Title 24, Evidence and Witnesses

In the trial of any civil suit, there shall be received in evidence if offered on behalf of any party thereto, opinions as to medical findings as a result of treatment or examination of the party, whether such opinions are based on subjective or objective findings; provided such …

(a) (1) In any judicial proceeding in which a telephone company is subpoenaed to produce records of customer service or billing charges, it shall be sufficient compliance with the subpoena if the custodian or other authorized agent of the company shall, either by personal deliver…

(a) This section shall apply to proceedings in the prosecution of offenses defined in § 37-1-602 as “child sexual abuse” and to any civil proceeding in which child sexual abuse as defined in § 37-1-602 is an issue, and it shall apply only to the statements of a child or children …

(a) As used in this section, 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. (b) (1) In…

(a) If any business, institution, member of a profession or calling, or any department or agency of government, in the regular course of business or activity has kept or created any writing, recording or photograph of any act, transaction, occurrence or event, and in the regular …

(a) In a criminal case where the victim of any of the offenses listed in subsection (e) was under eighteen (18) years of age at the time the offense was committed, the court may order the child's testimony be taken outside the courtroom by means of two-way closed circuit televisi…

(a) (1) (A) The department of human services child support payment records shall be the official records for all payments which have been appropriately sent to the central collection and distribution unit pursuant to § 36-5-116.(B) Notwithstanding any other law or rule of evidenc…

(a) As used in this section, “medical records” means all written clinical information that relates to the treatment of individuals, when the information is kept in an institution. (b) Medical records or reproductions of medical records, when duly certified by their custodian, phy…

(a) Notwithstanding this part to the contrary, a video recording of a child by a forensic interviewer containing a statement made by the child under eighteen (18) years of age describing an act of sexual or physically violent contact performed with or on the child by a person or …

(a) In any judicial or administrative proceeding in which the results of a radar, laser or similar device used to measure the speed of a motor vehicle are being introduced for the purpose of proving the speed of the motor vehicle or the conduct of the driver of the vehicle, such …

(1) In a criminal case, evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of any individual, including a deceased victim, the defendant, a witness, or any other third party, in order to show action in conformity with the character trait. It may, h…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Assistance dog organization” means a nonprofit organization that sets standards of training for the health, welfare, task work, and oversight of assistance dogs and assistance dog handlers;(2) “Certified facility dog” means a trained working dog t…

Any lost instrument may be supplied by affidavit of any person acquainted with the facts, stating the contents thereof, as near as may be, and that such instrument has been unintentionally lost or mislaid, and is still the property of the person claiming under it, unpaid and unsa…

If an instrument is wrongfully in the possession of the opposite party, who fails to produce it upon notice, its place may be supplied by the affidavit of any person acquainted with the facts, stating the contents as near as may be, the wrongful possession of the opposite party, …

If the instrument is one which the law requires should be denied under oath, the affidavit, produced before or at the trial, shall be sufficient to establish the claimant's right, whether such claimant is plaintiff or defendant; and if denied under oath, or otherwise legally put …

The court, before whom the action is tried, may, in case recovery is had upon a lost instrument, require the party claiming under it to give bond with good security, in double the amount of the claim, payable to the opposite party, and conditioned to indemnify such party against …

In cases of lost notes, bonds, life insurance policies, and other instruments which by law are negotiable or assignable when the party claiming under the same is required to execute a bond to indemnify the party issuing the same, it shall be lawful for such indemnity bond to be s…

The person recovering on such lost instrument may, however, after the lapse of two (2) years from the maturity of such instrument, enforce such person's recovery without giving the bond prescribed in §§ 24-8-104 and 24-8-105, in which case, the person from whom the recovery is ha…

If the actual holder of such lost instrument brings an action thereon after the lost instrument has been recovered in accordance with this chapter, the true owner may intervene and defend the action.

Any record, proceeding, or paper filed in an action, either at law or equity, if lost or mislaid unintentionally, or fraudulently made away with, may be supplied, upon application, under the orders of the court, by the best evidence of which the nature of the case will admit.

If the lost papers consist of depositions, the court may, in its discretion, order the testimony to be retaken, if the witnesses are alive.

(a) Deponents exempt from subpoena to trial but subject to subpoena to a deposition are:(1) An officer of the United States;(2) An officer of this state;(3) An officer of any court or municipality within the state;(4) The clerk of any court of record other than that in which the …

(a) Discovery pursuant to Rules 26-37 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, excluding physical and mental examinations under Rule 35 of such rules, may be taken in all civil cases pending in the courts of general sessions in the discretion of the court after motion showing b…

Any court of record, or any clerk thereof, may issue commissions to take depositions.

(1) Depositions taken in this state that are to be used in its courts shall be taken before:(1) A hearing examiner;(2) A judge, clerk, commissioner, or official reporter of a court;(3) A licensed court reporter;(4) A notary public; or(5) Before other persons and under other circu…

(a) Unless all of the parties have entered into a written stipulation otherwise pursuant to Rule 29 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, a deposition shall not be taken before a person who is:(1) A party to the action or an attorney for one (1) of the parties;(2) A relative…

Any person forbidden to take a deposition in an action pursuant to § 24-9-136 shall not record or transcribe for submission to any court or administrative tribunal any hearing before any court or administrative agency concerning the action.

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act.”

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Foreign jurisdiction” means a state other than Tennessee;(2) “Foreign subpoena” means a subpoena issued under authority of a court of record of a foreign jurisdiction;(3) “Person” means an individual, corporatio…

(a) A party may submit a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted in this state. The request for and issuance of a subpoena in this state under this part shall not constitute making an appearance in the courts of this state. …

A subpoena issued by a clerk of court under § 24-9-203 shall be served in compliance with the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure relative to service of process.

When a subpoena issued under § 24-9-203 commands a person to attend and give testimony at a deposition, produce designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things, or permit inspection of premises, the time and place and the manner of the …

An application to the court for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued by a clerk of court under § 24-9-203 shall comply with the applicable rules or statutes of this state and be submitted to the court in the county in which discovery is to be condu…

If the court grants a motion to modify or quash a subpoena issued pursuant to this part, the court, in its discretion, may award the party subpoenaed its reasonable attorney's fees and expenses incurred in defending against the subpoena. A final order of the court awarding attorn…

This part may be cited as the “Uniform Unsworn Foreign Declarations Act.”

(1) In this part:(1) “Boundaries of the United States” means the geographic boundaries of the United States, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States;(2) “Law” includes the federal or a…

This part applies to an unsworn declaration by a declarant who at the time of making the declaration is physically located outside the boundaries of the United States whether or not the location is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. This part does not apply to a de…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), if a law of this state requires or permits use of a sworn declaration, an unsworn declaration meeting the requirements of this part has the same effect as a sworn declaration. (b) This part does not apply to:(1) A deposition;(2)…

If a law of this state requires that a sworn declaration be presented in a particular medium, an unsworn declaration must be presented in that medium.

An unsworn declaration under this part must be in substantially the following form:I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of Tennessee that the foregoing is true and correct, and that I am physically located outside the geographic boundaries of the United States, Puerto…

In applying and construing this part, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

This part modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.), but does not modify, limit, or supersede § 101(c) of that act (15 U.S.C. § 7001(c)), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices…