IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT JACKSON

October 29, 2015 Session

MEMPHIS BONDING COMPANY, INC. v. CRIMINAL COURT OF 

TENNESSEE 30TH DISTRICT, ET AL.

Direct Appeal from the Chancery Court for Shelby County

No. CH-15-0226-2 Jim Kyle, Chancellor

No. W2015-00562-COA-R10-CV – Filed November 25, 2015

This appeal involves a challenge to a local rule of the criminal court in Shelby County. 

The lawsuit was filed in the chancery court. After a hearing, the chancery court 

concluded that it had subject matter jurisdiction over the matter and entered a temporary 

injunction prohibiting the criminal court and its ten judges from enforcing a section of the 

local rule. We granted an application for an extraordinary appeal filed by the criminal 

court and its judges. We reverse the chancery court‟s exercise of subject matter 

jurisdiction, vacate the temporary injunction and remand for dismissal of the complaint. 

Tenn. R. App. P. 10 Extraordinary Appeal by Permission; Judgment of the 

Chancery Court Reversed, Vacated, and Remanded

BRANDON O. GIBSON, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which J. STEVEN 

STAFFORD, P.J., W.S., and KENNY ARMSTRONG, J., joined.

Herbert H. Slatery, III, Attorney General and Reporter, Andree S. Blumstein, Solicitor 

General, Michael A. Meyer, Deputy Attorney General and Steven A. Hart, Special 

Counsel, for the appellants, Shelby County Criminal Court, Paula L. Skahan, Glenn Ivy 

Wright, J. Robert Carter, Jr., Carolyn W. Blackett, James M. Lammey, John Wheeler 

Campbell, Lee V. Coffee, Chris Craft, W. Mark Ward, and James C. Beasley, Jr.

Edward M. Bearman and Jeffrey A. Land, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, 

Memphis Bonding Company, Inc.

OPINION

 

I. FACTS & PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Memphis Bonding Company, Inc. (“MBC”) is a bail bond company doing 
2

business in Shelby County, Tennessee. On February 23, 2015, MBC filed a sworn 

petition for injunctive relief and declaratory judgment in the chancery court of Shelby 

County, naming as defendants the Criminal Court of Tennessee for the Thirtieth Judicial 

District and each of its ten judges, who were named in their capacity as judges of the 

criminal court. According to the complaint, the criminal court and its judges 

(“Respondents”) were in the process of amending the existing Rules of Practice and 

Procedure for the Criminal Court of Tennessee for the Thirtieth Judicial District in order 

to enact “Local Rules of Practice and Procedure for Bail Bond Companies,” with an 

effective date of March 1, 2015.1 MBC alleged that numerous sections of the proposed 

rules violated certain statutory and constitutional provisions and were also arbitrary, 

capricious, and without basis of right or legal authority. Accordingly, MBC asked the 

chancery court to declare the proposed Local Rules of Practice and Procedure for Bail 

Bond Companies “unenforceable, unconstitutional, and in violation of the law.” MBC 

also asked the chancery court to issue a temporary restraining order, a temporary 

injunction, and eventually a permanent injunction enjoining the criminal court and its ten 

judges from enforcing the proposed amended rule, which was set to take effect on March 

1, 2015. The complaint asserted that the chancery court had jurisdiction over the matter 

pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated sections 16-11-101, 16-11-102, 16-11-115, 29-

14-101 et seq. and Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 57.

The Office of the Attorney General and Reporter filed a response on behalf of the 

Respondents. In the response, the Respondents claimed that MBC was asking the 

chancery court to “hinder a sister court in the conduct of its business as it relates to the 

regulation of persons who write bail bonds in that court.” They argued that “there is no 

legal basis for a litigant to obtain Chancery review of the actions of a circuit or criminal 

court or to use an equitable proceeding to hinder or disrupt those courts in the conduct of 

day to day business.” They also claimed that it would be inappropriate for the chancery 

court to “review an action of a sister court that has exclusive jurisdiction over criminal 

matters[.]” 

