(a) Any investigative or law enforcement officer who, by any means authorized by this part or §§ 39-13-601 – 39-13-603, has obtained knowledge of the contents of any wire, oral or electronic communication, or evidence derived therefrom, may disclose such contents to another investigative or law enforcement officer to the extent that disclosure is appropriate to the proper performance of the official duties of the officer making or receiving the disclosure.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 40-6-306

  • Contents: when used with respect to any wire, oral or electronic communication, includes any information concerning the substance, purport or meaning of that communication. See Tennessee Code 40-6-303
  • Electronic communication: means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by the aid of wire, radio, electromagnetic, photooptical or photoelectronic facilities, but does not include:
    (A) Any wire or oral communication. See Tennessee Code 40-6-303
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Investigative or law enforcement officer: means :
    (A) In all counties having a population in excess of two hundred fifty thousand (250,000), according to the 1990 federal census or any subsequent federal census:
    (i) Any officer of the state or a political subdivision of the state, who:
    (a) Is empowered by law to conduct investigations of or to make arrests for offenses enumerated in §. See Tennessee Code 40-6-303
  • 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
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Any investigative or law enforcement officer who, by any means authorized by this part or §§ 39-13-601 – 39-13-603, has obtained knowledge of the contents of any wire, oral or electronic communication or evidence derived therefrom may use the contents to the extent the use is appropriate to the proper performance of the officer’s official duties.
(c) Any person who has received, by any means authorized by this part or §§ 39-13-601 – 39-13-603, any information concerning a wire, oral or electronic communication, or evidence derived therefrom, intercepted in accordance with this part or §§ 39-13-601 – 39-13-603 may disclose the contents of that communication or derivative evidence while giving testimony under oath or affirmation in any proceeding held under the authority of the state of Tennessee, or a political subdivision of the state, or of the United States, or a political subdivision of the United States.
(d) Nothing in this part or §§ 39-13-601 – 39-13-603 shall be construed as permitting the interception of a wire, oral or electronic communication that is made privileged by law unless the judge issuing the order for the interception finds probable cause to believe that all parties to the privileged communication are criminally responsible for the commission of a homicide offense, conspiracy to commit a homicide offense or commission of a violation of § 39-17-417(j).
(e) When an investigative or law enforcement officer, while engaged in intercepting wire, oral or electronic communications in the manner authorized in this part, intercepts wire, oral or electronic communications relating to offenses other than those specified in the order of authorization, the contents thereof and evidence derived therefrom, may be disclosed or used as provided in subsections (a) and (b). The contents and any evidence derived therefrom may be used under subsection (c) when authorized by a judge of competent jurisdiction where the judge finds on subsequent application that the contents were otherwise intercepted in accordance with this part or §§ 39-13-601 – 39-13-603. The application shall be made as soon as practicable after the interception.