(a) The judges of the municipal courts or corporation courts and/or the judges of the courts of general sessions of the state of Tennessee are hereby vested with the jurisdiction to grant the writ of habeas corpus in all cases wherein any person is being unreasonably held or detained by any municipal official or authority without a warrant of arrest having been issued prior to such detention and against whom no formal charges have been made or placed and who has not been taken before a committing magistrate.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 29-21-106

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
(b) The petition for such writ of habeas corpus shall be sworn to and shall recite generally that the petitioner is presently being detained without charges; that the petitioner is being held by municipal authorities and/or officials; that petitioner was arrested without a warrant and has not been docketed or charged with any offenses and has not been brought before a committing magistrate.
(c) It is the expressed intention of the general assembly to confer on the municipal or corporation courts and general sessions courts of this state, and the judges thereof, the jurisdiction to inquire into the detention of any person being held by municipal authorities and/or officials wherein no warrant for arrest has been issued or any formal charges have been made.
(d) No application for habeas corpus made under this section shall be required to be brought pursuant to § 29-21-105, it being the legislative intent that habeas corpus petitions pursuant to this section shall not be required to be brought before the general sessions or municipal courts but that such petitions may be permitted to be brought before such courts.
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