On or about March 3, 2015, the chancery court entered a temporary restraining 

order as requested in the complaint. The order recited the chancery court‟s conclusion 

that it “has jurisdiction in this matter.” 

The parties submitted briefs prior to the next hearing, regarding the request for a 

temporary injunction, and they continued to dispute the existence of subject matter 

jurisdiction. MBC argued that the chancery court had jurisdiction because it is 

empowered with “all the powers, privileges, and jurisdiction properly and rightfully 

 

1

The existing local rules addressed bail bond companies in Rule 7, which spanned just over one page.

The proposed amendment would expand Rule 7 to eleven pages and designate it the Local Rules of 

Practice and Procedure for Bail Bond Companies. 
3

incident to a court of equity” pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 16-11-101.

It also claimed that relief was appropriate pursuant to the Declaratory Judgment Act, 

Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-14-101. In addition, MBC suggested that if a chancery court is 

empowered to review the constitutionality of a criminal statute, then by logical extension, 

it should have jurisdiction to “determine the constitutionality and lawfulness of 

administrative rules and regulations prescribed by a criminal court.” MBC also claimed 

that it had no other adequate remedy in any other court. It insisted that it would be 

inappropriate for the judges of the criminal court to consider the validity of rules they 

promulgated themselves.

In response to these arguments, Respondents claimed that none of the statutes 

cited by MBC conferred subject matter jurisdiction on the chancery court to review 

decisions of the criminal court or otherwise interfere with the conduct of its business. 

The Respondents argued that even if a chancery court is permitted to consider the validity

of a criminal statute, it is not permitted to enjoin its enforcement. By the same token, 

Respondents argued that a chancery court should not be permitted to enjoin a criminal 

court‟s practices and procedures concerning bondsmen. They suggested that “all issues 

related to bail and the conduct of bondsmen are properly left exclusively in the hands of 

the court having criminal jurisdiction.” Respondents claimed that MBC had an adequate 

remedy aside from a chancery court proceeding because MBC could challenge the 

validity of the local rules in the event that it faced a criminal court action to suspend or 

revoke its authorization to write bail bonds. 

After a hearing, the chancery court entered an order granting in part and denying 

in part the request for a temporary injunction. The chancery court dissolved its previous 

temporary restraining order. It again concluded that it had subject matter jurisdiction 

over the matter, concluding that “Tennessee law is clear that Chancery Courts, pursuant 

to a declaratory judgment action, can make a ruling on whether a criminal matter is 

constitutional.” By extension, the chancery court reasoned that “this Chancery Court is 

authorized to rule upon the constitutionality of administrative rules and regulations, not 

criminal or penal in nature, even though the proposed enactment of the rules are by 

judges of a criminal court.” The chancery court also concluded that MBC had “no other 

remedy.” As a result, pending the final hearing, the chancery court temporarily enjoined 

the implementation of one particular subsection of proposed Rule 7, which would 

authorize random drug screening of bail bond company agents upon request of the 

criminal court. The chancery court concluded that such a requirement would be 

unconstitutional “on a state and federal constitutional basis.” The chancery court denied 

the request for a temporary injunction with regard to the remainder of the proposed rule.

Respondents filed an application for an extraordinary appeal pursuant to Rule 10 

of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. This Court granted the application to 
4

consider whether the chancery court has jurisdiction to enjoin the criminal court from 

adopting, implementing, and enforcing local rules of the criminal court.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The issue on appeal involves the subject matter jurisdiction of the chancery court. 

Subject matter jurisdiction presents a question of law, which we review de novo without 

affording the trial court‟s decision a presumption of correctness.2 In re Baby, 447 S.W.3d 

807, 817 (Tenn. 2014) (citing Chapman v. DaVita, Inc., 380 S.W.3d 710, 712-13 (Tenn. 

2012)). The concept of subject matter jurisdiction refers to a court‟s authority to 

adjudicate a particular case or controversy. Id. Accordingly, it is viewed as a threshold 

inquiry. Redwing v. Catholic Bishop for Diocese of Memphis, 363 S.W.3d 436, 445 

(Tenn. 2012). 

