Title 40, Criminal Procedure

(a) When in receipt of a petition applying for post-conviction relief, the clerk of the trial court shall forthwith:(1) Make three (3) copies of the petition;(2) Docket and file the original petition and its attachments;(3) Mail one (1) copy of the petition to the attorney genera…

(a) The trial judge to whom the case is assigned shall, within thirty (30) days of the filing of the original petition, or a petition amended in accordance with subsection (d), examine it together with all the files, records, transcripts, and correspondence relating to the judgme…

(a) If the petition is not dismissed upon preliminary consideration, the court shall enter a preliminary order. (b) In all cases, the preliminary order shall direct the following:(1) If a petitioner not represented by counsel requests counsel and the court is satisfied that the p…

(a) The district attorney general shall represent the state except as provided in § 40-30-114(c). The state shall file an answer or other responsive pleading within thirty (30) days, unless extended for good cause. Good cause will not be met by a routine statement that the press …

(a) The court shall review the case after the district attorney general's response is filed. If, on reviewing the petition, the response, files, and records, the court determines conclusively that the petitioner is entitled to no relief, the court shall dismiss the petition. The …

(a) The petitioner shall appear and give testimony at the evidentiary hearing if the petition raises substantial questions of fact as to events in which the petitioner participated, unless the petitioner is incarcerated out of state, in which case the trial judge may permit the i…

(a) If the court finds that there was such a denial or infringement of the rights of the prisoner as to render the judgment void or voidable, including a finding that trial counsel was ineffective on direct appeal, the court shall vacate and set aside the judgment or order a dela…

The clerk of the court shall send a copy of the final judgment to the petitioner, the petitioner's counsel of record, any authority imposing restraint on the petitioner and the attorney general and reporter at Nashville.

(a) When the trial judge conducting a hearing pursuant to this part finds that the petitioner was denied the right to an appeal from the original conviction in violation of the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of Tennessee and that there is an adequate record…

(a) The district attorney general or the attorney general and reporter must be reimbursed for any expenses, including travel, incurred in connection with the preparation and trial of any proceeding under this part. This expense must be paid by the state and is not included in the…

Indigency shall be determined and counsel and court reporters appointed and reimbursed as now provided for criminal and habeas corpus cases by chapter 14, parts 2 and 3 of this title.

The order granting or denying relief under this part shall be deemed a final judgment, and an appeal may be taken to the court of criminal appeals in the manner prescribed by the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. In capital cases, the appellate court in which the case is pe…

(a) A petitioner may file a motion in the trial court to reopen the first post-conviction petition only if the following applies:(1) The claim in the motion is based upon a final ruling of an appellate court establishing a constitutional right that was not recognized as existing …

The supreme court may promulgate rules of practice and procedure consistent with this part, including rules prescribing the form and contents of the petition, the preparation and filing of the record and assignments of error for simple appeal and for delayed appeal in the nature …

When a new trial or delayed appeal is granted, release on bail shall be determined by the trial judge as provided by law pending further proceedings. In all other cases, the petitioner shall not be entitled to bail.

(a) When affirming a conviction and sentence of death on direct appeal, the Tennessee supreme court shall contemporaneously set a date for an execution. The date shall be no less than four (4) months from the date of the judgment of the Tennessee supreme court. Upon the filing of…

Post-conviction cases where the petitioner is under the death sentence shall be given priority over all other matters in docketing by the courts having trial and appellate jurisdiction of the cases.

For purposes of this part, a new rule of constitutional criminal law is announced if the result is not dictated by precedent existing at the time the petitioner's conviction became final and application of the rule was susceptible to debate among reasonable minds. A new rule of c…

Whenever a law enforcement agency discovers new evidence deemed potentially exculpatory by the chief law enforcement officer of the agency, the agency shall report the evidence to the district attorney currently serving in the jurisdiction in which the case was prosecuted, the tr…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Post-Conviction Defender Oversight Commission Act of 2011.”

