(a) In all contested custody cases involving unmarried parties and where a paternity test by an accredited laboratory is known to exist or has been requested of or by the court, the court shall, consistent with due process, expedite the contested custody proceeding by entering such scheduling orders as are necessary to ensure that the case is not delayed, and such case must be given priority in setting a final hearing of the proceeding and must be heard at the earliest possible date over all other civil litigation other than contested adoption and termination of parental rights cases pursuant to § 36-1-124 and child protective services cases arising under title 37, chapter 1, parts 1, 4, and 6.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 36-2-314
Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
Court: means the juvenile court or any trial court with general jurisdiction. See Tennessee Code 36-2-302
Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
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
Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(b) In all contested custody cases involving unmarried parties that are appealed from the decision of a trial court, the appellate court shall, consistent with its rules, expedite the contested custody case if a paternity test by an accredited laboratory is a part of the record, by entering such scheduling orders as are necessary to ensure that the case is not delayed, and such case must be given priority over all other civil litigation, other than contested adoption and termination of parental rights cases pursuant to § 36-1-124 and child protective services cases arising under title 37, chapter 1, parts 1, 4, and 6.(c) It is the intent of the general assembly that the permanency of the placement of a child who is the subject of a contested custody proceeding involving unmarried parties and a paternity test by an accredited laboratory not be delayed any longer than is absolutely necessary consistent with the rights of all parties, but that the rights of the child to permanency at the earliest possible date be given priority over all other civil litigation other than adoption and termination of parental rights cases pursuant to § 36-1-124 and child protective services cases arising under title 37, chapter 1, parts 1, 4, and 6.