The existence of subject matter jurisdiction “„depends on the nature of the cause of 

action and the relief sought.‟” In re Baby, 447 S.W.3d at 837 (quoting Chapman, 380 

S.W.3d at 712). A court has subject matter jurisdiction only when conferred by a statute 

or a provision of the state or federal constitution. Id. (citing Northland Ins. Co. v. State, 

33 S.W.3d 727, 729 (Tenn. 2000)). When a court‟s subject matter jurisdiction is 

questioned, the first step is to ascertain the nature or gravamen of the case. Staats v. 

McKinnon, 206 S.W.3d 532, 542 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006) (citing Newsome v. White, No. 

M2001-03014-COA-R3-CV, 2003 WL 22994288, at *2 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 22, 2003)). 

Then, the court must determine whether the constitution, the general assembly, or the 

common law have conferred on it the power to adjudicate cases of that sort. Id. (citing 

Newsome, 2003 WL 22994288, at *2; Levy v. Bd. of Zoning Appeals, No. M1999-00126-

COA-R3-CV, 2001 WL 1141351, at *3 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 27, 2001)).

III. DISCUSSION

On appeal, the Respondents contend that the chancery court lacks subject matter 

jurisdiction to review the validity or to enjoin the enforcement of local rules of a criminal 

court regarding bail bonds. 

 

2We reject MBC‟s assertion that, at this stage of the proceedings, we must simply accept as true the 

allegation in its complaint that the chancery court possessed jurisdiction. See Tate v. State, No. W2002-

00177-COA-R3CV, 2003 WL 21026939, at *2 n.3 (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 14, 2003) (explaining that an 

allegation of jurisdiction is “not a factual allegation that would be „taken as true,‟ but rather a legal 

conclusion”); see also Johnson v. Hopkins, 432 S.W.3d 840, 843-44 (Tenn. 2013) (“Subject matter 

jurisdiction is conferred by statute or the Tennessee Constitution; the parties cannot confer it by 

appearance, plea, consent, silence, or waiver.”)
5

The Tennessee Supreme Court has the power to prescribe rules governing the 

practice and procedure in all of the courts of this state. Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-3-402; 

State v. Best, 614 S.W.2d 791, 793 (Tenn. 1981). “Each of the other courts of this state 

may adopt additional or supplementary rules of practice and procedure not inconsistent 

with or in conflict with the rules prescribed by the supreme court.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 

16-3-407; see also Tenn. R. Sup. Ct. 18 (explaining that each judicial district may adopt 

“uniform rules not inconsistent with the statutory law, the Rules of the Supreme Court, 

the Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Rules of Civil Procedure, the Rules of Criminal 

Procedure, the Rules of Juvenile Procedure, and the Rules of Evidence.”) In other words, 

local trial courts are empowered to enact and enforce local rules as long as those rules do 

not conflict with general law. Tigg v. Pirelli Tire Corp., 232 S.W.3d 28, 35 (Tenn. 

2007). According to our supreme court, it is “clearly implicit” in the aforementioned

statutes that “no court other than the Supreme Court can make rules governing the 

procedure in other courts.” Best, 614 S.W.2d at 793. 

Trial courts also have inherent power to administer their affairs, “including the 

right to impose reasonable regulations regarding the making of bonds.” Hull v. State, 543 

S.W.2d 611, 612 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1976) (citing Taylor v. Waddey, 334 S.W.2d 733 

(1960)). In Taylor v. Waddey, the Tennessee Supreme Court considered the inherent 

authority of a court to regulate the actions of bondsmen writing criminal bonds before the 

court. The court concluded that such regulation was permissible:

So long as the court in the conduct of its business makes requirements of 

this kind and these requirements are reasonable ones, and reasonable 

regulations, they clearly come within the reasonable police power and 

inherent power of these courts. . . . So long as these regulations of the 

applicant are not capricious, arbitrary or solely without basis of right, then 

these acts may be properly supervised by the court in its ministerial 

capacity as here.

