Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609 (2026)
Failure to appear
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly fail to appear as directed by a lawful authority if the person:
- (1) Has been lawfully issued a criminal summons pursuant to § 40-6-215;
- (2) Has been lawfully commanded to appear for booking and processing pursuant to a criminal summons issued in accordance with § 40-6-215;
- (3) Has been lawfully issued a citation in lieu of arrest under § 40-7-118;
- (4) Has been lawfully released from custody, with or without bail, on condition of subsequent appearance at an official proceeding or penal institution at a specified time or place; or
- (5) Knowingly goes into hiding to avoid prosecution or court appearance.
- (b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
- (1) The appearance is required by a probation and parole officer as an incident of probation or parole supervision; or
- (2) The person had a reasonable excuse for failure to appear at the specified time and place.
- (c) Nothing in this section shall apply to witnesses.
- (d) Failure to appear is a Class A misdemeanor.
- (e) Any sentence received for a violation of this section must be ordered to be served consecutively to any sentence received for the offense for which the defendant failed to appear.
- (f) [Deleted by 2019 amendment.]
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 486,s 4, eff. 7/1/2019.
Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 1990, ch. 709, § 1; 1990, ch. 980, § 16; 1997, ch. 317, § 1; 1998, ch. 1049, § 15; 2004, ch. 727, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 55
cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1999–2025 · leading case: State v. Harton, 108 S.W.3d 253 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002).
State v. Harton, 108 S.W.3d 253 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). “4, 1999) (holding Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-16-609(b)(2), which creates defense to failure to appear based upon a “reasonable excuse,” not to be unconstitutionally vague); State v.”
State of Tennessee v. Joan Odell (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609, Sentencing Comm’n Cmts.”
State of Tennessee v. Anna Chick (Tenn. Crim. App. 2017). “M2016-01907-CCA-R3-CD The defendant, Anna Chick, appeals her Williamson County Circuit Court conviction of failure to appear, see T.C.A. 39-16-609, arguing that Code section 39-16-609 is unconstitutional; that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction; that the…”
State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Sprague (Tenn. Crim. App. 2011). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609 (2011). The defendant argues that the State did not introduce any proof at trial as to his state of mind at the time he failed to appear.”
State of Tennessee v. Geremy Paul Mathis (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “[h]as been lawfully released from custody, with or without bail, on condition of subsequent appearance at an official proceeding .”
State of Tennessee v. Nora Hernandez (Tenn. Crim. App. 2013). “Sentencing Appellant submits that the trial court imposed an excessive two-year sentence because (1) it punished her for presenting what the court viewed as a baseless defense; (2) consecutive sentencing was not required for purposes of rehabilitation and was unnecessary because…”
State of Tennessee v. Michael Glenn Holt (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “Second, the Defendant argues that, even if he were determined to be “on bail” for purposes of the aforementioned statutes, the statutes still do not apply because Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-16-609(f), which specifically addresses failure to appear offenses, “trumps” the…”
State of Tennessee v. Jamarcus Jackson (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). “See T.C.A. § 39-16-609 (2014). Failure to appear is a felony if the underlying offense for which the defendant failed to appear is a Class A misdemeanor or a felony.”
State of Tennessee v. Edwin Dewan Reese (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “2 Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609 (a) (2010). -2- crimes did not cause or threaten serious bodily injury, see Tenn.”
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey Wade Osborne (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “M2010-02281-CCA-R3-CD - Filed May 9, 2012 The defendant, Jeffrey Wade Osborne, appeals his Williamson County Circuit Court bench trial conviction of felony failure to appear, see T.C.A. § 39-16-609, arguing that his trial should not have occurred while competency proceedings…”
State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Scott Hutchinson (Tenn. Crim. App. 2014). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609 . The Defendant proceeded to trial on the drug charges.”
State of Tennessee v. Don Wayne Williams (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009). “]” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609 (a)(4) (2006).”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609(a) — 2 cases
State of Tennessee v. Joan Odell (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609, Sentencing Comm’n Cmts.”
