Tennessee Code 38-5-101 – Affidavit required to hold inquest
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 38-5-101
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- 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
- 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
No inquest shall be held by the coroner or any court of general sessions over the dead body of any person until an affidavit, in writing, is made and signed by two (2) or more reliable persons, averring the death of the person and that there is good reason to believe that the person died by unlawful violence at the hands of some other person; and without the affidavit, in writing, the coroner or court shall have no jurisdiction to hold an inquest over the dead body of any person, and all proceedings without the affidavit shall be utterly void and useless. Unless this section is literally, rigidly, and strictly complied with, and the affidavit filed with the papers, the coroner or court shall receive no fees or compensation for holding the inquest.