(a) When a criminal action is pending in a court of record of this state by reason of the filing of an indictment or presentment or by reason of the commencement of a grand jury proceeding or investigation, if:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 40-17-212

  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
  • Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
  • 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.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • 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
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: includes any territory of the United States and the District of Columbia. See Tennessee Code 40-17-202
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Witness: includes a person whose testimony is desired in any proceeding or investigation by a grand jury or in a criminal action, prosecution or proceeding. See Tennessee Code 40-17-202
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
(1) There is reasonable cause to believe that a person confined in a federal prison or other federal custody, either within or outside this state, possesses information material to criminal action; and
(2) The attendance of the person as a witness in the action is desired by a party;

the court may issue a certificate, known as a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum, addressed to the attorney general of the United States certifying all such facts and requesting the attorney general to cause the attendance of the person as a witness in that court for a specified number of days.

(b) The certificate may be issued upon application of either the state or defendant demonstrating all the facts specified in this section.
(c) Upon issuing the certificate, the court shall deliver it, or cause or authorize it to be delivered, to the attorney general or to the attorney general’s representative authorized to entertain the request.
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