The Tennessee Supreme Court will convene at 1 p.m. Wednesday to hear cases for the first time in the newly renovated historic Post Office Building in Knoxville.
Justices will hear four cases Wednesday and will reconvene at 9 a.m. Thursday to hear oral arguments in four additional appeals. Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, will begin Wednesday’s session with remarks about the court’s new facilities.
The five-member Supreme Court, eastern sections of the Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals and the Appellate Court Clerk’s Office moved from from the Supreme Court Building on Locust Street, which was cramped and in disrepair, to the Post Office Building on Main Street. The State Building Commission approved the move after nearly a decade of discussion and debate about possible sites to house the courts, clerk’s office and legal library. The Supreme Court is mandated by the state Constitution to sit in Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson. The other appellate courts sit in panels of three to hear cases in the three locations.
The judicial branch is leasing 46,000 square feet of the building which was renovated using a $500,000 historic preservation grant. The space includes a large courtroom on the second floor.