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HB1353 • 2026

Criminal Offenses

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 16, relative to interference with government operations.

Crime Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Littleton, Roberts
Last action
2025-05-15
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 468
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact penalties for violating this law are not specified in the provided official source material.

Law to Protect People Involved in Court Cases

This law makes it a crime for someone to harm or threaten to harm people involved in court cases and their family members with the goal of stopping, scaring, or punishing them.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a new felony offense when someone harms or threatens to harm an individual involved in the judicial process or that person's family member with the intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with, or retaliate against the individual in connection with their participation in the judicial process.
  • Defines 'individual involved in the judicial process' as including judges, former judges, court employees, district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, public defenders, assistant public defenders, law enforcement officers, clerks, and employees of these officials.
  • Expands the definition of 'family member' to include stepchildren.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People involved in court cases, such as judges, lawyers, witnesses, jurors, and law enforcement officers.
  • Family members of those people who are also protected under the law.

Terms To Know

Class E felony
A serious crime that can result in a prison sentence.
Judicial process
The system of courts and legal procedures used to resolve disputes and enforce laws.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify the exact penalties for violating this law.
  • Effective date is July 1, 2025, meaning it will be enforced starting from that day.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB1353

Plain English: The amendment changes a part of Tennessee law to redefine who is considered an 'individual involved in the judicial process'.

  • Expands the list of people covered under 'individuals involved in the judicial process' to include more specific roles such as employees of judges, district attorneys, and public defenders.
  • The exact impact on current laws or enforcement is not detailed in this amendment text.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1399

Plain English: The amendment changes a part of Tennessee law to redefine who is considered an 'individual involved in the judicial process'.

  • Expands the list of people covered under 'individuals involved in the judicial process' to include more specific roles such as employees of judges, district attorneys, and public defenders.
  • The exact impact on current laws or enforcement is not detailed in this amendment text.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 468

  2. 2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  3. 2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 468

  4. 2025-05-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-05-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  11. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 92, Nays 0, PNV 0

  12. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0373)

  13. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  14. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/21/2025

  15. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/17/2025

  16. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  18. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  19. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/17/2025

  20. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  21. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  22. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 30, Nays 0

  23. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0206)

  24. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025

  25. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  26. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/15/2025

  27. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 4/15/2025

  28. 2025-04-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/14/2025

  29. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025

  30. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  31. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  32. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  33. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 4/14/2025

  34. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/9/2025

  35. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 4/9/2025

  36. 2025-04-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/7/2025

  37. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/9/2025

  38. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  39. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/2/2025

  40. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/2/2025

  41. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 0 PNV 1

  42. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/26/2025

  43. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/26/2025

  44. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2025

  45. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/19/2025

  46. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/19/2025

  47. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/12/2025

  48. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/12/2025

  49. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/5/2025

  50. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/5/25

  51. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/26/2025

  52. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  53. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  54. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  55. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  56. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  57. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  58. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Under present law, a person commits the Class E felony offense of retaliation
for past action who harms or threatens to harm a witness at an official proceeding, judge, district attorney general, an assistant district attorney general, an employee of the district attorney general or a law enforcement officer, clerk, employee of th
e
clerk, juror or former juror, or a family member of any such person, by any unlawful act in retaliation for anything the witness, judge, district attorney general, assistant district attorney general, employee of the district attorney general or a law en
f
orcement officer, clerk, employee of the clerk, or juror did in an official capacity as witness, judge, district attorney general, assistant district attorney general, employee of the district attorney general or a law enforcement officer, clerk, employee

of the clerk, or juror. The offense of retaliation for past action shall not apply to an employee of a clerk who harms or threatens to harm the clerk.

This bill revises present law to instead provide that a person commits a Class E felony offense who ha
rms or threatens to harm an individual involved in the judicial process or a family member of such person with the intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with, or retaliate against the individual in connection with the individual's participation in the j
u
dicial process. This bill adds stepchildren to the definition of "family member" for purposes of the offense. This bill also defines "individual involved in the judicial process" to mean a witness, a judge or former judge, an employee of the court, a di
s
trict attorney general, an assistant district attorney general, an employee of the district attorney general, a law enforcement officer, clerk, an employee of the clerk, a juror or former juror, a district public defender, an assistant district public def
e
nder, or an employee of the district public defender.

ON APRIL 15, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1399, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 revises the definition of an "i
ndividual involved in the judicial process
" by (i) changing 'an employee of the court' to 'an employee of the judge' and (ii) adding the following persons: a
former district attorney general
, a
former assistant district attorney general
, a
former law enforcement officer
, a former clerk, a
former district public defender
, and a
former assistant district public defender
.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 1399
By Roberts

HOUSE BILL 1353
By Littleton

HB1353
003163
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
Chapter 16, relative to interference with
government operations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-16-510(a), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting instead the following:
(a)
(1) A person commits an offense who harms or threatens to harm an
individual involved in the judicial process or a family member of such person with
the intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with, or retaliate against the individual in
connection with the individual's participation in the judicial process.
(2) As used in subdivision (a)(1):
(A) "Family member" means an individual's spouse, parent,
grandparent, stepparent, child, grandchild, stepchild, sibling, half-sibling,
or spouse's parents; and
(B) "Individual involved in the judicial process" means:
(i) A witness;
(ii) A judge or former judge;
(iii) An employee of the court;
(iv) A district attorney general;
(v) An assistant district attorney general;
(vi) An employee of the district attorney general;
(vii) A law enforcement officer;

- 2 - 003163

(viii) A clerk;
(ix) An employee of the clerk;
(x) A juror or former juror;
(xi) A district public defender;
(xii) An assistant district public defender; or
(xiii) An employee of the district public defender.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.