Court charter amendment passes

Chattanooga voters passed an amendment to the City Charter defining the jurisdiction of City Court.

The change is a housecleaning measure that clarifies the court’s function and removes some archaic references to departments and positions that no longer exist.

City Court at one time handled both civil and criminal matters. That changed after the City Council gave then-City Judge Walter Williams a raise in 1992, which violated a state constitutional ban on midterm pay adjustments.

The district attorney’s office feared that questions about the court’s legitimacy might cause the state to lose cases on appeal, so it moved the criminal caseload to Hamilton County General Sessions Court.

The charter change makes clear that City Court will handle only violations of city code, and that appeals of decisions there will go to a civil appeals court rather than a criminal one.

Court fines for minor violations such as littering or animal problems still will be limited to $50 in City Court. Code violations related to blight are handled through a separate administrative hearing process and can carry fines up to $500.

The remainder of the charter change removes references to workhouses, justices of the peace and constables, which no longer exist in Chattanooga.