up to come up with a plan by January of 2027 that could look at how those counties are drawn together, decide if maybe certain counties need to be a part of a different district, so that there are enough judges in all 32 of our districts to handle the amount of work.”
Dunn said the 2025 study was the first weighted caseload study the Comptroller has been able to complete since 2019. Dunn said the Comptroller’s Office will not produce a study in 2026 because case weights have not been updated for 20 years, and nine counties, which do not include the Upper Cumberland, are not reporting their general sessions data to a centralized location.
“Since public defenders and district attorneys spend a lot of time in general sessions courts, we are not able to produce a study for those offices until both the weights are updated and all the data is being reported properly,” Dunn said.
Dunn said it may take a year or two before another weighted caseload study can be produced by the Comptroller.