Memphis Attorney Vincent Perryman and Judge Phyllis Gardner discuss the two types of General Sessions court, Civil Court which is divided into 6 divisions and General Sessions Criminal court which handles all criminal cases. Civil court handles things such as property law, contracts, automobile accidents, divorces and cases of that nature. In Civil court just as in all court appearances should have an attorney for council, however they can represent themselves in court. People who represent themselves are still accountable to the same rules as attorneys. Judges do not represent the interest of either the attorneys or the people, they are simply a referees for the prosecutors and the defendants. A usual case load for General Sessions court is around 250 cases a day consisting of two Dockets. One starting at 10:00 AM and the other at 1:30 PM. Although there is a large case load the judges give each case its due process. Judge Gardner does her best to explain and keep the people involved in a case informed of everything they need to know about their case. Civil court deals a lot with collection cases. Especially during this economic down time the courts are seeing a lot of people in court dealing with credit card company collections and vehicle loan collections.
In General Sessions Civil Court there is a large increase in the collections cases due to the down economy. The court is seeing a lot of people in court they wouldn't regularly see. It is the Courts efforts to try and help settle the dispute between the collector and the collectee. They encourage the collector to work out a process by which the debtor can pay back the debt so both parties are happy. They can not force either side to a decision the court can only help them reach a solution by suggesting one. Sometimes Civil court is responsible for signing injunctions and restraining orders, but the jurisdictional limit is 25,000.00. Some cases involve family members suing other family members. The court helps settle these disputes in a civil manner. Memphis Legal services are available to those that cannot otherwise afford it to represent them. Memphis Legal Services is a group of Memphis attorneys that provide their services pro bono. The attorneys involved in Memphis Legal Services volunteer their time for lower income individuals to help them in their legal matters.
The process of becoming a General Sessions court Judge involves go to College and then Law school. After Law school the Judge generally practices as an attorney to gain experience. This helps the future judge gain knowledge and experience. General Sessions Judges are appointed to their position by the County commission and then after the term is up the Judge must run in a general election to continue to hold the seat. When a Judge passes away candidates can run for that open position. General Sessions Criminal court deal with a lot of cases that will not make it to regular Criminal Court. The General Sessions Criminal court tends to handle cases in a manner to help rehabilitate the defendant rather than just prosecute the defendant.
