Tennessee. Supreme Court

The Tennessee Supreme Court was established in 1796 and functioned without interruption with few administrative changes until the Civil War. The court was suspended during the war and was reinstated in 1867. The backlog of cases during the suspension initiated the creation of temporary courts to take up cases. The limited courts worked very well and were implemented in 1873, 1875, and 1877. The steady increase in cases made it necessary for the court system to be enlarged and in 1895 the Court of Chancery Appeals was created. Courts of Appeals and Civil Appeals were also created to hear cases of a civil nature from lower courts.