(a) Section 33-3-103 does not prohibit disclosure to a law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over felonious acts of bodily harm or sexual offenses that appear to have been committed on the premises of a facility whose records are made confidential by § 33-3-103.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-3-110
Department: means the department of mental health and substance abuse services. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
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.
sex: means a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person's biological sex. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) If the felonious act involves a sexual offense governed by title 37, chapter 1, part 6, and title 71, chapter 6, part 1, in a locality having a sex abuse crime unit, disclosure for law enforcement investigative purposes shall be made only to that unit of the law enforcement agency. This section does not limit the requirements of disclosure of reports of harm and access to records required by title 37, chapter 1, parts 4 and 6, and title 71, chapter 6, part 1, for investigations by the department of human services.(c) Permissible disclosure of a felonious act for the purpose of conducting a necessary investigation includes:
(1) The name of, and providing access to, witnesses or potential witnesses of the offense;(2) The name of, and providing access to, suspects or potential suspects of the offense; and(3) The scene of, and providing access to, where the offense occurred.
