2023 Tennessee Code › Title 16 - COURTS (§§ 16-1-101 — 16-22-114) › Chapter 3 - SUPREME COURT (§§ 16-3-101 — 16-3-1001) › Part 8 - ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS (§§ 16-3-801 — 16-3-822) › Section 16-3-803 - Administrative director - Powers and duties

(a)
The administrative director of the courts shall work under the supervision and direction of the chief justice and shall, as the chief administrative officer of the state court system, assist the chief justice in the administration of the state court system to the end that litigation may be expedited and the administration of justice improved.
(b)
The administrative director of the courts shall attend to duties that may be assigned by the supreme court or chief justice of the supreme court.
(c)
(1)
Acting in accordance with procedures established pursuant to §
9-4-5103
, the administrative director of the courts shall annually prepare, approve and submit a budget for the maintenance and operation of the state court system. When the budget for the maintenance and operation of the state court system is submitted to the department of finance and administration, the administrative director of the courts shall also submit copies of the budget to the speaker of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives for referral and consideration by the appropriate standing committees of the general assembly.
(2)
The administrative director of the courts shall administer the accounts of the state court system, including all accounts related to the state court system as may be designated by the comptroller of the treasury and the chief justice. The administrative director of the courts shall draw and approve all requisitions for the payment of public moneys appropriated for the maintenance and operation of the state court system, and shall audit claims and prepare vouchers for presentation to the department of finance and administration, including payroll warrants, expense warrants and warrants covering the necessary cost of supplies, materials and other obligations by the various offices with respect to which the administrative director of the courts shall exercise fiscal responsibility.
(d)
The administrative director of the courts shall, within budgetary limitations, provide the judges of the trial courts of record with minimum law libraries, the nature and extent of which shall be determined in every instance by the administrative director on the basis of need. All books furnished shall remain the property of the state, and shall be returned to the custody of the administrative director by each judge upon the retirement or expiration of the official duties of the judge.
(e)
All functions performed by the administrative director of the courts that involve expenditures of state funds shall be subject to the same auditing procedures by the commissioner of finance and administration and the comptroller of the treasury as required in connection with the expenditure of all other state funds.
(f)
(1)
The administrative director of the courts shall, within the limit of appropriated funds, prepare for the supreme court's approval an annual judicial education plan providing for the orientation and continuing training and education of all elected or appointed judges of trial and appellate courts of record of this state.
(2)
To the extent practicable, the annual judicial education plan shall provide that the orientation programs approved by the supreme court shall be made available to all newly elected or appointed judges of trial and appellate courts of record within one (1) year from the date of their initial appointment or election. The plan shall also provide, to the extent practicable, that all judges of trial and appellate courts of record whose terms exceed three (3) years shall, within two (2) years of the date of their initial election or appointment, be given the opportunity to attend judicial training programs approved by the supreme court.
(3)
For the purpose of implementing the annual judicial education plan, the administrative director of the courts, with the approval of the chief justice, may apply for and expend grant funds from whatever source.
(4)
The administrative director of the courts is authorized to recommend to the supreme court a plan whereby judges of trial and appellate courts of record who, on September 1, 1984, have not participated in training programs similar to those included in the annual judicial education plan, may be permitted to attend future orientation and training programs for judges made available through the annual plan.
(5)
Nothing in this subsection (f) nor in any annual judicial education plan prepared by the administrative director of the courts and approved by the supreme court shall be construed to require judges whose salaries and other related expenses are not paid by state government to participate in any training or orientation program provided for in this subsection (f). With the agreement of appropriate units of local government to pay for the reasonable costs of the orientation and training programs, the administrative director of the courts may authorize judges whose salaries are paid by units of local government to participate in orientation or training programs made available in accordance with the approved annual plan.
(g)
The administrative director of the courts shall continuously survey and study the operation of the state court system, the volume and condition of business in the courts of the state, whether of record or not, the procedures employed by those courts, and the quality and responsiveness of all of the courts with regard to the needs of civil litigants and the needs of the criminal justice system throughout the state.
