(a) Before imposing sentence or making other disposition upon acceptance of a plea of guilty or upon a verdict or finding of guilty, the court shall conduct a sentencing hearing without unreasonable delay, but in no event more than forty-five (45) days after the finding of guilt, except as provided in § 40-35-203(b) relating to agreed sentences and § 40-35-203(c) relating to capital crimes. The court, upon the request of either party and with good cause shown, shall continue the sentencing hearing for at least five (5) days, but not more than thirty (30) days, after the filing of a presentence report, unless either party shows good cause for further postponement or unless these time constraints will unduly prejudice the position of either party.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 40-35-209

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Presentence report: A report prepared by a court's probation officer, after a person has been convicted of an offense, summarizing for the court the background information needed to determine the appropriate sentence. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. 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
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
(b) At the sentencing hearing, the court shall afford the parties the opportunity to be heard and present evidence relevant to the sentencing of the defendant and may afford the victim of the offense or the family of the victim the opportunity to testify relevant to the sentencing of the defendant. The court may allow the parties to subpoena witnesses and call or cross-examine witnesses, including, but not limited to, the person who prepared the presentence report and any person whose information contained in the presentence report is relevant to the sentencing decision. At the sentencing hearing, the district attorney general shall be the first party to present evidence and then the defendant shall have an opportunity to present evidence. Both parties may be allowed to call witnesses in rebuttal. The rules of evidence shall apply, except that reliable hearsay, including, but not limited to, certified copies of convictions or documents, may be admitted if the opposing party is accorded a fair opportunity to rebut any hearsay evidence so admitted; provided, that this subsection (b) shall not be construed to authorize the introduction of any evidence secured in violation of the United States or Tennessee constitutions.
(c) A record of the sentencing hearing is kept and preserved in the same manner as trial records. The record of the sentencing hearing is part of the record of the case and shall include specific findings of fact upon which application of the sentencing principles was based.
(d)

(1) Whenever a defendant is sentenced for a felony to the custody of the department of correction or a local jail or workhouse, the sentencing court shall transmit to the commissioner of correction or the superintendent of the local jail or workhouse a copy of the defendant’s presentence report when one is prepared in accordance with this chapter. If the presentence report was controverted at the sentencing hearing, the court shall order the report modified to incorporate any findings of the court that are inconsistent with the original report, and the defendant shall be entitled to file a statement in response to the presentence report and the court’s findings. If there is no presentence report and the defendant is sentenced for a felony to the department or local jail or workhouse, the court shall direct the presentence service officer to make an investigation and report in conformity with § 40-35-207. The clerk shall, within ten (10) days after entry of the judgment of conviction of the defendant to a local jail or workhouse, transmit to the superintendent of the institution the original or modified presentence report and shall, within ten (10) days after receiving statements from the counsel for the defendant, transmit a copy to the superintendent and a copy to the district attorney general; provided, that this requirement shall not be cause for delay in conveying the defendant to the local institution to which the defendant has been committed. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no defendant sentenced to the custody of the department shall be committed or conveyed to the department unaccompanied by the completed presentence report or investigation and report required by this section.
(2) The department has the authority to employ a sufficient number of presentence service officers to provide the additional reports required by this subsection (d).
(3) In those counties wherein a presentence report is prepared upon instructions of the court before the trial of any person, the presentence report shall not be commented upon or read to the jury by the judge or the district attorney general or defense counsel.
(e)

(1) After the defendant is sentenced, the district attorney general shall complete and file within thirty (30) days the uniform judgment document for the conviction that is signed by all parties; but if not signed by the parties, the clerk shall make a copy of the document available to the parties before entry by the court, which shall indicate for each offense the following:

(A) The type of offense for which the defendant was charged and convicted and the sentence imposed;
(B) Whether the defendant was sentenced as a standard offender;
(C) Whether the defendant was sentenced as a multiple offender;
(D) Whether the defendant was sentenced as a persistent offender;
(E) Whether the defendant was sentenced as a career offender;
(F) Whether the defendant was sentenced as a repeat violent offender;
(G) Whether the defendant was sentenced as a one hundred percent (100%) offender pursuant to § 40-35-501(i);
(H) Whether the defendant was sentenced as an especially mitigated offender;
(I) Whether the sentence was to a local jail;
(J) Whether the sentence was to a local workhouse;
(K) Whether the sentence was to the department;
(L) Whether the sentence was to probation supervision;
(M) Whether the sentence was to continuous confinement or periodic confinement followed by a period of probation supervision;
(N) Whether the sentence was to a community-based alternative to incarceration as provided in chapter 36 of this title;
(O) Whether the sentence runs concurrently or consecutively with any other sentence;
(P) The amount, if any, of pretrial jail credit awarded pursuant to § 40-23-101;
(Q) The social security number of the defendant;
(R) The date of birth of defendant; and
(S) The date the conviction offense was committed.
(2) After the defendant is sentenced the uniform judgment document completed by the district attorney general is a public record and is available to anyone upon request.
(f) The supreme court shall promulgate a uniform judgment document for use by the trial judges in this state, and the trial judges shall employ that document for each criminal case resulting in a conviction.
(g) If the judgment of conviction does not include the information required in subsection (e), it shall be returned to the sentencing court to be completed.
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