Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Dayton, Tennessee, in Rhea County, has about 7,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Rhea County Circuit and Chancery Courts and the General Sessions Court, and the file of each case, kept by the Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk and Master, is the public record of it. This guide says which court hears what, where to look a case up and who keeps the files.
This guide covers the courts, the records page, criminal cases, kinds of files and common questions.
Related guides: Dayton public records, Rhea County court records, Dayton arrest records, Dayton warrants, Dayton inmate search, Dayton criminal records, Tennessee arrest records and Tennessee inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Dayton
Court cases from Dayton are filed in the Rhea County Circuit and Chancery Courts, which hear felonies in the Circuit or Criminal Court, civil cases in either court, and divorces in either.
The General Sessions Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and preliminary hearings.
A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets written under its ordinances.
Divorces go to the Circuit Court or the Chancery Court, and the file stays with the Circuit Court Clerk or the Clerk and Master.
The Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk and Master keep the files, and a copy of anything in a file comes from that office, under the court's own rules rather than the Tennessee Public Records Act.
Looking Up a Case from Dayton
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at tncourts.gov/node/9782384 (page title: Rhea County | Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Tennessee has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The appellate courts' case search is at tncourts.gov/courts/supreme-court/public-case-history.
What Reaches the Court from Dayton
Together, the four agencies in Rhea County with all twelve months of 2023 on file reported 1,210 arrests to the FBI that year; the District Attorney General decides which of those arrests become cases in the Rhea County Circuit and Chancery Courts or the General Sessions Court.
The Kinds of Court Files
The court file is one record with several readers: a criminal case from the arrest to the sentence, a divorce from the petition to the judgment, a traffic ticket from the citation to the conviction the court reports to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Dayton guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Dayton criminal records, Dayton divorce records, Dayton traffic tickets, Dayton DUI and Dayton property records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I look up a court case in Dayton?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at tncourts.gov/node/9782384.
Which court hears felonies in Dayton?
The Rhea County Circuit and Chancery Courts, which hear felonies in the Circuit or Criminal Court, civil cases in either court, and divorces in either. The General Sessions Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and preliminary hearings.
Who keeps the court records in Dayton?
The Circuit Court Clerk and the Clerk and Master. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in Tennessee?
No. Each court's records are looked up through that court.
Is this the official Dayton website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.