Distinguished Alumni: Judge Daniel T. Boyd

Distinguished Alumni 

of the 

Appalachian School of Law: 

Judge Daniel T. Boyd

Daniel T. Boyd became a Juvenile Court Judge in August 2011, less than a decade after graduating from the Appalachian School of Law in 2002.

Judge Boyd is lifelong citizen of Rogersville and Hawkins County, Tennessee.  He graduated in 1994 from the Cherokee Comprehensive High School and in 1998 from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Prior to ascending to the bench, Judge Boyd practiced law in Rogersville with his father.

Daniel is married to Melissa Cupp Boyd and has two children, Eli and Anna Mae.

Tennessee Juvenile Courts

Tennessee offers the public 98 juvenile courts with 109 juvenile court judges and 45 Magistrates serving parties appearing before them. Of these 98 courts, 17 are designated "Private Act" juvenile courts while the remaining 81 are general sessions courts with juvenile jurisdiction. At least one juvenile court exists in each of the state's 95 counties.

The courts are county-based and locally administered, with the exception of Bristol and Johnson City. Tennessee’s juvenile court judges intentionally adapt their practices and procedures to meet the needs and preferences of the people living in a particular community.

Juvenile Court Jurisdiction

These courts attend to the needs of persons under the age of eighteen who have not been previously transferred to adult court. Juvenile courts deal with delinquency and status offenses, issues concerning dependency and neglect, child abuse, child support, custody issues, establishing parentage, visitation, and the need for medical and/or mental health treatment for children.

These courts often work in conjunction with CASA for Kids, Inc. and assign professionally trained Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA Volunteers) to cases of abused or neglected children.