(a) The board may determine the rules of its proceedings, subject to this charter, and may arrest and punish by fine any member or other person guilty of disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class C misdemeanorup to 30 daysup to $50
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 6-20-211

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Board: means the mayor and the aldermen. See Tennessee Code 6-1-101
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • 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
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
(b)

(1) The board has the power and may delegate it to any committee to:

(A) Subpoena witnesses, and order the production of books and papers relating to any subject within its jurisdiction;
(B) Call upon its own officers or the chief of police to execute its process; and
(C) Arrest and punish by fine or imprisonment, or both, any person refusing to obey such subpoena or order.
(2) The refusal to obey a subpoena or order of the board is a Class C misdemeanor.
(c) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor, and each day’s continuance in any refusal to comply with the requirements of this section is a separate offense.
(d) The board’s presiding officer or the chair of any committee may administer oaths to witnesses.
(e) The board shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and the yeas and nays on all questions shall be entered thereon.
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