Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-14-101 (2026)

Speedy trial - Right to be heard

✓ current as of May 2026
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In all criminal prosecutions, the accused is entitled to a speedy trial and to be heard in person and by counsel.

Code 1858, § 4992 (deriv. Const. 1834, art. 1, § 9); Shan., § 6951; Code 1932, § 11492; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-2001.


Notes of Decisions
Cited in 113 cases (17 in the last 5 years), 1984–2026 · leading case: State v. Berry, 141 S.W.3d 549 (Tenn. 2004).
State v. Berry, 141 S.W.3d 549 (Tenn. 2004). · cites it 4× “See Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-14-101 (2003). In addition, the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure provide for the dismissal of an indictment, presentment, information or criminal complaint "[i]f there is unnecessary delay in presenting the charge to a grand jury against a defendant…”
State v. Utley, 956 S.W.2d 489 (Tenn. 1997). · cites it 4× “The right to a speedy trial is also statutory in Tennessee: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused is entitled to a speedy trial_” Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-14-101 (1990). The purpose of the speedy trial guarantee is to protect the accused against oppressive pre-trial…”
Momon v. State, 18 S.W.3d 152 (Tenn. 2000). · cites it 2× “See Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-14-101 (1998) ("In all criminal prosecutions, the accused is entitled to a speedy trial, and to be heard in person and by counsel.”
State v. Jefferson, 938 S.W.2d 1 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1996). · cites it 4× “61 This “balancing test” is applied to claims made pursuant to the Sixth Amendment, Article I, § 9 of the Tennessee Constitution, and Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-14-101. 62 There are four factors that must be balanced.”
State v. Simmons, 54 S.W.3d 755 (Tenn. 2001). · cites it 2× “Const, amend. VI. 4 Similarly, the Tennessee Constitution provides that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath the right to .”
State v. Frazier, 683 S.W.2d 346 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1984). · cites it 4× “This rule has been abolished in the *353 United States.”
State v. Bowman, 327 S.W.3d 69 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “The defendant objected to any additional delay in the proceedings, but the trial court granted a continuance until August 11, 2005, and lowered the defendant’s bond from $100,000 to $10,000 as a remedy to the continued incarceration.”
State v. Thomas, 818 S.W.2d 350 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1991). · cites it 2× “48(b) which provides as follows: If there is unnecessary delay in presenting the charge to a grand jury against a defendant who has been held to answer to the trial court, or if there is unnecessary delay in bringing a defendant to trial, the court may dismiss the indictment,…”
State v. Vickers, 985 S.W.2d 1 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997). · cites it 2× “9; Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-14-101 (1990); Tenn.R.”
State v. Hudgins, 188 S.W.3d 663 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “An identical right is found in Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-14-101, which provides that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused is entitled to a speedy trial, and to be heard in person and by counsel.”
State v. Vaughan, 144 S.W.3d 391 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003). · cites it 2× “We agree with the State on this issue. A criminal defendant is entitled to a speedy trial under both the United States and Tennessee constitutions.”
State v. Kolb, 755 S.W.2d 472 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1988). · cites it 2× “2d 1 (1967), Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution of Tennessee, and T.C.A. § 40-14-101. Therefore, defendants in criminal cases in Tennessee have both a constitutional and statutory right to a speedy trial.”
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.