Ashland City Criminal Defense Attorney
Ashland City's municipal court used to hear state criminal charges alongside the county. The city ended that by ordinance. If you are reading older material about this court, it is out of date, and so is any Ashland City criminal defense attorney working from it.
Where an Ashland City Case Is Actually Heard
Ashland City is the seat of Cheatham County. Its municipal court at 405 North Main Street hears city ordinance and traffic matters, sitting the first Thursday of the month at 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. A state criminal charge goes to Cheatham County General Sessions at 100 Public Square, Room 223, which hears criminal matters every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Everything is within about a mile of everything else.
The reason to be careful with older material about this court is an ordinance the city adopted in 2022. Its own municipal code records the change: “Prior to the passage of this ordinance, the Judge has had concurrent general sessions jurisdiction with Cheatham County General Sessions court… However, beginning October 1, 2022, all cases cited by the police department that are not municipal offenses shall be cited to Cheatham County General Sessions.” The residual authority to finish existing matters expired on June 30, 2024. So the municipal court can impose fines for city ordinance violations, and that is now the whole of it.
Which Court Has Your Case
A city court and a county court are not two doors into the same building. They answer to different law, carry different consequences and produce different records. Start by working out which one is holding your case, because almost everything else follows from it.
| What you are charged with | Where it is heard |
|---|---|
| City ordinance or traffic citation | Ashland City Municipal Court, 405 North Main Street. First Thursday of the month at 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., with a costs-and-fines review at 10:00 a.m. |
| State misdemeanor from Ashland City police | Cheatham County General Sessions, 100 Public Square, Room 223. Criminal matters every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. This has been the route since October 1, 2022 |
| Felony, before indictment | Cheatham County General Sessions for the preliminary hearing. Its criminal jurisdiction is, in the clerk's words, limited to misdemeanor cases and preliminary hearings in felony cases |
| Felony, after indictment | Cheatham County Circuit Court, Suite 225, on the 23rd Judicial District's rotation. Four judges rotate through Cheatham three months each |
A city court cannot do what a county court does. The statute that governs this is § 16-18-302, and it is short about it: a municipal court hears cases for violation of the laws and ordinances of the municipality, and “may exercise no jurisdiction other than the jurisdiction authorized by this section.” There are two narrow openings. A city ordinance that mirrors a state statute can be enforced there only where the mirrored offense is a Class C misdemeanor and the penalty is a civil fine of no more than $50. And a municipal court can hold concurrent General Sessions jurisdiction over state criminal law, but only where the statute preserves or confers it — the main route being a court that possessed and exercised it continuously on and before May 11, 2003. Those courts are the exception rather than the rule. Further up, § 40-3-101 allows a criminal charge to be answered only by presentment, indictment or impeachment, with one exception in the same sentence: an accused represented by an attorney may waive indictment and consent to prosecution by information. And § 40-1-109 lets General Sessions enter final judgment only in a misdemeanor, and only where the defendant waives indictment, presentment, grand jury investigation and a jury trial in writing and either pleads guilty in writing or asks for a trial on the merits.
One more thing worth knowing: paying a citation is not a neutral administrative step. Some Tennessee cities print it on the citation in terms, that a violator who chooses to pay thereby pleads guilty. In others it operates as a forfeited cash appearance bond that lets you skip the court date. Either way the case ends against you rather than in your favor, and on a moving violation it reaches your driving record. Read what your own citation says before you pay it.
The Buildings Involved
Confirm your setting with the clerk before you travel. Court locations and docket days change, and the addresses below are current as of the date on this page rather than guaranteed forever.
| Where | What happens there |
|---|---|
| Ashland City Police Department 233 Tennessee Waltz Parkway, Ashland City 37015 |
Not the same building as the court. Dispatch runs through Cheatham County Central Dispatch rather than a city center |
| Ashland City Municipal Court 405 North Main Street, Ashland City 37015 |
City ordinance and traffic only. Payment by cash, money order or credit card. No personal checks |
| Cheatham County Courthouse 100 Public Square, Ashland City 37015 |
General Sessions in Room 223, Circuit in Suite 225. Every state criminal charge in the county |
| Cheatham County Sheriff's Office and Jail 264 South Main Street, Ashland City 37015 |
The jail, operated around the clock every day of the year. The county publishes no separate street address for it |
A Court That Gave Up Its Criminal Jurisdiction
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The 2022 ordinance is the fact that dates everything else
Any guide, directory listing or old blog post describing Ashland City Municipal Court as a place where state charges are resolved is describing the world before October 1, 2022. The city's own code sets the date and the reason. If someone tells you your state charge can be handled at 405 North Main Street, they are working from stale information.
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There is a city traffic school, and it is genuinely cheap
Ashland City runs traffic school monthly on Thursday evenings from five to nine, for a fifty dollar fee, with bilingual instruction available on request. For a city traffic citation that is a real option and a small amount of money. It does nothing for a state charge, which is a different court and a different problem.
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The whole county fits in one town
The courthouse, the jail, the police department and the municipal court are all in Ashland City, within about a mile of each other. What Cheatham does not keep local is its judges: four Circuit judges rotate through the county three months each, so a felony here moves on a five-county schedule shared with Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart.
What an Ashland City Criminal Defense Attorney Handles Here
This page is about where your case is heard. The charge pages below are about what you are facing, statute by statute, including the Tennessee changes that took effect on July 1, 2026.
Nearby cities
The county
Ashland City cases are heard in the Cheatham County court system. That page goes through the court structure, the specialty courts and the local rules in detail.
Cheatham County criminal defense · All practice areas · Veterans defense
Ashland City Questions
Can Ashland City Municipal Court hear my criminal charge?
Only if it is a city ordinance violation. The court held concurrent General Sessions jurisdiction until the city ended it by ordinance: since October 1, 2022 every non-municipal charge written by Ashland City police has been cited to Cheatham County General Sessions, and the court's residual authority over older matters expired on June 30, 2024.
When does criminal court sit in Cheatham County?
General Sessions hears criminal matters every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in Room 223 at 100 Public Square, though the clerk notes dates are subject to change. The municipal court sits the first Thursday of the month at 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at 405 North Main Street. Two different courts, two different buildings, two different kinds of case.
Where is the jail in Cheatham County?
The Cheatham County Jail is run by the Sheriff's Office, whose published address is 264 South Main Street in Ashland City. The county does not publish a separate street address for the jail itself, and the facility operates twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year.
How long does a felony take in Cheatham County?
It depends on the rotation. Cheatham shares the 23rd Judicial District with Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart counties, and four Circuit judges rotate through Cheatham three months each. The Cheatham County page sets out the rotation month by month.
One Lawyer, Start to Finish
Austin Tomlinson served in the Army before practicing law, and he handles every case himself. Hiring an Ashland City criminal defense attorney here means the person who appears at your first setting is the person who knows the file at the end of it.
The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. It is usually enough to tell you what the realistic outcomes are and what has to happen first.
Call (615) 669-8312Read the Court Name First
The name of the court on your paperwork settles more than people expect, including what the worst outcome actually is.
Do Not Pay It Yet
Paying a citation ends the case against you, and in many cities it is a guilty plea outright. If there is any chance you would contest it, that call comes first.
Veteran-Owned
Austin served, and Patriot Law was built around defending people who did.