(h)
The administrative director of the courts shall establish criteria, develop procedures and implement a Tennessee court information system (TnCIS). The system shall provide an integrated case management and accounting software system addressing the statutory responsibilities of the clerks of the general sessions, chancery, circuit and juvenile courts. The system shall also provide state-wide reporting and data transfer capabilities for the administrative office of the courts (AOC), department of human services, Tennessee bureau of investigation, department of safety and other state agencies determined by the AOC or as statutorily mandated. To ensure comparable data from all courts, the system shall be designed to report cases according to a standard definition of a case as set forth in §
16-1-117
.
(i)
It is the duty of the administrative office of the courts to collect, develop and maintain uniform statistical information relative to court caseloads in Tennessee. For the purposes of monitoring the operation of the court system, reducing unnecessary delay and assessing the responsiveness of the court system to the needs of litigants, victims of crime and the citizens of the state, the administrative director of the courts shall have the responsibility for annually collecting, compiling, analyzing and publishing caseload statistics pertaining to the court system. It is the responsibility of the administrative director of the courts to develop, define, update and disseminate standard, uniform measures, definitions and criteria for collecting statistics pertaining to the court system. These standards and reporting requirements shall be used for uniform statistical data collection in all courts throughout the state, as established by statute or by the rules of the supreme court.
(j)
The administrative director of the courts shall prepare and distribute an annual report reflecting the operation of the courts of the state and highlighting those changes, innovations, or recommendations made or introduced to enhance the effectiveness of the courts.
(k)
The administrative director of the courts shall conduct ongoing internal review, analysis and planning for the future needs of the state court system. The analysis shall be designed to devise ways of simplifying court system procedure, expediting the transaction of court system business and correcting weaknesses in the administration of justice.
(l)
The administrative director of the courts shall:
(1)
File a copy of the supreme court's policies and guidelines governing the reimbursement of expenses for judicial officers with the civil justice committee of the house of representatives, the judiciary committee of the senate, and the finance, ways and means committees of the senate and the house of representatives, the fiscal review committee, the comptroller of the treasury and the commissioner of finance and administration; and
(2)
Respond in a timely manner to any appropriate request by these committees or officials for information concerning reimbursements made pursuant to the policies and guidelines.
(m)
The administrative director of the courts shall annually prepare and distribute to the judiciary committee of the senate and civil justice committee of the house of representatives:
(1)
A report detailing the expenditure of moneys in the civil legal representation of indigents fund; and
(2)
A copy of any rules and policies adopted by the supreme court governing the expenditure and application of funds in the civil legal representation of indigents fund.
(n)
The administrative office of the courts shall collect, develop and maintain statistical information relative to sentencing in Tennessee. To assist the administrative office of the courts, the clerks of the circuit and criminal courts shall send a copy of each judgment document for a felony conviction to the administrative office of the courts. These copies shall be forwarded to the administrative office of the courts no less than one (1) time each month so that all judgments rendered in one (1) month have been received by the fifteenth day of the following month. When an electronic transfer system is operational and approved by the administrative office of the courts, the judgment document for all felony convictions shall be electronically transmitted to the administrative office of the courts in the same manner required by this subsection (n) for paper copies.
(o)
The administrative director of the courts shall administer finances related to the office's control and supervision of the existing state law libraries, including the:
(1)
Operation and maintenance of the libraries;
(2)
Preparation of warrants for the payment of obligations related to the operation and maintenance of the libraries; and
(3)
Recording of all transactions related to the administration of such finances in accordance with the laws and regulations governing state fiscal operations.
Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 64, s 13, eff. 3/29/2021.
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 420, Secs.s 9, s 10 eff. 5/21/2019.
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 345, s 21, eff. 5/10/2019.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 619, s 4, eff. 3/22/2016.
Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 236, s 45, eff. 4/19/2013.
Acts 1993, ch. 65, § 2; 1993, ch. 196, § 10; 1994, ch. 1005, § 1; 1995, ch. 550, § 3; 1999, ch. 486, § 1; 2001, ch. 408, §§ 1 - 3; 2002, ch. 791, § 1.