Taylor, 334 S.W.2d at 736. A trial court is given wide discretion in its regulation of bail 

bondsmen, and its actions will not be overturned absent a showing that they were 

arbitrary, capricious, or illegal. In re A Way Out Bonding, No. M2012-00423-CCA-R3-

CO, 2013 WL 2325276, at *2 (Tenn. Crim. App. May 28, 2013); In re Int’l Fid. Ins. Co., 

989 S.W.2d 726, 729 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998); In re Hitt, 910 S.W.2d 900, 904 (Tenn. 

Crim. App. 1995). The question remains as to precisely how a party can challenge a 

local rule governing bail bondsmen on the basis that it is arbitrary, capricious, illegal, or 

unconstitutional. 
6

In several cases, courts have considered the validity of local rules that applied to 

the particular circumstances of existing litigation. See, e.g., Glisson v. Mohon Int’l, 

Inc./Campbell Ray, 185 S.W.3d 348, 354-55 (Tenn. 2006) (holding a local rule invalid 

because it was contrary to a Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure, in the context of a 

workers‟ compensation suit); State v. Thomas, 813 S.W.2d 395, 397 (Tenn. 1991)

(finding a local rule unenforceable because it contravened a supreme court rule, in the 

context of a criminal case); Smalling v. Smalling, No. E2013-01393-COA-R10-CV, 2014 

WL 285682, at *3 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 24, 2014) (no perm. app. filed) (finding a local 

rule invalid to the extent it conflicted with an applicable statute, in the context of a 

divorce action); Kenyon v. Handal, 122 S.W.3d 743, 752 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003) (holding 

a deadline in a local rule unenforceable to the extent it conflicted with a deadline in the 

Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, in the context of a medical malpractice case); Brown 

v. Daly, 884 S.W.2d 121, 123-24 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994) (finding a local rule null and 

void as conflicting with the Rules of Civil Procedure, in a suit for partition of real 

property).

We also conclude that a declaratory judgment action may be an appropriate 

method of challenging a local rule. See, e.g., Stern v. U.S. Dist. Court for Dist. of Mass., 

214 F.3d 4, 11 (1st Cir. 2000) (“the proper method for mounting a facial challenge to the 

validity of [a local rule] . . . is through an action for declaratory and/or injunctive relief 

filed in the district court”); Maynard v. U.S. Dist. Court for Cent. Dist. of California, 915 

F.2d 1581 (Table) (9th Cir. 1990) (involving an action for a declaratory judgment that a 

local rule was unconstitutional); Knod v. Dir., TDCJ-CID, No. 6:11CV140, 2011 WL 

6016470, at *1 (E.D. Tex. Dec. 1, 2011) (same); Perry v. Aversman, 168 S.W.3d 541, 

544 (Mo. Ct. App. 2005) (involving a declaratory judgment action to have a local rule 

governing bail bonds declared invalid).

3

 

However, we conclude that the chancery court does not have subject matter 

jurisdiction to entertain an action for declaratory or injunctive relief regarding the validity 

of local rules of the criminal court. In Barger v. Brock, 535 S.W.2d 337 (Tenn. 1976), 

the Tennessee Supreme Court held that a chancery court could not declare a Rule of the 

Supreme Court unconstitutional or enjoin its enforcement. The court explained:

We hold that the inferior courts of the state may not entertain any 

 

3

This Court has considered the validity of a local rule of a general sessions court in the context of an 

appeal from a circuit court suit for mandamus, certiorari, and declaratory judgment; however, we 

considered the validity of the local rule without specifying which portion of the underlying petition served 

as the basis for granting relief. Harvey v. LaDuke, No. E2005-00533-COA-R3-CV, 2006 WL 694640, at 

*2 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 20, 2006).
7

suit or action challenging the validity of any Rule of this Court. Such a suit 

would be in the nature of a bill of review or to impeach a judgment of this 

Court, and, in effect, would constitute an appeal to the chancery court from 

the action of this Court. Such a proceeding is unknown to the law.