State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Sprague (Tenn. Crim. App. 2011). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609 (2011). The defendant argues that the State did not introduce any proof at trial as to his state of mind at the time he failed to appear.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609(a)(1) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Sprague (Tenn. Crim. App. 2011). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609 (2011). The defendant argues that the State did not introduce any proof at trial as to his state of mind at the time he failed to appear.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609(a)(4) — 7 cases
State of Tennessee v. Geremy Paul Mathis (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “[h]as been lawfully released from custody, with or without bail, on condition of subsequent appearance at an official proceeding .”
State of Tennessee v. Anna Chick (Tenn. Crim. App. 2017). “M2016-01907-CCA-R3-CD The defendant, Anna Chick, appeals her Williamson County Circuit Court conviction of failure to appear, see T.C.A. 39-16-609, arguing that Code section 39-16-609 is unconstitutional; that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction; that the…”
State of Tennessee v. Joan Odell (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609, Sentencing Comm’n Cmts.”
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey Wade Osborne (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “M2010-02281-CCA-R3-CD - Filed May 9, 2012 The defendant, Jeffrey Wade Osborne, appeals his Williamson County Circuit Court bench trial conviction of felony failure to appear, see T.C.A. § 39-16-609, arguing that his trial should not have occurred while competency proceedings…”
State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Sprague (Tenn. Crim. App. 2011). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609 (2011). The defendant argues that the State did not introduce any proof at trial as to his state of mind at the time he failed to appear.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609(b) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. James Edward Peden (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003).
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609(b)(2) — 5 cases
State v. Harton, 108 S.W.3d 253 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). “4, 1999) (holding Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-16-609(b)(2), which creates defense to failure to appear based upon a “reasonable excuse,” not to be unconstitutionally vague); State v.”
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey Wade Osborne (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “M2010-02281-CCA-R3-CD - Filed May 9, 2012 The defendant, Jeffrey Wade Osborne, appeals his Williamson County Circuit Court bench trial conviction of felony failure to appear, see T.C.A. § 39-16-609, arguing that his trial should not have occurred while competency proceedings…”
State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Sprague (Tenn. Crim. App. 2011). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609 (2011). The defendant argues that the State did not introduce any proof at trial as to his state of mind at the time he failed to appear.”
State of Tennessee v. Geremy Paul Mathis (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “[h]as been lawfully released from custody, with or without bail, on condition of subsequent appearance at an official proceeding .”
State of Tennessee v. Don Wayne Williams (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009). “]” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609 (a)(4) (2006).”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609(d) — 2 cases
State of Tennessee v. Joan Odell (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609, Sentencing Comm’n Cmts.”
State Of Tennessee v. Jennifer Sadie Thompson (Tenn. Crim. App. 2022).
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609(e) — 3 cases
State of Tennessee v. Anna Chick (Tenn. Crim. App. 2017). “M2016-01907-CCA-R3-CD The defendant, Anna Chick, appeals her Williamson County Circuit Court conviction of failure to appear, see T.C.A. 39-16-609, arguing that Code section 39-16-609 is unconstitutional; that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction; that the…”
State of Tennessee v. Joan Odell (Tenn. Crim. App. 2019). “” T.C.A. § 39-16-609, Sentencing Comm’n Cmts.”
State of Tennessee v. Jamarcus Jackson (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). “See T.C.A. § 39-16-609 (2014). Failure to appear is a felony if the underlying offense for which the defendant failed to appear is a Class A misdemeanor or a felony.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609(f) — 7 cases
State of Tennessee v. Michael Glenn Holt (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “Second, the Defendant argues that, even if he were determined to be “on bail” for purposes of the aforementioned statutes, the statutes still do not apply because Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-16-609(f), which specifically addresses failure to appear offenses, “trumps” the…”
State of Tennessee v. Edwin Dewan Reese (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “2 Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-609 (a) (2010). -2- crimes did not cause or threaten serious bodily injury, see Tenn.”
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Joe Campbell (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016).
State of Tennessee v. Nora Hernandez (Tenn. Crim. App. 2013). “Sentencing Appellant submits that the trial court imposed an excessive two-year sentence because (1) it punished her for presenting what the court viewed as a baseless defense; (2) consecutive sentencing was not required for purposes of rehabilitation and was unnecessary because…”
State of Tennessee v. Billy Jeremy Jones (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015).
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