Title 8, Public Officers And Employees

(a) When any person appears without counsel before any court of this state exercising original jurisdiction (whether magistrate, general sessions, municipal, juvenile, circuit, criminal or any court empowered to deprive the person of liberty) upon a criminal prosecution or juveni…

(a) No person in this state shall be allowed to enter a plea in any criminal prosecution or other proceeding involving a possible deprivation of liberty when not represented by counsel, unless such person has in writing waived the right to the assistance of counsel. (b) Before a …

(a) Effective July 1, 1994, the salary for district public defenders shall be an amount equal to eighty-eight percent (88%) of the salary established by law for district attorneys general. Effective July 1, 1995, the salary for district public defenders shall be an amount equal t…

The personnel of the public defender system shall be state employees, entitled to all state employee benefit programs.

No court in this state has any power, jurisdiction or authority to entertain any suit against the state or against any public defender or any employees thereof acting in their official capacity with a view to reach the state, its treasury, funds or property, or the funds or prope…

For the twentieth and thirtieth judicial districts, the state shall pay, in equal quarterly installments, to the county or metropolitan government which has a local public defender, an amount annually appropriated for that purpose. Such amount shall not be less than the amount ap…

The district public defender is authorized to employ, reassign, or contract with individuals utilizing special funds appropriated solely for the purpose of providing prompt and fair adjudication of post-conviction proceedings in capital sentence cases, including authority to assi…

(a) Effective July 1, 2004, there are created eighteen (18) additional assistant district public defender positions to be designated in judicial districts as provided in this section. (b) (1) The executive director of the district public defenders conference and the administrativ…

(a) The district public defenders conference shall establish, and the executive director shall operate, the district public defender appellate division for the purpose of representing indigent persons in direct appeals, pursuant to § 8-14-104, to the Tennessee court of criminal a…

Effective July 1, 2025, there are created five (5) additional assistant district public defender positions.

(a) There is hereby created a district public defenders conference for the state, whose membership shall consist of all district public defenders of the state whose salary is paid in whole or in part out of the state treasury. The attorney general and reporter shall be an ex offi…

Such conference shall meet annually and at other times as herein provided for the consideration of any and all matters pertaining to the discharge of the official duties and obligations of the several members, to the end that there shall be a more prompt and efficient administrat…

It is the duty of the conference to give consideration to the enactment of such laws and rules of procedure as in its judgment may be necessary to the more effective administration of justice and thus promote peace and good order in the state. To this end, a committee of its memb…

The president of the conference may call meetings at will, upon at least ten (10) days written notice to members, and shall call at least one (1) meeting annually, such annual meeting to be at the same time as that held by the judicial conference of this state. The district publi…

It is the official duty of each member of the conference to attend its meetings unless otherwise officially engaged, or for other good and sufficient reasons.

Every member whose salary is paid in whole or in part by the state shall be entitled to have expenses paid for such attendance. Such expenses shall be paid upon the verified statement of such expenses by the district public defender incurring the same and shall be paid from the g…

There is created the office of executive director of the district public defenders conference. The purpose of this office shall be to assist in improving the administration of justice in Tennessee by coordinating the defense efforts of the various district public defenders and by…

(a) The executive director of the district public defenders conference shall be elected by a simple majority of the membership of the district public defenders conference for a term of four (4) years. The election of the executive director shall be held at the annual meeting of t…

(a) The executive director of the district public defenders conference shall:(1) Work under the supervision and direction of the executive committee of the district public defenders conference;(2) Assist the district public defenders throughout the state in coordinating the effor…

The executive director of the district public defenders conference shall attend to such duties as may be assigned to the executive director by the district public defenders conference or the executive committee of such conference.

(a) The executive director shall, subject to the approval of the duly elected officers of the district public defenders conference, appoint a deputy executive director, a budget officer and a director and such other assistants and clerical personnel as are necessary to enable the…

The executive director shall be provided with suitable office space in the supreme court building or other convenient and suitable office space and with all office equipment and supplies necessary to perform the duties of the office.

The executive director and personnel of the district public defenders conference shall be state employees, entitled to all state employee benefit programs.

Each year's budget for the operation of the office of executive director of the district public defenders conference shall be submitted to the criminal justice committee of the house of representatives and the judiciary committee of the senate prior to approval of the budget by t…

(a) Whereas the various district public defenders may be entitled to receive funding from various local, state and federal government sources, and private donors, and an orderly system for receiving and disbursing same is necessary, the district public defenders are hereby author…