§ 40-38-507 — Criminal proceedings notification system

(a) As an extension of the existing victim notification system created by this part, the Tennessee sheriffs' association shall establish a criminal proceedings notification system as a pilot program for the purpose of increasing the transparency and efficiency of the criminal justice process by providing timely information about each stage of the criminal process to interested parties. (b) The information in the criminal proceedings notification system must be available twenty-four (24) hours per day over the telephone, through the internet, or by email. Any interested party may register with the Tennessee sheriffs' association to be automatically notified: (1) At least twenty-four (24) hours before any hearing in the matter for which the person registered, including, but not limited to, bail hearing, pretrial hearings, trial, and sentencing. The notice must include information on what type of hearing will occur and the date, time, and location for the hearing; and (2) No more than twenty-four (24) hours after a hearing was conducted in the matter for which the person registered. The notice must include information on whether the hearing occurred as scheduled and, if so, a brief summary of the outcome of the hearing. (c) Funding for the criminal proceedings notification system must be appropriated by the general assembly, and moneys from the statewide automated victim information and notification system fund created in § 67-4-602(h)(2) must not be used for the criminal proceedings notification system. (d) The pilot program established by this section begins July 1, 2022, and ends June 30, 2025.

Legislative History

Added by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1140, s 1, eff. 6/3/2022.