Upon conviction for any felony, it shall be the judgment of the court that the defendant be infamous and be immediately disqualified from exercising the right of suffrage. No person so convicted shall be disqualified to testify in any action, civil or criminal, by reason of having been convicted of any felony, and the fact of conviction for any felony may only be used as a reflection upon the person's credibility as a witness.
Code 1858, § 5226 (deriv. Acts 1829, ch. 23, § 71); Shan., § 7199; mod. Code 1932, § 11762; Acts 1941, ch. 64, § 1; C. Supp. 1950, § 11762; Acts 1953, ch. 194, § 1; 1972, ch. 740, § 4(70); 1981, ch. 342, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-2712; Acts 1996, ch. 675, § 33.
Code Commission Notes.
Infamous crimes designated by this section prior to May 18, 1981, were: “abusing a female child, arson and felonious burning, bigamy, burglary, felonious breaking and entering a dwelling house, felonious breaking into a business house, outhouse other than a dwelling house, bribery, buggery, counterfeiting, violating any of the laws to suppress the same, forgery, incest, larceny, horse stealing, perjury, robbery, receiving stolen property, rape, sodomy, stealing bills of exchange or other valuable papers, subornation of perjury, and destroying a will.”
Cross-References. Acts purging registration, §2-2-106.
Criminal actions, U.S. Const., am. V.
Duties of election coordinator, §2-11-202.
Exclusion of right to vote for infamous criminals, Tenn. Const., art. IV, § 2.
Notice of infamy, §40-20-113.
Qualified voters, §2-2-102.
Restoration of suffrage, §§2-2-139,40-29-101.
Right of citizens to vote, U.S. Const., am. XV.
Right to suffrage, Tenn. Const., art. I, § 5.
Suffrage for persons convicted of infamous crimes, §2-19-143.
Textbooks. Tennessee Criminal Practice and Procedure (Raybin), §§ 25.45, 27.32, 32.64, 32.223.
Tennessee Jurisprudence, 4 Tenn. Juris., Automobiles, § 15; 6 Tenn. Juris., Citizenship, § 2; 8 Tenn. Juris., Criminal Procedure, § 49; 17 Tenn. Juris., Larceny and Theft, § 2; 25 Tenn. Juris., Witnesses, § 16.
Law Reviews.
Competency of Witnesses and the Trial of Frank James (Donald F. Paine), 37 No. 11 Tenn. B.J. 14 (2001).
Infamy as Ground of Disqualification in Tennessee, 22 Tenn. L. Rev. 544.