Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-115 (2026)
Custody - Release to proper party - Warrant for custody
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) A person taking a child into custody shall within a reasonable time:
- (1) Release the child to such child's parents, guardian or other custodian upon a promise by such person or persons to bring the child before the court when requested by the court unless such child's detention or shelter care is warranted or required under § 37-1-114; or
- (2) Bring the child before the court or deliver such child to a detention or shelter care facility designated by the court or to a medical facility if the child is believed to suffer from a serious physical condition or illness that requires prompt treatment. A person taking a child into custody shall give notice thereof, together with a reason for taking the child into custody, to a parent, guardian or other custodian and to the court. If the child is taken into custody pursuant to the provisions of § 37-1-113(a)(3) prior to the filing of a petition, a petition under § 37-1-120 shall be filed as soon as possible but in no event later than two (2) days after the child is taken into custody excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
- (b) If a parent, guardian or other custodian, when requested, fails to bring the child before the court as provided in subsection (a), the court may issue its warrant directing that the child be taken into custody and brought before the court.
- (c)
- (1) A law enforcement officer who has taken a child into custody for the commission of an offense that would be considered a misdemeanor if committed by an adult may, in that officer's professional discretion, issue a citation in lieu of continued custody of the child. In issuing a citation pursuant to this subsection (c), the officer shall:
- (A) Prepare a written citation, which shall include the name and address of the cited child, the offense charged, and the time and place of appearance;
- (B) Have the child sign the original and duplicate copy of the citation. The officer shall deliver one (1) copy to the child and retain the other; and
- (C) Release the cited child from custody.
- (2) If the law enforcement officer determines that issuing a citation is appropriate but that circumstances surrounding the issuance of a citation indicate an immediate risk to the safety of the child, the officer shall make efforts to contact a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the child to retrieve the child in lieu of or prior to taking the child into custody.
- (1) A law enforcement officer who has taken a child into custody for the commission of an offense that would be considered a misdemeanor if committed by an adult may, in that officer's professional discretion, issue a citation in lieu of continued custody of the child. In issuing a citation pursuant to this subsection (c), the officer shall:
- (d) Subject to the approval of the juvenile court, each municipal or metropolitan police department or sheriff's department is authorized to create and administer its own juvenile diversion program to address citable juvenile offenses without court involvement. Each program shall be developed in consultation with the juvenile court, local school districts, and other community stakeholders, and shall be subject to the same conditions and limitations as informal adjustment pursuant to § 37-1-110.
Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1052,s 12, eff. 7/1/2018.
Acts 1970, ch. 600, § 15; 1976, ch. 745, § 1; 1981, ch. 247, § 4; T.C.A., § 37-215.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1991–2026 · leading case: State v. Carroll, 36 S.W.3d 854 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999).
State v. Carroll, 36 S.W.3d 854 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “§ 37-1-115 (1996) and that the appellant’s confession was neither knowing nor voluntary.”
State v. Lundy, 808 S.W.2d 444 (Tenn. 1991). “We are asked to rule that the defendant’s pre-trial statements to police should have been suppressed at the transfer and acceptance hearings that were held to determine whether he should be tried as an adult, *445 because those statements were allegedly taken in violation of…”
Jurico Readus v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “Any attempt to shoehorn a rehashing of this issue into a claim that counsel performed deficiently by failing to adequately move for suppression of the petitioner’s statement is insufficient to overcome the bar of Code section 40-30-106, which provides that “[a] ground for relief…”
State of Tennessee v. Frank Deangelo Taylor (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). “In addition, to the extent that Taylor claims that section 37-1-114(c)(3) was violated because the juvenile court failed to issue a written detention order outlining the basis for detention until two days after Taylor was taken to the juvenile court, we disagree.”
Andrew Levi Jefferson v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-115 (a), (b) (2001) (emphasis added); see id.”
State of Tennessee v. Keylone Jones (Tenn. Crim. App. 2026). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-114 (a)(1) (2013).”
State v. Christopher Williams (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998). “§ 37-1-115 . Subsequent provisions provide that "[a]n extra-judicial statement, if obtained in the course of the violation of this part .”
State v. Christopher Williams (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998). “§ 37-1-115 . Subsequent provisions provide that "[a]n extra-judicial statement, if obtained in the course of the violation of this part .”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-115(a) — 1 case
Jurico Readus v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “Any attempt to shoehorn a rehashing of this issue into a claim that counsel performed deficiently by failing to adequately move for suppression of the petitioner’s statement is insufficient to overcome the bar of Code section 40-30-106, which provides that “[a] ground for relief…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-115(a)(1) — 1 case
Jurico Readus v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “Any attempt to shoehorn a rehashing of this issue into a claim that counsel performed deficiently by failing to adequately move for suppression of the petitioner’s statement is insufficient to overcome the bar of Code section 40-30-106, which provides that “[a] ground for relief…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-115(a)(2) — 1 case
State v. Lundy, 808 S.W.2d 444 (Tenn. 1991). “We are asked to rule that the defendant’s pre-trial statements to police should have been suppressed at the transfer and acceptance hearings that were held to determine whether he should be tried as an adult, *445 because those statements were allegedly taken in violation of…”
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