Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 17-1-305 (2026)

New trial in event of vacancy in office

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section JustiaTenn. Code CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

When a vacancy in the office of trial judge exists by reason of death, permanent insanity as evidenced by adjudication, impeachment and conviction under the Constitution of Tennessee, Article V, or removal under the Constitution of Tennessee, Article VI, § 6, after verdict, but before the hearing of the motion for new trial, the trial judge's successor shall rule on the defendant's motion for new trial after the successor judge has reviewed the transcript and entire record of the trial.

Acts 1945, ch. 21, § 2; mod. C. Supp. 1950, § 9949.2; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 17-117; Acts 1994, ch. 833, § 1; 1996, ch. 926, § 1.


Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 2000–2017 · leading case: State of Tennessee v. William Eugene Hall, 461 S.W.3d 469 (Tenn. 2015).
State of Tennessee v. William Eugene Hall, 461 S.W.3d 469 (Tenn. 2015). · cites it 27× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 17-1-305 (2009). At the time of the offenses and the trial of this case, 4 Although neither the State nor the Defendant has presented an argument as to the standard of appellate review that should apply to the evaluation of witness credibility by a successor…”
State v. Brown, 53 S.W.3d 264 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000). · cites it 13× “Tenn.Code Ann. § 17-1-305 (Supp.1999). This statute was enacted in 1996, and it replaced the previous statute which provided that in the event of the death of the trial judge after the verdict but before the ruling on the motion for a new trial, the losing party was…”
Gabriel C. Torres v. State of Tennessee, 543 S.W.3d 141 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “See T.C.A. § 17-1-305 (2009); Tenn. R. Crim. P.”
Victor Andrea Askew v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). · cites it 50× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 17-1-305 (1994) (amended 1996).”
Wayford Demonbreun, Jr. v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2008). · cites it 12× “e Petitioner filed a petition for habeas corpus relief, his third such petition, alleging that his conviction is void because: (1) the trial court never conducted a hearing on his motion for new trial and, therefore, never performed his duty as a thirteenth juror; and (2) the…”
State v. John D. Brown (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000). · cites it 13× “-9- Tenn. Code Ann. § 17-1-305 (Supp. 1999). This statute was enacted in 1996, and it replaced the previous statue which provided that in the event of the death of the trial judge after the verdict but before the ruling on the motion for a new trial, the losing party was…”
State of Tennessee v. William Eugene Hall (Tenn. Crim. App. 2013). · cites it 4× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 17-1-305 (2009). According to the Appellant’s argument, ex post facto considerations demand that a new trial be granted as required by the version of Section 17-1- 305 in effect at the time of the offenses and trial in this case.”
Jerry Rommell Gray v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “See T.C.A. § 17-1-305 (2009); Tenn. R. Crim. P.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.