Id. at 342. Permitting the chancery court to review the local rules of another trial court is 

also problematic. In a case involving the interplay between chancery and circuit courts, 

the supreme court stated:

Patently the Chancery Court has no power to sit as a court of review 

to correct judgments of the Circuit Court which are merely erroneous. Nor 

does it have the power to interfere with the Circuit Court itself in the 

performance of its duties and functions.

Brown v. Brown, 281 S.W.2d 492, 497 (Tenn. 1955). We believe the same reasoning 

applies to the situation before us. To allow the chancery court to review the validity or 

enjoin the enforcement of the local rules of the criminal court would interfere with the 

inherent power of the criminal court to administer its affairs and impose reasonable 

regulations regarding the making of bonds. Just as it is “implicit” in the statutory scheme 

regarding local rules that “no court other than the Supreme Court can make rules 

governing the procedure in other courts,” Best, 614 S.W.2d at 793, we conclude that the 

applicable statutes and rules do not authorize chancery court review of the local rules of 

the criminal court.

MBC relies on Tennessee Code Annotated section 16-11-101 as a basis for 

chancery court jurisdiction, as it provides that “[t]he chancery court has all the powers, 

privileges and jurisdiction properly and rightfully incident to a court of equity.” Tenn. 

Code Ann. § 16-11-101. We recognize that the power to grant injunctive relief is a 

power that courts of equity (or chancery courts) have possessed for centuries. Watts v. 

Burkhart, 854 F.2d 839, 851 (6th Cir. 1988). However, that power is not unlimited. 

For example, in Clinton Books, Inc. v. City of Memphis, 197 S.W.3d 749 (Tenn. 

2006), the Tennessee Supreme Court considered whether a chancery court had subject 

matter jurisdiction to issue a temporary injunction barring enforcement of a criminal 

statute. The court explained:

The long-standing rule in Tennessee is that state courts of equity lack 
8

jurisdiction to enjoin the enforcement of a criminal statute that is alleged to 

be unconstitutional. See, e.g., Alexander v. Elkins, 132 Tenn. 663, 179 S.W. 

310, 311 (1915); J.W. Kelly & Co. v. Conner, 122 Tenn. 339, 123 S.W. 

622, 637 (1909). A lawsuit seeking injunctive relief due to an allegedly 

invalid criminal statute asks the chancery court, rather than the court that 

will enforce the criminal law, to enjoin the officers of the state from 

prosecuting persons who are conducting a business made unlawful by a 

criminal statute until the chancery court can determine the statute‟s validity. 

J.W. Kelly & Co., 123 S.W. at 631. Permitting a court of equity to interfere 

with the administration of this state‟s criminal laws, which that court is 

without jurisdiction to enforce, would cause confusion in the preservation 

of peace and order and the enforcement of the State‟s general police power. 

Id. at 637.4

Id. at 752. Although the case before us involves a local rule of a criminal court rather 

than a criminal statute, the concerns are equally relevant. Permitting a chancery court to 

enjoin and otherwise interfere with the administration of the criminal court would cause 

confusion and disrupt the orderly administration of the judicial system. In effect, the 

chancery court would be invading the jurisdiction of the criminal court.

We are not persuaded by MBC‟s argument that, regardless of its power to enter 

injunctive relief, the Declaratory Judgment Act provides an independent source of subject 

matter jurisdiction for the chancery court to review the local rules of the criminal court 

regarding bonds. Chancery courts have subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate 

declaratory judgment actions. Estate of Brown, 402 S.W.3d 193, 199 (Tenn. 2013). The 

Declaratory Judgment Act “conveys the power to construe or determine the validity of 

any written instrument, statute, ordinance, contract, or franchise, provided that the case is 

within the court‟s jurisdiction.” Colonial Pipeline Co. v. Morgan, 263 S.W.3d 827, 837 

(Tenn. 2008) (citing Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-14-103) (emphasis added). However, “[t]he 

Declaratory Judgment Act does not grant the power to courts to declare and enforce 

rights outside their scope of jurisdiction.” Morgan v. Norris, No. 88-70-II, 1988 WL 

133479, at *2 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 16, 1988) (citing Zirkle v. City of Kingston, 217 

Tenn. 210, 396 S.W.2d 356 (1976); Hill v. Beeler, 199 Tenn. 325, 286 S.W.2d 868 

(1956); Nicholson v. Cummings, 188 Tenn. 201, 217 S.W.2d 942 (1949)); see also Tenn. 

