Preliminary Proceedings

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Judges of the courts of general sessions are authorized and empowered to:

  1. Make the preliminary examination and bind over the reputed father in bastardy cases;
  2. Summon a jury of inquest in cases of death by accident, as provided in § 38-5-103;
  3. Issue a warrant for a prisoner escaped from jail;
  4. Examine persons arrested for a crime;
  5. Bind a defendant over to court if probable cause be found; and
  6. Take bail in bailable offenses brought before the judges.

Code 1858, § 4970 (deriv. Acts 1715, ch. 16, § 1; 1741, ch. 14, § 10; 1777, ch. 8, § 9; 1817, ch. 100, § 1; 1825, ch. 36, § 4; 1831, ch. 4, § 1); Shan., § 6931; Code 1932, § 11470; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-401; Acts 1993, ch. 241, § 58.

Cross-References. Arrest for intoxication, §§33-10-202 and33-10-203.

Initial appearance and preliminary examination, Tenn. R. Crim. P. 5, 5.1.

Jurisdiction of general sessions courts, §§16-15-401,16-15-501,40-1-109.

Law Reviews.

The Right to a Preliminary Hearing and Effective Assistance of Counsel at a Preliminary Hearing in Tennessee, 43 Tenn. L. Rev. 635 (1976).


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