Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-13-202 (2026)
Statement of offense
✓ current as of May 2026
The indictment must state the facts constituting the offense in ordinary and concise language, without prolixity or repetition, in a manner so as to enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended and with that degree of certainty which will enable the court, on conviction, to pronounce the proper judgment. In no case are the words "force and arms" or "contrary to the form of the statute" necessary.
Code 1858, §§ 5114, 5115; Shan., §§ 7077, 7078; mod. Code 1932, § 11624; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-1802.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 372
cases (21 in the last 5 years), 1986–2026 · leading case: Hart v. State, 21 S.W.3d 901 (Tenn. 2000).
Hart v. State, 21 S.W.3d 901 (Tenn. 2000). “Additionally, Count 2 is valid because the appellant was provided with sufficient notice of the manner in which he committed the offense for which he was charged and because Count 2 complies with the requirements of Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-13-202 (1982). As such, we affirm the…”
Ruff v. State, 978 S.W.2d 95 (Tenn. 1998). “blished the following rule: for offenses which neither expressly require nor plainly dispense with the requirement for a culpable mental state, an indictment which fails to allege such mental state will be sufficient to support prosecution and conviction for that offense so long…”
State of Tennessee v. Rhakim Martin, 505 S.W.3d 492 (Tenn. 2016). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-13-202 (2014). 18 . These claims have also been referred to as “multiple description claims,” i.”
State of Tennessee v. Lemaricus Devall Davidson, 509 S.W.3d 156 (Tenn. 2016). “T.C.A. § 40-13-202 (2006). As a general rule, “an indictment is valid if it provides sufficient information (1) to enable the accused to know the accusation to which answer is required, (2) to furnish the court adequate basis for the entry of a proper judgment, and (3) to…”
State v. Leach, 148 S.W.3d 42 (Tenn. 2004). “3(b) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure; Article I, section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution; and Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-13-202 require that an indictment for capital murder reflect that the grand jury found the existence of one or more statutory…”
State v. Berry, 141 S.W.3d 549 (Tenn. 2004). “In addition, Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-13-202 requires that an indictment: state the facts constituting the offense in ordinary and concise language, without prolixity or repetition, in such a manner as to enable a person of common understanding to know what is…”
State v. Hill, 954 S.W.2d 725 (Tenn. 1997). “to support prosecution and conviction for that offense so long as (1) the language of the indictment is sufficient to meet the constitutional requirements of notice to the accused of the charge against which the accused must defend, adequate basis for entry of a prop *727 er…”
Dykes v. Compton, 978 S.W.2d 528 (Tenn. 1998). “to support prosecution and conviction for that offense so long as (1) the language of the indictment is sufficient to meet the constitutional requirements of notice to the accused of the charge against which the accused must *530 defend, adequate basis for entry of a proper…”
State v. Griffis, 964 S.W.2d 577 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997). “41 The applicable statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-13-202 states: The indictment must state the facts constituting the offense in ordinary and concise language, without prolixity or repetition, in such a manner as to enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended,…”
State of Tennessee v. Willie Duncan, 505 S.W.3d 480 (Tenn. 2016). “Since 1858, the form of the indictment has been governed by the statute now codified at Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-13-202, which states: “The indictment must state the facts constituting the offense in ordinary and concise language, without prolixity or repetition, in a…”
State of Tennessee v. Perry A. March, 293 S.W.3d 576 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2008). “But see T.C.A. § 40-13-202 (2006) (mandating that indictments “state the facts constituting the offense .”
State v. Ivy, 188 S.W.3d 132 (Tenn. 2006). “I, § 9; Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-13-202 (an indictment "must state the facts constituting the offense in ordinary and concise language").”
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.