(a) A person commits an offense who knowingly wears a body vest, when acting either alone or with one (1) or more other persons, while committing:

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
criminal case

Have a question?
Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-17-1323

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Handgun: means any firearm with a barrel length of less than twelve inches (12") that is designed, made or adapted to be fired with one (1) hand. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
(1) Any felony whose statutory elements involve the use or threat of violence to a human being;
(2) Any burglary, car-jacking, theft of a motor vehicle, or arson; or
(3) Any felony offense involving a controlled substance or controlled substance analogue.
(b) For purposes of this section, a “body vest” means a bullet-resistant soft armor providing, as a minimum standard, the level of protection known as threat level I which shall mean at least seven (7) layers of bullet-resistant material providing protection from three (3) shots of one hundred fifty-eight-grain lead ammunition fired from a .38 caliber handgun at a velocity of eight hundred fifty feet (850′) per second.
(c) The unlawful wearing of a body vest is a Class E felony.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the possession of a body vest for lawful purposes.
(e) Any sentence imposed under this section shall run consecutively to any other sentence imposed for the conviction of the underlying offense.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Part 13 Contents