(a) Criminal action shall commence only on criminal indictment or the issuance of a warrant by a judge of any court of record; provided, that the commencement of any criminal action shall be made only with the prior knowledge and written approval of the district attorney general or any assistant district attorney general.
criminal case

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-17-908

  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • 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
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Sections 39-17-901 – 39-17-908 may be enforced by either criminal actions or by actions for injunctive relief, or both, and the actions may be commenced simultaneously and proceed independently of each other.
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