Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-116 (2026)
Order of restitution
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) Whenever a felon is convicted of stealing or feloniously taking or receiving property, or defrauding another of property, the jury shall ascertain the value of the property, if not previously restored to the owner, and the court shall, thereupon, order the restitution of the property, and, in case this cannot be done, that the party aggrieved recover the value assessed against the prisoner, for which execution may issue as in other cases.
- (b) If the property has been feloniously destroyed, the jury shall ascertain the damages sustained, upon which judgment shall be rendered in favor of the party aggrieved against the defendant, and execution shall issue as provided in subsection (a).
- (c) This section is cumulative, and does not deprive the party injured of any other right the party may have for the recovery of property or its value.
Code 1858, §§ 5233-5235 (deriv. Acts 1829, ch. 23, § 79); Shan., §§ 7208-7210; Code 1932, §§ 11795-11797; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), §§ 40-2716 -- 40-2718.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 43
cases (10 in the last 5 years), 1988–2025 · leading case: State v. Davis, 940 S.W.2d 558 (Tenn. 1997).
State v. Davis, 940 S.W.2d 558 (Tenn. 1997). “In making this concession in its supplemental brief, the State abandoned the argument, which it had raised in a petition to rehear with the Court of Criminal Appeals, that Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-20-116 authorized restitution in this case.”
State v. Cross, 93 S.W.3d 891 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). “Moreover, Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-20-116 provides, in pertinent part, that "[w]henever a felon is convicted of stealing .”
State v. Vasser, 870 S.W.2d 543 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1993). “”); T.C.A. § 40-20-116(a) (“Whenever a felon is convicted of stealing or feloniously taking or receiving property, or defrauding another thereof, the jury shall ascertain the value of such property .”
State v. Bryant, 775 S.W.2d 1 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1988). “The trial court based its order upon Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-20-116: Order of restitution.”
State of Tennessee v. Patricia White & Craig White (Tenn. Crim. App. 2004). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-116 (a) (2003). By its clear terms, this statute imposes a mandatory obligation that restitution be ordered whenever a defendant is convicted of a theft-related offense.”
State of Tennessee v. Ida Veronica Thomas (Tenn. Crim. App. 2021). “Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-20-116 mandates restitution of either the property or, if that is not possible, the value of the property in cases in which a defendant has been convicted of “stealing or feloniously taking or receiving property[.”
State of Tennessee v. Jimmy R. Griffin (Tenn. Crim. App. 2014). “Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-20-116 provides: Whenever a felon is convicted of stealing or feloniously taking or receiving property, or defrauding another of property, the jury shall ascertain the value of the property, if not previously restored to the owner, and the…”
State v. John Clark Garrison (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-116 (a). ANALYSIS Legality of Sentence The defendant first contends that the trial court erred in its finding that his sentence of incarceration and restitution was legal as a matter of law.”
State of Tennessee v. Barbara Ann Riggs (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). “T.C.A. § 40-20-116(a). Section 40-20-116(a) contemplates restitution to the victim of the property itself or the value of the property, whereas section 40-35-304 allows restitution for the victim’s “pecuniary loss,” consisting of special damages and “[r]easonable out-of-pocket…”
State of Tennessee v. Branden Michael Toth (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “While we agree that the trial court was required to order restitution, see T.C.A. § 40-20-116, and the failure to do so was error, we fail to see how the error completely invalidates the effective twelve-year sentence.”
State of Tennessee v. James Allen Ballew (Tenn. Crim. App. 2017). “]” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-116 (a) (2012). “The purpose of restitution is not only to compensate the victim but also to punish and rehabilitate the guilty.”
State of Tennessee v. Johnny Summers Cavin (Tenn. Crim. App. 2021). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-116 (a). The statute reads: 7 Whenever a felon is convicted of stealing or feloniously taking or receiving property, or defrauding another of property, the jury shall ascertain the value of the property, if not previously restored to the owner, and the…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-116(a) — 27 cases
State v. Vasser, 870 S.W.2d 543 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1993). “”); T.C.A. § 40-20-116(a) (“Whenever a felon is convicted of stealing or feloniously taking or receiving property, or defrauding another thereof, the jury shall ascertain the value of such property .”
State v. Cross, 93 S.W.3d 891 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). “Moreover, Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-20-116 provides, in pertinent part, that "[w]henever a felon is convicted of stealing .”
State of Tennessee v. Patricia White & Craig White (Tenn. Crim. App. 2004). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-116 (a) (2003). By its clear terms, this statute imposes a mandatory obligation that restitution be ordered whenever a defendant is convicted of a theft-related offense.”
State of Tennessee v. Barbara Ann Riggs (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). “T.C.A. § 40-20-116(a). Section 40-20-116(a) contemplates restitution to the victim of the property itself or the value of the property, whereas section 40-35-304 allows restitution for the victim’s “pecuniary loss,” consisting of special damages and “[r]easonable out-of-pocket…”
State v. John Clark Garrison (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-116 (a). ANALYSIS Legality of Sentence The defendant first contends that the trial court erred in its finding that his sentence of incarceration and restitution was legal as a matter of law.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-20-116(c) — 1 case
State v. Cross, 93 S.W.3d 891 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). “Moreover, Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-20-116 provides, in pertinent part, that "[w]henever a felon is convicted of stealing .”
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.