John Coffelt, Editor

Law enforcement shocked when man receives fifty-cent bond on domestic violence charge 

 Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin expressed deep concerns during the March 25 Law Enforcement Committee about the lack of a supervisory position and lack of training among the Coffee County Judicial Commissioners after a man arrested for domestic violence was given a bond of less than one dollar.     

The county’s judicial commissioners are county officers appointed by the legislative body and perform duties like issuing warrants, setting bonds, and appointing attorneys for indigent defendants. Their office is at the Coffee County Jail, but they are not under the command of the sheriff, but rather the County Mayor.

Another concern occurred when a local man was denied bond after a single vehicle crash led to a DUI arrest. According to Partin, first offenders are usually given a $1500 bond on a DUI charge.

“There needs to be more training with them on setting bonds,” Partin said.

Partin said that a few weeks ago he received a call from the young college-aged man’s father informing him of the son being held without bond. When Partin contacted a General Sessions judge, the accused was released with a more appropriate bond.

Partin did not name the judicial commissioner by name, but said that three days later, when Manchester Police brought a subject in for domestic violence the bond was set at $0.50.

“These are not games to be played with at the jail,” Partin said. “They are going to have to pay attention to what is being done with these bonds. I cannot stress that enough. Domestic violence is serious.”

The Law Enforcement Committee asked what training the commissioners receive and who ensures that they attend their required training.  According to state law, each judicial commissioner must complete 12 hours of continuing education each year.  Ten hours must be completed by attendance at conferences or courses sponsored or approved by the Judicial Commissioners Association of Tennessee. The remaining two hours may be completed by attendance at classes sponsored by either the Judicial Commissioner Association of Tennessee or the Tennessee Court Clerks Association, or by local in-service education. At least six hours of the total twelve hours must be taught by a person who is licensed to practice law in this state. 

“Somebody needs to lead the charge on that,” Partin said. “We’re going to have to have some leadership there – somebody that’s staying on top of this situation.”

Partin explained that bonds are set on a case-by-case basis rather than a set bond for a given crime. Judicial commissioners assess the nature of the offense, the accused’s prior history and flight risk to set a bond.

The county restructured work shifts following two 2021 labor lawsuits by former county commissioners who said they were not properly compensated for “overtime” hours. The result was a change from the former 24-hour shifts with on-call time to the current 12-hour shifts.

Both the cases are open and would require the DA’s Office has to authorize any public information release. Local men, Hoyt Anderson is currently out on $.50 bond and Jacob Holder originally was held without bond.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.