(a) A person commits a Class E felony who:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-3-901

  • Chief officer: means the person with overall authority for a public or private hospital or treatment resource, or the person's designee. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Hospital: means a public or private hospital or facility or part of a hospital or facility equipped to provide inpatient care and treatment for persons with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Mental illness: means a psychiatric disorder, alcohol dependence, or drug dependence, but does not include intellectual disability or other developmental disabilities as defined in title 52. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Serious emotional disturbance: means a condition in a child who currently or at any time during the past year has had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet psychiatric diagnostic criteria that results in functional impairment that substantially interferes with or limits the child's role or functioning in family, school, or community activities and includes any mental disorder, regardless of whether it is of biological etiology. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Treatment resource: means any public or private facility, service, or program providing treatment or rehabilitation services for mental illness or serious emotional disturbance, including, but not limited to, detoxification centers, hospitals, community mental health centers, clinics or programs, halfway houses, and rehabilitation centers. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
(1) Without probable cause to believe a person has developmental disability, mental illness, or serious emotional disturbance, causes or conspires with or assists a third person to cause the hospitalization or admission of the person under this title; or
(2) Causes or conspires with or assists another to cause the denial to a person of any right accorded to a person under this title.
(b) A person commits a Class E felony who:

(1) Without probable cause to believe a person has developmental disability, mental illness, or serious emotional disturbance executes a petition, application, or certificate under this title, or otherwise secures or attempts to secure the apprehension, detention, hospitalization, admission, or restraint of the person; or
(2) Knowingly makes any false certificate or application under this title.
(c) The commissioner or the chief officer of any hospital, developmental center, or treatment resource acting pursuant to this title shall be entitled to rely in good faith upon the representations made for admission by any person or any certification with respect to any person made by a professional authorized to provide certificates under this title or any court.
(d) All persons acting in good faith, reasonably and without negligence in connection with the preparation of petitions, applications, certificates or other documents or the apprehension, detention, discharge, examination, transportation or treatment of a person under this title shall be free from all liability, civil or criminal, by reason of the acts.