§ 39-16-507 — Coercion or persuasion of witness

(a) A person commits an offense who, by means of coercion, influences or attempts to influence a witness or prospective witness in an official proceeding with intent to influence the witness to: (1) Testify falsely; (2) Withhold any truthful testimony, truthful information, document or thing; or (3) Elude legal process summoning the witness to testify or supply evidence, or to be absent from an official proceeding to which the witness has been legally summoned. (b) A violation of this section is a Class D felony. (c) A defendant in a criminal case involving domestic assault, pursuant to § 39-13-111 , or a person acting at the direction of the defendant, commits an offense who, by any means of persuasion that is not coercion, intentionally influences or attempts to influence a witness or prospective witness in an official proceeding to: (1) Testify falsely; (2) Withhold any truthful testimony, information, document, or evidence; or (3) Elude legal process summoning the witness to testify or supply evidence, or to be absent from an official proceeding to which the witness has been legally summoned. (d) A violation of subsection (c) is a Class A misdemeanor and, upon conviction, the sentence runs consecutively to the sentence for any other offense that is based in whole or in part on the factual allegations about which the person was seeking to influence a witness. (e) Nothing in this section shall operate to impede the investigative activities of an attorney representing a defendant.

Legislative History

Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 104,s 1, eff. 7/1/2019. Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 1990, ch. 980, § 8.