Tennessee Juvenile Defense Lawyer: What Parents Need to Know

A Tennessee juvenile case moves through juvenile court in steps. A child who is held may get a probable cause check and a detention hearing. Intake can end in informal adjustment or pretrial diversion. Otherwise, an adjudicatory hearing decides the facts, followed by a separate disposition hearing. Some cases also get a transfer hearing on moving to criminal court.

You may be reading this from a kitchen table in Nashville or a hallway outside a courtroom in Memphis. Your child has been picked up, questioned, held overnight or handed a court date. Most parents in this position are trying to answer the same few questions at once: will my child come home, what will the judge decide, and will this follow them through school and beyond. This page explains how Tennessee's juvenile court rules answer those questions. It also points out where the answer depends on the facts or on the court.

How Tennessee Juvenile Court Works

Tennessee handles a minor's alleged offense in juvenile court under its own rules of procedure. The Tennessee Rules of Juvenile Practice and Procedure set out each step, and they treat "delinquent" and "unruly" cases as separate categories.

These terms appear throughout the process:

• Petition. The written document that sets out what the child is alleged to have done and why the court has jurisdiction. It is not a criminal complaint.
• Detention hearing. The hearing where a judge decides whether a child who is being held stays detained or is released.
• Adjudicatory hearing. The juvenile court's trial, where the facts are presented and the court decides whether the child was responsible for the offense.
• Disposition. The court's plan for the child after an adjudication. It is not a sentence.
• Diversion. A path that resolves a case without an adjudication, if the conditions are met.
• Transfer hearing. The hearing on whether a case moves to criminal court.
• Sealing. A court process that limits access to a record.

An adjudication of delinquency is not a criminal conviction. Ages, offenses and timelines differ by state, so nothing on this page describes another state's rules. Practice can also vary by county within Tennessee. Davidson County, Shelby County, Knox County and Hamilton County may each handle the same step differently. The OJJDP case flow overview notes that case processing often varies from community to community, even within a single state.

What Happens After a Minor Is Arrested in Tennessee

The first deadline is a probable cause check. Under Tennessee's custody rule, a magistrate must decide within 48 hours whether there is probable cause that the child committed an offense. This applies when a child is taken into custody without a court order, is alleged to be delinquent and is held in secure detention. The determination rests on a written affidavit. If the magistrate does not make the required findings, the child must be released immediately to a parent, guardian or other custodian.

The rule then sets a second limit. If a probable cause finding is made, or if the child was taken into custody under an order of attachment, the child may not stay in detention longer than 72 hours unless a detention hearing is held. Nonjudicial days do not count toward the 72 hours, but the total can never exceed 84 hours. A petition must be filed before that detention hearing.

At the detention hearing, the court considers whether a less restrictive alternative would work instead of continued detention. The court may set conditions on release, including:

• bail
• limits on the child's movements and activities
• requirements placed on the parent, guardian or custodian
• community-based alternatives

If the case continues, an adjudicatory hearing follows, and a disposition hearing comes after that. The rules setting these steps apply statewide, though local practice can differ as noted above.

A Minor's Rights During Police Questioning in Tennessee

The constitutional starting point is a federal case. In In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), the United States Supreme Court held that minors in delinquency proceedings have due process protections. These include the right to counsel and the privilege against self-incrimination. Because this is a U.S. Supreme Court decision, it applies in Tennessee juvenile court.

Tennessee's court rules add protections of their own:

• At intake. A court officer may conduct a preliminary inquiry. Under Tennessee's preliminary inquiry rule, if the child asks for an attorney, the officer must stop the interview immediately. The officer must then allow time for an attorney to be appointed or retained, and reschedule the interview.
• Waiving the right to an attorney. Under Tennessee's rule on notice and waiver of rights, a child is not treated as having given up the right to an attorney unless the child confirms the waiver in writing, along with other conditions. The court may accept a waiver of rights only if the child can make an intelligent and understanding decision. The court judges this from factors including the child's mental condition, age, education and experience, and the nature or complexity of the case.
• Appointed counsel. The same rule requires the court to appoint an attorney in two situations. The first is when a child who is entitled to appointed counsel does not knowingly and voluntarily waive that right and cannot afford an attorney. The second is when the parents can afford an attorney but refuse to hire one.

Whether a particular statement can be used in court depends on the facts and on the court's rulings.

Common Charges in Tennessee Juvenile Court

A delinquency case is an allegation that a child committed an offense. The charges that bring families into Tennessee juvenile courts cover a wide range, including:

• assault
• theft and other property offenses
• drug offenses
• weapons charges
• school-related incidents involving police
• serious felonies

The most serious allegations raise the questions this page covers under transfer. The juvenile felony defense page explains how felony-level cases move more generally.

Tennessee's rules keep delinquent cases separate from unruly cases. Which category a petition falls into depends on what it alleges.

Every case involves real people on each side, and this page describes offenses only in general terms. School discipline with no police involvement, and dependency cases in which a parent is accused of abuse or neglect, are separate matters this page does not cover.

When a Tennessee Juvenile Case Can Transfer to Adult Court

Transfer is not automatic in Tennessee. The state must first file a written notice of its intent to seek transfer, made in good faith and not for the purpose of delay. Under Tennessee's transfer rule, the timing works like this:

• The state must decide whether to seek transfer within 90 days of the child being charged.
• That decision must come at least 14 days before the transfer hearing or the adjudicatory hearing, whichever comes first.
• The court may extend this time period for good cause.
• The written notice must be filed at least 14 days before the transfer hearing.

