Tennessee Governor Bill Lee enters the House chambers and greets Lt. Gov. Randy McNally for Lee’s sixth State of the State address. (Photo: John Partipilo)
This story was originally published by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism . Subscribe to their newsletter here .
Tenants generally don’t stand much of a chance in eviction court in Shelby County .
They’re rarely represented by a lawyer, and most of the General Sessions Civil judges overseeing cases don’t take the time to explain what’s going on.
One of the few rights tenants have is to delay their case for 15 days — either by requesting a “ continuance ” or by “ disagreeing ” with the charge that they owe money — if it’s their first time in court for that specific eviction.
t just shortens the whole timeline in which a person can lose their home. Things (can now) happen very, very quickly.
– Brian Rees, The Works
During this delay, tenants can come up with the money they owe, work out a deal with their landlord, hire a lawyer or find a new apartment. It’s an important enough right that explaining it to tenants was one of the key ways Shelby County said it hoped to deploy a recent $250,000 grant.