Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-315 (2026)
Jurisdiction of sentencing court to order work release
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) In any case in which a defendant has been sentenced to a local jail or workhouse or is at a local jail or workhouse subject to § 40-35-212, and the administrative authority of the institution has not formulated a program for work release, the sentencing court shall have jurisdiction to order work release as a part of a sentence, either at the time of sentencing or as a part of any subsequent sentence modification, upon conditions to be set by the sentencing court. This section shall apply to convictions under § 55-10-401 after the mandatory minimum sentences have been served.
- (b)
- (1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the sentencing court shall not be authorized to order work release as part of the sentence of a person convicted of a sexual offense or violent sexual offense as defined in § 40-39-202.
- (2) As used in subdivision (b)(1), "work release" includes any assignment to a work crew in which a prisoner is permitted to go out into the community, whether supervised or unsupervised, but does not include a work assignment to TRICOR or any TRICOR facility.
Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 6; 1990, ch. 980, § 27; 2008, ch. 901, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1999–2025 · leading case: State v. Morrow, 75 S.W.3d 919 (Tenn. 2002).
State v. Morrow, 75 S.W.3d 919 (Tenn. 2002). “Section 40-35-315 of the Tennessee Code Annotated states that "the sentencing court shall have jurisdiction to order work release as a part of a sentence, either at the time of sentencing or as a part of any subsequent sentence modification.”
State v. Kevin DeWayne Steen (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-315 . However, this statute expressly provides that it applies only to DUI offenders “after the mandatory minimum sentences have been served.”
State of Tennessee v. Pervis Tyrone Payne (Tenn. 2025). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-315 (b) (1983) (“[O]nce the judgment becomes final in the trial court, such court shall have no jurisdiction or authority to change the sentence in any manner.”
State of Tennessee v. William Chandler Daniels (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). “1 To be sure, subsection (c)(7) concerns a relatively limited set of circumstances: work release under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-315. Section 315 gives a trial court authority to order work release when the defendant is at the local jail or workhouse pursuant to…”
State of Tennessee v. Terrance Dwain Norton (Tenn. Crim. App. 2005). “As the Appellant committed a crime in Tennessee and was 2 Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-315 (2003) provides in pertinent part: In any case in which a defendant has been sentenced to a local jail or workhouse .”
State of Tennessee v. Terrance Dwain Norton (Tenn. Crim. App. 2005). “As the Appellant committed a crime in Tennessee and was 2 Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-315 (2003) provides in pertinent part: In any case in which a defendant has been sentenced to a local jail or workhouse .”
State of Tennessee v. Nicholas Cole (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “ion, or both; (4) A sentence of periodic confinement that may be served in a local jail or workhouse in conjunction with a term of probation; - 12 - (5) A sentence of continuous confinement to be served in a local jail or workhouse in conjunction with a term of probation; (6) A…”
State of Tennessee v. Andrew Young Kim (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). “estitution, or both; (4) A sentence of periodic confinement that may be served in a local jail or workhouse in conjunction with a term of probation; (5) A sentence of continuous confinement to be served in a local jail or workhouse in conjunction with a term of probation; (6) A…”
State of Tennessee v. Jerry Reginald Burkes (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). “estitution, or both; (4) A sentence of periodic confinement that may be served in a local jail or workhouse in conjunction with a term of probation; (5) A sentence of continuous confinement to be served in a local jail or workhouse in conjunction with a term of probation; (6) A…”
State v. James Clinton Wolford (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “§40-35-315 . Accordingly, the appellant argues that he, although periodically confined, was technically under no sentence as no judgment had been entered.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-315(a) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. William Chandler Daniels (Tenn. Crim. App. 2010). “1 To be sure, subsection (c)(7) concerns a relatively limited set of circumstances: work release under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-315. Section 315 gives a trial court authority to order work release when the defendant is at the local jail or workhouse pursuant to…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
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