(a) Any clerk of court that maintains records of an adjudication as a mental defective or a judicial commitment to a mental institution pursuant to chapter 6 or chapter 7 shall, in accordance with the procedures outlined in title 16, disclose the following information set out in subsection (b) solely for the purposes of complying with §§ 39-17-1316, 39-17-1351, 39-17-1352, 16-1-117(a)(6) and the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Public Law 110-180.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-3-115

  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Department: means the department of mental health and substance abuse services. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Hospital: means a public or private hospital or facility or part of a hospital or facility equipped to provide inpatient care and treatment for persons with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Mental illness: means a psychiatric disorder, alcohol dependence, or drug dependence, but does not include intellectual disability or other developmental disabilities as defined in title 52. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • 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
  • 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
  • Treatment resource: means any public or private facility, service, or program providing treatment or rehabilitation services for mental illness or serious emotional disturbance, including, but not limited to, detoxification centers, hospitals, community mental health centers, clinics or programs, halfway houses, and rehabilitation centers. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(b) The following information shall be collected and reported to the federal bureau of investigation-NICS Index, and the department of safety, pursuant to this subsection (b):

(1) Complete name and all aliases of the individual judicially committed or adjudicated as a mental defective, including, but not limited to, any names that the individual may have had or currently has by reason of marriage or otherwise;
(2) Case or docket number of the judicial commitment or the adjudication as a mental defective;
(3) Date judicial commitment ordered or adjudication as a mental defective was made;
(4) Private or state hospital or treatment resource to which the individual was judicially committed;
(5) Date of birth of the individual judicially committed or adjudicated as a mental defective, if such information has been provided to the clerk;
(6) Race and sex of the individual judicially committed or adjudicated as a mental defective; and
(7) Social security number of the individual judicially committed or adjudicated as a mental defective if available.
(c) The information in subdivisions (b)(1) – (7), the confidentiality of which is protected by other statutes or regulations, shall be maintained as confidential and not subject to public inspection pursuant to such statutes or regulations, except for such use as may be necessary in the conduct of any proceeding pursuant to §§ 38-6-109, 39-17-1316, and 39-17-1352 – 39-17-1354.
(d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Judicial commitment to a mental institution” means a judicially ordered involuntary admission to a private or state hospital or treatment resource in proceedings conducted pursuant to title 33, chapter 6 or title 33, chapter 7;
(2) “Adjudication as a mental defective or adjudicated as a mental defective” means:

(A) A determination by a court in this state that a person, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, mental illness, incompetency, condition or disease:

(i) Is a danger to such person or to others; or
(ii) Lacks the ability to contract or manage such person’s own affairs due to mental defect;
(B) A finding of insanity by a court in a criminal proceeding; or
(C) A finding that a person is incompetent to stand trial or is found not guilty by reason of insanity pursuant to 50a and 72b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (10 U.S.C. §§ 850a, 876b).
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