Code Ann. § 29-14-102(a) (“Courts of record within their respective jurisdictions have 

 

4

The supreme court noted that a chancery court may enjoin the enforcement of a criminal statute that the 

supreme court has adjudged unconstitutional. Clinton Books, 197 S.W.3d at 753. In that situation, the 

court explained, “no controversies are required to be settled by a criminal court, and the equity court is 

not invading the criminal court‟s jurisdiction by issuing an injunction.” Id.
9

the power to declare rights, status, and other legal relations whether or not further relief is 

or could be claimed.”) (emphasis added). 

As noted in 26 C.J.S. Declaratory Judgments § 124:

The declaratory-judgment statutes give to courts of record the power to 

declare rights, status and other legal relations within their respective 

jurisdictions, but do not confer subject matter jurisdiction. A declaratory 

judgment act is not an express independent source of subject matter 

jurisdiction, and ordinarily does not by itself grant or otherwise create 

jurisdiction. In order that a court have jurisdiction to render a declaratory 

judgment over any subject matter, jurisdiction must exist independent of 

the declaratory judgment statute. . . . 

A litigant‟s request for declaratory relief does not alter a suit‟s underlying 

nature. Declaratory judgment actions are subject to the same limitations 

inherent in the underlying cause of action from which the controversy 

arose. Statutory authority to award a declaratory judgment does not permit 

litigants to raise such claims, by their own “bootstraps,” if jurisdiction is 

otherwise lacking. 

Statutes authorizing declaratory judgments merely extend the power of the 

courts to grant relief in cases that are already within their jurisdiction. Such 

statutes, therefore, do not confer any additional jurisdiction on the courts, or 

modify its jurisdictional reach over the parties or the subject matter.

For example, “[t]he Federal Declaratory Judgment Act does not confer independent 

jurisdiction but merely provides additional remedies where jurisdiction already exists. 

The plaintiff must establish an independent source of subject matter jurisdiction in order 

to proceed to pursue declaratory relief in a federal court.” 22A Am. Jur. 2d Declaratory 

Judgments § 188.

Likewise, in Tennessee, “the Declaratory Judgment Act has not given the courts 

jurisdiction over any controversy that would not be within their jurisdiction if affirmative 

relief were being sought.” Hill v. Beeler, 286 S.W.2d 868, 871 (Tenn. 1956). Simply 

put, “the Declaratory Judgment Act does not confer an independent basis for 

jurisdiction.” Batts v. Lack, No. 86-147-II, 1986 WL 13040, at *3 (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 

21, 1986) (citing Hill, 286 S.W.2d at 871). Consequently, the Tennessee Supreme Court 

has held that “[a] declaratory judgment is proper in chancery, but only if chancery 

originally could have entertained a suit of the same subject matter.” Zirkle v. City of 
10

Kingston, 396 S.W.2d 356, 363 (Tenn. 1965) (citing Gibson, Suits in Chancery § 36, n.62 

(5th ed. 1955)). In Zirkle, for instance, the supreme court concluded that the chancery 

court did not have jurisdiction over any of the theories alleged in the complainants‟ suit, 

and therefore, it could not “take jurisdiction to enter a declaratory judgment.” Id. 

