(a) Any child committed to the department for an offense punishable by confinement in the penitentiary may be retained in a youth center until such child’s nineteenth birthday, or at any time after the child’s eighteenth birthday, when found to be incorrigible by the superintendent, subject to agreement between the commissioner of correction and the commissioner of children’s services, may be transferred to the penitentiary. The authority for transferring such children eighteen (18) years of age or older shall be upon warrant issued by the commissioner, such warrant to contain the name of the child, age at conviction and at the transfer, and the offense for which committed. The superintendent shall furnish to the warden of the penitentiary the original commitment papers in the case.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 37-5-206

  • Adult: means , as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 37-5-103
  • Child: means :
    (i) A person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 37-5-103
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of children's services. See Tennessee Code 37-5-103
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Department: means the department of children's services. See Tennessee Code 37-5-103
  • 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.
  • Youth development center: means a hardware secure facility that houses children who have been adjudicated delinquent and who meet the criteria as established by the department for placement at such facility. See Tennessee Code 37-5-103
(b) A child sixteen (16) years of age or older, confined in a youth development center approved, certified, or licensed by the department and who escapes therefrom commits a Class A misdemeanor and may be prosecuted as an adult in the court having jurisdiction of the offense pursuant to § 37-1-134. The superintendent of the youth development center shall notify the district attorney general in the district in which the escape was effected that the escape has occurred and the facts relating thereto.