Senate Bill 2025 proposes the establishment of a pilot project to introduce criminal magistrates in the ten counties of Tennessee with the highest judicial caseloads, as identified by the comptroller of the treasury. The administrative office of the courts is required to notify the legislative bodies of these counties by December 1, 2026. Once notified, the counties can create the position of criminal magistrate through an ordinance, and judges of the county with criminal jurisdiction will appoint the magistrate starting January 1, 2027. The bill specifies that general sessions judges are excluded from this appointment process.

The criminal magistrate will have a range of responsibilities, including conducting arraignments and initial appearance hearings, determining indigency status, accepting pleas for certain offenses, issuing warrants, conducting preliminary hearings, and reviewing collateral petitions for misdemeanors and specific felonies. The term for a criminal magistrate is set at four years, with the possibility of removal by a majority vote of the judges. Compensation for the magistrate will be determined by the elected judges and approved by the county's legislative body.