Title 20, Civil Procedure

(a) If, after the jury is impaneled, and before verdict, a juror becomes sick or otherwise disabled so as to be unable to perform jury duty, the juror may be discharged by the court. In such case, unless otherwise arranged by the parties, the vacancy may be filled and the trial c…

In all actions of a civil or criminal nature tried before a jury, all parties to the action shall have the right prior to the presentation of any evidence in the case to make an opening statement to the court and jury setting forth their respective contentions, views of the facts…

In the trial of any civil suit, counsel shall be permitted to read the counsel's entire declaration, including the amount sued for, to the jury at the beginning of the lawsuit, and may refer to the declaration in argument or summation to the jury.

In the trial of any civil suit, counsel for either party shall be permitted to use a blackboard, models or similar devices, also any picture, plat or exhibit introduced in evidence, in connection with the counsel's argument to the jury for the purpose of illustrating the counsel'…

In the trial of a civil suit for personal injuries, counsel shall be allowed to argue the worth or monetary value of pain and suffering to the jury; provided, that the argument shall conform to the evidence or reasonable deduction from the evidence in such case.

The plaintiff may, at any time during the pendency of an action, dismiss as to any one (1) or more of the defendants and proceed against the others.

On the trial of all civil cases, it is the duty of the judge before whom the civil case is tried, at the request of either party, plaintiff or defendant, to reduce every word of the judge's charge to the jury to writing before it is delivered to the jury, and all subsequent instr…

If any counts in a declaration are good, a verdict for entire damages shall be applied to such good counts.

A general verdict, although it may not in terms answer every issue joined, is nevertheless held to embrace every issue, unless exception is taken at the term at which the verdict is rendered.

If the verdict in an action for specific personal property omits to find the value of the articles, the court may award a writ of inquiry to ascertain the value.

If, on an issue embracing several articles, the verdict is for part only, it is not error, but the title or claim to those articles omitted is barred.

When any judge of any district tries a case without the intervention of a jury, whether the judge is required to reduce the judge's finding of facts to writing or not, the judge shall be required to render the judge's decision and have judgment entered in the case within sixty (6…

The trial judges in all courts of record in which suits are tried by juries, in both criminal and civil cases, shall be required to poll the jury on application of either the state or the defendant in criminal cases and either the plaintiff or the defendant in civil cases, withou…

(a) The juries shall not be polled otherwise than in open court. (b) (1) In felony cases they shall not be polled unless the defendant is present in open court.(2) In all other cases, the respective parties, either the state or the defendant in criminal cases or the plaintiff or …

The trial judge in civil cases may, in the judge's discretion, on motion of either party, upon the judge's own motion or on request by the jury, submit all exhibits admitted in evidence to the jury for the jury's consideration during deliberations on the jury's verdict.

(a) This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Court Reporter Act of 2009.” (b) The general assembly finds and declares that it is the policy of the state to promote the skill, art, and practice of court reporting in order to assure that court reporters possess t…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Commissioner” means the commissioner of commerce and insurance, or the commissioner's designee;(2) “Court reporting” means the making of a verbatim record by means of manual shorthand, machine shorthand, closed …

(a) No person, except as otherwise provided by law, shall practice or attempt to practice court reporting in this state or hold the person out as a court reporter unless the person is a licensed court reporter. (b) Nothing in this part shall be construed to require a court report…

(1) The commissioner has the duty and responsibility to:(1) Act on matters concerning competency for licensure only and the process of granting, suspending, reinstating, and revoking a license;(2) Establish and maintain requirements for the ethical behavior of court reporters, in…

(a) (1) All complaints must be in writing, signed by the person making the complaint, and addressed to the commissioner. All complaints must contain the name and address of the person against whom the complaint is brought and a description of the conduct giving rise to the compla…

(a) The commissioner shall promulgate rules necessary to implement, administer, and otherwise effectuate this part. All rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. The rules must be published in the stand…

After January 1, 2011, any person who undertakes or attempts to undertake the practice of court reporting for remuneration without first having procured a license, who knowingly presents or files false information with the commissioner for the purpose of obtaining a license or wh…

(a) (1) To be licensed as a court reporter, an applicant shall submit proof of the following:(A) The applicant is a United States citizen or a qualified alien, as defined in § 4-58-102; and(B) The applicant passed the National Court Reporters Association registered professional r…

(a) The commissioner shall enter into reciprocal agreements with any state, agency or other entity that licenses, certifies or registers court reporters, such as the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the National Verbatim Reporters Association (NVRA) or the American As…

(1) The fees for licensure pursuant to this part shall be established by the commissioner and shall cover a two-year period from the date of issuance or renewal of the license. All licenses shall expire June 30 in the year of expiration and all renewals will be effective July 1; …

(a) Each person licensed pursuant to this part shall apply for renewal of the license pursuant to dates established by the commissioner. A renewal fee in an amount determined by the commissionershall be paid for renewal of the license for a two-year period. (b) The commissioner s…

Any person who provides to the commissioner satisfactory proof of graduation from a court reporting program or its equivalent shall, upon application to the commissioner on forms approved by the commissioner and payment of a fee in an amount determined by the commissioner, be iss…

The commissioner shall establish an inactive status for persons who are not actively engaged in the practice of court reporting.

(a) All moneys collected pursuant to this part must be deposited in the state treasury in a separate fund to be known as the Tennessee court reporting fund. (b) Disbursements from this fund must be made solely for the purpose of defraying expenses incurred in the implementation a…