Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-6-206 (2026)
Time of issuance and return - Misdemeanor cases
✓ current as of May 2026
Any process, warrant, precept or summons authorized to be issued by any of the judges or clerks of the court, in any criminal prosecution on behalf of the state, may be issued at any time and made returnable to any day of the term. In a misdemeanor case, if a process, warrant, precept or summons has not been served, returned or quashed within five (5) years from the date of its issuance, the process, warrant, precept or summons shall be automatically terminated and removed from the records.
Code 1858, § 5031 (deriv. Acts 1794, ch. 1, § 10); Shan., § 6991; Code 1932, § 11530; impl. am. Acts 1979, ch. 68, § 3; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-705; Acts 1993, ch. 387, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2
cases, 2005–2013 · leading case: State v. Davis, 238 S.W.3d 330 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2005).
State v. Davis, 238 S.W.3d 330 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2005). “On appeal, the defendant asserts that, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-6-206, the capias was void after five years, with the trial court thus lacking jurisdiction to impose sentence; and she was denied her right to a speedy trial.”
State of Tennessee v. Michael J. Fryar (Tenn. Crim. App. 2013). “Specifically, he argued that the misdemeanor theft charges were barred because the arrest warrants were not executed within the five-year time limit provided by Code section 40-6- 206, see T.C.A. § 40-6-206 (“In a misdemeanor case, if a process, warrant, precept or summons has…”
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