We recognize that the Middle Section of this Court declined to follow the 

Tennessee Supreme Court‟s decision in Zirkle in Blackwell v. Haslam, No. M2011-

00588-COA-R3-CV, 2012 WL 113655, at *5 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 11, 2012), perm. app. 

denied (Tenn. Apr. 11, 2012). The Blackwell court concluded that a chancery court had 

subject matter jurisdiction over a complaint for declaratory relief regarding the 

constitutionality of a statute imposing criminal penalties even though the chancery court 

lacked jurisdiction to enjoin the enforcement of the same statute. Id. at *6. The Middle 

Section acknowledged that the supreme court had not explicitly overruled Zirkle, but, 

nevertheless, it concluded that the supreme court had “clearly departed from the 

unequivocal declaration” in Zirkle in two subsequent cases: Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Inc. 

v. McWherter, 866 S.W.2d 520 (Tenn. 1993) and Clinton Books, 197 S.W.3d at 749. The 

Middle Section emphasized that those two cases involved requests for declaratory relief 

regarding statutes that assessed criminal penalties, “and in none of these cases did the 

court find that the chancery court lacked subject matter jurisdiction.” Id. at *5. 

However, neither Davis-Kidd nor Clinton Books contains any discussion regarding the 

chancery court‟s subject matter jurisdiction over a request for declaratory relief. In 

Clinton Books, the jurisdictional issue presented was whether the chancery court had 

subject matter jurisdiction to enter injunctive relief regarding a criminal statute. The 

supreme court concluded that it did not. Clinton Books, 197 S.W.3d at 755. The court 

remanded the request for declaratory relief due to a procedural issue but did not discuss 

the issue of subject matter jurisdiction as it pertained to declaratory relief.

When the Clinton Books court considered the issue of subject matter jurisdiction to 

enter an injunction, the court acknowledged that in Davis-Kidd and another case, 

plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief regarding the constitutionality of 

criminal statutes, and the supreme court addressed the constitutional issues without 

addressing the chancery court‟s jurisdiction. Id. at 752-53. However, the supreme court 

explained that “stare decisis only applies with reference to decisions directly upon the 

point in controversy” and cautioned that “the omission of any discussion of the trial 

court‟s jurisdiction in [] Davis-Kidd should not be interpreted as altering the general rule 

prohibiting state equity courts from enjoining enforcement of a criminal statute.” Id. at 

753. In other words, we should not assume that subject matter jurisdiction existed based 

on the fact that the issue was not addressed. This seems to be the same approach the 

court of appeals used in Blackwell. We respectfully disagree with its conclusion that the 

supreme court “clearly departed from the unequivocal declaration” in Zirkle by its silence 
11

in Davis-Kidd and Clinton Books. We consider the supreme court‟s unequivocal 

statements in Zirkle and Hill v. Beeler, 199 Tenn. 325, 333, 286 S.W.2d 868, 871 (1956) 

to be controlling. Because MBC‟s underlying claim for injunctive relief regarding the 

local rules could not be brought in chancery court, the chancery court could not exercise 

subject matter jurisdiction over the declaratory judgment aspect of the case either. 

“The criminal courts in Shelby County determine who qualify to be bail 

bondsmen.” In re Hitt, 910 S.W.2d at 902 (citing Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-124). Any 

challenge to the criminal court‟s local rules governing bail bondsmen should be 

considered in the criminal courts of Shelby County. See, e.g., Barger, 535 S.W.2d at 342 

(inviting parties who deemed the Supreme Court Rule objectionable to petition the 

supreme court for its elimination or modification). We render no opinion regarding the 

validity of the criminal court‟s local rules, as the question before us relates only to subject 

matter jurisdiction, not to the merits of MBC‟s claims. 

We note that MBC raises several arguments on appeal regarding whether the 

criminal court judges should be disqualified from considering the validity of the local 

rules they enacted. However, in our view, these arguments would be more appropriately 

considered in the context of a motion for recusal filed in any proceeding ultimately 

instituted in criminal court.

V. CONCLUSION

For the aforementioned reasons, the chancery court‟s exercise of subject matter 

jurisdiction is reversed, the temporary injunction is vacated, and this case is remanded for 

dismissal of the complaint. Costs of this appeal are taxed to the appellee, Memphis 

Bonding Company, Inc., for which execution may issue if necessary.

_________________________________ 

BRANDON O. GIBSON, JUDGE