Once the notice is filed, the court may not hear the case on its merits. It holds only the transfer hearing. At that hearing:

• the child must be represented by an attorney
• the child may testify and may call witnesses and present other evidence
• the court may not accept a plea

A child may be transferred only if the court finds that the criteria for transfer have been met and that there is probable cause. A transfer order must state its grounds. It must also set bond if the offense is bailable.

What this page does not detail. The specific transfer criteria, such as the ages and offense categories that make a case eligible, come from state law rather than from the court rule summarized here, and this page does not set them out. The same is true of whether and how a transfer order can be appealed. Those questions depend on the governing law and on the facts of the case.

Whether a transfer happens depends on the offense, the evidence and those criteria. Other states handle this step differently. The OJJDP overview notes that some states require or allow prosecutors to file certain cases directly in criminal court. A case that moves to criminal court proceeds as an adult criminal case.

Disposition Options in Tennessee: Probation, Diversion, and Commitment

Diversion can happen at two points in a Tennessee case. Both depend on the facts and on the consent of the family.

Informal adjustment. A court officer may offer informal adjustment if the matter is not serious enough to require formal action before the judge. The rules for informal adjustment are:

• The child does not have to admit the allegation.
• The child and a parent or guardian must both consent.
• The child must be told that taking part is optional and that the child can end it at any time.
• It may last up to 3 months. The court may approve an extension, but the total period cannot exceed 6 months.
• It cannot include restitution or any other financial obligation.
• When it is completed successfully, the complaint is closed. If a petition was already filed, the petition is dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled.

Pretrial diversion. Under Tennessee's pretrial diversion rule, pretrial diversion works as follows:

• It requires a written agreement signed by the child, a parent or guardian, and the court officer.
• The child does not have to admit the allegation.
• The court must approve the agreement before it takes effect.
• It lasts up to 6 months. A party may apply for an extension of up to 6 more months before the first period ends, and the court decides after notice and a hearing.

Disposition after adjudication. Under Tennessee's dispositional hearing rule, the disposition hearing must be held within 15 days of the adjudicatory hearing if the child is detained or has been placed out of the home by court order. In all other cases, it must be held within 90 days. The court may move the hearing to a set later date for good cause. The standard of proof at disposition is a preponderance of the evidence, and the parties may question anyone who prepared a report admitted into evidence.

The commission comments to that rule say the judge should choose the least restrictive disposition that fits the seriousness of the offense, the child's culpability, and the child's age and prior record. They also state a preference for community-level treatment where it is appropriate and available. Probation conditions and placement outside the home depend on the case and the court.

Sealing a Tennessee Juvenile Record

Parents often assume a Tennessee juvenile record goes away on its own at 18. It does not. A record does not disappear or erase itself when a child becomes an adult.

Whether a record can be sealed depends on:

• the offense
• the outcome of the case
• the child's conduct after the case closed

Sealing a record restricts who can see it. It does not destroy the record. The specific law that governs sealing in Tennessee is not set out on this page, so eligibility and procedure turn on that law and on the court handling the request.

One outcome does have a defined effect. When informal adjustment is completed successfully, the complaint is closed. If a petition was filed, it is dismissed with prejudice. What that dismissal means for the record itself depends on the rules governing sealing and on the court.

These questions weigh most heavily on families thinking years ahead, toward graduation, a first job or a move out of state.

School and Other Consequences of a Juvenile Case in Tennessee

Tennessee delinquency hearings are generally open to the public. Under Tennessee's confidentiality rule, the court has discretion to exclude the general public. It may also close a proceeding, in whole or in part, to everyone except those with a direct interest in the case. Closure can come on a party's application or on the court's own initiative. A party asking for closure carries the burden of proof.

A juvenile case can affect a child's school life, including:

• enrollment
• school discipline proceedings
• eligibility for sports and other activities

Those effects depend on the school district's policies and the nature of the offense. Effects on college admissions, financial aid and employment can also follow a juvenile case. They depend on the facts and on rules this page does not cover. Immigration consequences are governed by immigration law this page does not cover.

What to Look for When Seeking Juvenile Defense Representation in Tennessee

Juvenile defense works differently from adult criminal defense. The procedures, the terms and the court's stated goals all differ. The juvenile defense overview explains how these cases generally move from state to state.

Families often look for counsel who knows Tennessee's juvenile rules and the local court, since practice in one county may not match practice in another. Parents commonly ask about four areas in particular:

• experience with transfer hearings
• diversion
• disposition advocacy
• record sealing

Families comparing states can also read the Georgia juvenile defense and California juvenile defense pages.

Discussing Your Child's Juvenile Case in Tennessee

Tennessee's deadlines arrive quickly once a child is detained or a transfer notice is filed, and each hearing has its own purpose. A consultation can cover the petition, whether the child is detained, the dates of upcoming hearings and the stage the case has reached. This page covers Tennessee's juvenile process only. It does not cover adult cases or dependency matters. To discuss a case like this with an attorney, you can request a consultation about a child's juvenile case through Juvenile Justice Defense Group and describe what has happened so far.