Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-412 (2026)
Violation of duty to report - Power of juvenile court - Penalty
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a)
- (1) Any person who knowingly fails to make a report required by § 37-1-403 commits an offense.
- (2)
- (A) A violation of subdivision (a)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor.
- (B) A second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a)(1) is a Class E felony.
- (3) Any person who intentionally fails to make a report required by § 37-1-403 commits a Class E felony.
- (b)
- (1) A juvenile court having reasonable cause to believe that a person is guilty of violating this section may have the person brought before the court either by summons or by warrant. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the juvenile court judge shall bind the defendant over to the grand jury.
- (2) If the defendant pleads guilty to a first offense under subdivision (a)(1) and waives, in writing, indictment, presentment, grand jury investigation, and trial by jury, the juvenile court judge shall sentence the defendant with a fine not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 499,s 3, eff. 7/1/2019.
Acts 1973, ch. 81, § 1; 1977, ch. 343, § 4; T.C.A., §§ 37-1211, 37-1-1212; Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 111; 2005, ch. 256, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6
cases, 1997–2019 · leading case: Bryant-Bruce v. Vanderbilt Univ., Inc., 974 F. Supp. 1127 (M.D. Tenn. 1997).
Bryant-Bruce v. Vanderbilt Univ., Inc., 974 F. Supp. 1127 (M.D. Tenn. 1997). “T.C.A. § 37-1-412. 9 While failure to comply with the statute may subject an individual to criminal liability, “[a] person reporting harm shall be presumed to be acting in good faith and shall thereby be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be…”
State of Tennessee v. Donald W. Higgins, III (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “Lesser Included Offenses The defendant contends that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury that a violation of the duty to report under Code section 37-1-412 is a lesser included offense of aggravated child neglect as charged in this case.”
State of Tennessee v. Marcie Lynn Pursell (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009). “As for the doctrine of res judicata, the trial court determined that the juvenile courts and criminal courts were not courts of concurrent 3 Pursuant to section 37-1-103(a)(4), the juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction of “[p]rosecutions under § 37-1-412 or §…”
In Re: Z.M.B. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “nile traffic offense as defined in § 37-1-146; (2) All cases to establish paternity of children born out of lawful wedlock; to provide for the support and education of such children, and to enforce its order; (3) Proceedings arising under §§ 37-1-141 - 37-1-144; (4) Proceedings…”
Dept. of Child.'s Servs. v. MW (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003). “This is governed by Tenn. Code Ann. §37-1-412 , which states “Any person who knowingly fails to make a report required by § 37-1-403 commits a Class A misdemeanor.”
M.L. v. Williamson Cty. Bd. of Educ. (6th Cir. 2019). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-403 . Knowingly failing to make a required report is a misdemeanor, Tenn.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-412(a) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Donald W. Higgins, III (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “Lesser Included Offenses The defendant contends that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury that a violation of the duty to report under Code section 37-1-412 is a lesser included offense of aggravated child neglect as charged in this case.”
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