(a) On July 1, 2011, the post-conviction defender oversight commission is created. This part also creates the office of post-conviction defender to provide for the representation of any person convicted and sentenced to death in this state who is unable to secure counsel due to i…

(a) On July 1, 2011, there is created a post-conviction defender oversight commission. The members of the commission appointed under this section shall have a commitment to the constitutional rights of all individuals. In making these appointments, the appointing authorities shal…

(a) The members of the commission shall designate one (1) member of the commission as chair. (b) Meetings of the commission may be held upon reasonable notice to the commission members by the chair of the commission and shall be in compliance with title 8, chapter 44. (c) The com…

(a) There is created the office of the post-conviction defender. (b) The post-conviction defender shall be appointed by the post-conviction defender oversight commission, as provided for in § 40-30-204. (c) The post-conviction defender shall be an attorney in good standing with t…

(a) It is the primary responsibility of the post-conviction defender to represent, without additional compensation, any person convicted and sentenced to death in this state who is without counsel and who is unable to secure counsel due to indigency or determined by a state court…

If at any time during the representation of two (2) or more indigent persons, the post-conviction defender determines that the interests of those persons are so adverse or hostile that they cannot all be counseled by the post-conviction defender or the post-conviction defender's …

The post-conviction defender is authorized to appoint, employ, and establish, in the numbers as the post-conviction defender determines, full-time assistant post-conviction defenders, investigators, and other clerical and support personnel who shall be paid from funds appropriate…

(a) The post-conviction defender shall be paid a salary equal to the amount established by law for district public defenders. (b) Full-time assistant post-conviction defenders shall be compensated in an amount set by the post-conviction defender in compliance with the assistant p…

The post-conviction defender shall keep appropriate records and make annual reports concerning caseload, funding, staffing, and salaries to the post-conviction defender oversight commission; provided, however, that the post-conviction defender and the defender's staff shall not d…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act of 2001.”

As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires, “DNA analysis” means the process through which deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in a human biological specimen is analyzed and compared with DNA from another biological specimen for identification purposes.

Notwithstanding part 1 of this chapter, or any other provision of law governing post-conviction relief to the contrary, a person convicted of and sentenced for the commission of first degree murder, second degree murder, aggravated rape, rape, aggravated sexual battery or rape of…

(1) After notice to the prosecution and an opportunity to respond, the court shall order DNA analysis if it finds that:(1) A reasonable probability exists that the petitioner would not have been prosecuted or convicted if exculpatory results had been obtained through DNA analysis…

(1) After notice to the prosecution and an opportunity to respond, the court may order DNA analysis if it finds that:(1) A reasonable probability exists that analysis of the evidence will produce DNA results that would have rendered the petitioner's verdict or sentence more favor…

In the case of an order issued pursuant to § 40-30-304, the court shall order the analysis and payment, if necessary. In the case of an order under § 40-30-305, the court may require the petitioner to pay for the analysis.

The court may, at any time during proceedings instituted under this part, appoint counsel for an indigent petitioner.

If evidence has previously been subjected to DNA analysis by either the prosecution or defense, the court may order the prosecution or defense to provide all parties and the court with access to the laboratory reports prepared in connection with the DNA analysis, as well as the u…

When the petition is not summarily dismissed, the court shall order that all evidence in the possession of the prosecution, law enforcement, laboratory, or the court that could be subjected to DNA analysis must be preserved during the pendency of the proceeding. The intentional d…

If the court orders analysis, it shall select a laboratory that meets the standards adopted pursuant to the DNA Identification Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. § 14131 et seq.).

The court may, in its discretion, make such other orders as may be appropriate.

If the results of the post-conviction DNA analysis are not favorable to the petitioner, the court shall dismiss the petition, and make further orders as may be appropriate. If the results of the post-conviction DNA analysis are favorable, the court shall order a hearing, notwiths…

If an order is issued requiring a DNA analysis be paid on behalf of a petitioner pursuant to this part, then the payment shall be made from funding provided for indigent defendants' counsel as set forth within the annual appropriations act. The payment shall be made only after re…

This part is known and may be cited as the “Post-Conviction Fingerprint Analysis Act of 2021.”

As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires, “fingerprint analysis” means the processes through which fingerprints are analyzed and compared for identification purposes, including, but not limited to, latent print comparisons and searches in fingerprint databases.

(a) Notwithstanding part 1 of this chapter, or any other law governing post-conviction relief to the contrary, any appropriate party may, at any time, file a petition requesting the performance of fingerprint analysis of any evidence that is in the possession or control of the pr…

(1) After notice to the prosecution and an opportunity to respond, the court shall order fingerprint analysis if the court finds that:(1) A reasonable probability exists that the petitioner would not have been prosecuted or convicted if exculpatory results had been obtained throu…