Criminal Defense
Collierville has grown fast, and so has its court’s docket — DUI stops along Highway 385 and Poplar, shoplifting cases out of the Carriage Crossing shopping district, domestic assault calls, and drug charges from traffic stops on Highway 72. Criminal charges arising in the Town of Collierville begin at Collierville Municipal Court, and Brooks Law Firm defends clients there. Call (901) 324-5000 or call/text the criminal line at (901) 412-2973.
About Collierville Municipal Court
Collierville Municipal Court has General Sessions jurisdiction over all misdemeanor cases arising in the town and hears felony cases through the preliminary hearing stage — after which a felony is bound over to the Shelby County Grand Jury and, if indicted, assigned to Criminal Court at 201 Poplar in Memphis. The judge also hears adult and juvenile traffic cases and town code violations. What that means for you: a misdemeanor DUI, domestic assault, simple possession, or theft charge can typically be resolved start-to-finish in Collierville.
| Location | 101 Walnut Street, Collierville, TN 38017 |
| Court sessions | Tuesdays at 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.; Thursdays at 8:00 a.m. — the docket you’re on depends on your case type and week of the month |
| Clerk’s office | (901) 457-2580 · Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. |
Helpful link: Collierville Municipal Court official page — including online payment for traffic matters, which must be completed before the court date. Courthouse notes: all persons and bags are subject to search, weapons are prohibited, and courtroom seating is reserved for people with a case on the docket, so plan for family to wait outside the courtroom.
Charges We Defend in Collierville
Theft & Shoplifting
With Carriage Crossing and the retail growth along Poplar and Byhalia Road, shoplifting is one of the most common charges on Collierville’s docket — and one of the most defensible. Theft grades by value under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-105: under $1,000 is a Class A misdemeanor. For first-time defendants, judicial diversion or a negotiated resolution can keep a conviction — and the word “theft” — off a background check permanently. Loss-prevention cases have their own weaknesses (identification, intent, valuation), covered on our theft defense page.
DUI
Highway 385, Poplar Avenue, and the Highway 72 corridor generate a steady flow of Collierville DUI arrests. First-offense DUI under Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-401 carries mandatory jail, a one-year license revocation, and frequently an ignition interlock requirement for restricted driving; test refusal adds an implied consent violation. From the basis for the stop through the breath or blood result, each stage of a DUI case can be challenged — our DUI defense guide covers the process, penalties, and defenses in detail.
Domestic Assault
Domestic assault under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-111 brings a mandatory post-arrest hold, no-contact bond conditions, and firearm consequences on conviction — serious stakes for a misdemeanor. The complaining witness cannot dismiss the charge; the prosecutor decides. These cases are evidence-driven — 911 recordings, bodycam, photographs, medical records — and they often run alongside an order of protection petition, which is a separate civil proceeding with its own hearing. Our domestic violence defense page explains both tracks.
Drug Charges
Simple possession and casual exchange under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-418 are misdemeanors Collierville Municipal Court can resolve locally, and first offenders are often strong diversion candidates. Possession with intent, delivery, and manufacture under § 39-17-417 are felonies that proceed through preliminary hearing in Collierville before binding over. The threshold questions are almost always the stop and the search — if either fails constitutional scrutiny, the evidence goes with it. Start with our drug offense defense overview.
How Cases Move Through Collierville Municipal Court
The first setting is an arraignment: the charge is confirmed, counsel is addressed, and the case is reset for disposition or hearing. We then obtain the town’s evidence, evaluate the stop, the statements, and the lab or video proof, and negotiate with the prosecutor from preparation rather than hope. Misdemeanor trials are tried to the judge, with a right of appeal for a new trial in state court. Felonies conclude in Collierville at the preliminary hearing — where cross-examining the State’s witnesses under oath, early, is often worth more than anything that happens later downtown.
Diversion & Keeping Your Record Clean
Collierville’s docket is full of first-time defendants — students, professionals, people who have never seen the inside of a courtroom. For qualifying charges, judicial diversion under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-313 ends with dismissal and expungement after a successful probationary period: no public conviction, ever. It can be used only once, so the decision to use it deserves counsel. For records from concluded cases, see expungement under § 40-32-101.
Related Resources
- GPS & electronic monitoring — when monitoring is ordered as a bond or probation condition
- Ignition interlock devices — interlock rules and restricted licenses after a DUI
- Suspended license charges — defense and license reinstatement
- Diversion & expungement — protecting and clearing your record
- Tennessee criminal law updates — recent DUI, domestic assault, and sentencing changes
- Veterans criminal defense — treatment-court options for veterans charged in Shelby County
- Other courts we serve: Germantown · Bartlett · Fayette County · Tipton County · Lauderdale County · Haywood County — or see all courts we serve and the criminal defense overview.
Collierville Court FAQ
Which docket am I on — Tuesday morning, Tuesday afternoon, or Thursday?
It depends on your case type and the week of the month, and the schedule does shift. Your citation or bond paperwork controls; if it’s unclear, the Clerk at (901) 457-2580 can confirm, or we can check the docket when you hire us.
Can my shoplifting case be resolved without a conviction?
Often, yes. Depending on the facts and your history, options can include judicial diversion ending in dismissal and expungement, or negotiated resolutions coordinated with the merchant. Which route protects you best depends on details worth reviewing with a lawyer before your first setting.
My felony charge started in Collierville. Will it end there?
Not if it remains a felony — Collierville’s role ends at the preliminary hearing, after which the case is bound over to the Shelby County Grand Jury. But felonies are sometimes reduced to misdemeanors that can be resolved in Collierville, and the preliminary hearing itself is a genuine opportunity to test the State’s proof early.
Talk to a Collierville Criminal Defense Lawyer
Brooks Law Firm defends DUI, domestic assault, drug, and theft charges in Collierville Municipal Court and throughout Shelby County from our office at 2299 Union Avenue in Memphis. Office: (901) 324-5000. Criminal matters — call or text: (901) 412-2973. Spanish-language interpreters available. Se habla Español.