Court Rules

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Court Rules

Except in cases involving juvenile traffic offenders, present law generally authorizes files and records of the court in a proceeding to be open to inspection only by certain persons and entities.

What This Bill Does

• Except in cases involving juvenile traffic offenders, present law generally authorizes files and records of the court in a proceeding to be open to inspection only by certain persons and entities.
• However, petitions and orders of the court in a delinque ncy proceeding must be open to public inspection and their contents subject to disclosure to the public if either of the following are true:  The juvenile is 14 or older at the time of the alleged act and the conduct constituting the delinquent act, if committed by an adult, would constitute first degree murder, second degree murder, rape, aggravated rape, aggravated sexual battery, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, or especially aggravated kidnapping.
•  The conduct constituting the delinquent act, if committed by an adult, would constitute an act of terrorism or an attempt to commit an act of terrorism.
• This bill removes this above-described exception that opens certain petitions and orders of the court to the public, and provides, instead, that generally petitions and orders of the court in a delinquency or unruly proceeding are open to inspection only by any of the following:  A judge, magistrate, officer, or professional staff of a court with juvenile jurisdiction in this state when acting in the course of official duties.

Limits and Unknowns

• This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Official Summary Text

Except in cases involving juvenile traffic offenders, present law generally authorizes files and records of the court in a proceeding to be open to inspection only by certain persons and entities. However, petitions and orders of the court in a delinque
ncy proceeding must be open to public inspection and their contents subject to disclosure to the public if either of the following are true:



The juvenile is 14 or older at the time of the alleged act and the conduct constituting the delinquent act, if committed by an adult, would constitute first degree murder, second degree murder, rape, aggravated rape, aggravated sexual battery, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, or especially aggravated kidnapping.



The conduct constituting the delinquent act, if committed by an adult, would constitute an act of terrorism or an attempt to commit an act of terrorism.

This bill removes this above-described exception that opens certain petitions and orders of the court to the public, and provides, instead, that generally petitions and orders of the court in a delinquency or unruly proceeding are open to inspection only
by any of the following:


A judge, magistrate, officer, or professional staff of a court with juvenile jurisdiction in this state when acting in the course of official duties.



A district attorney general or assistant district attorney general when the inspection relates to the performance of official duties in a matter involving a child.



A public defender or assistant public defender when the inspection relates to the performance of official duties in a matter involving a child.

This bill prohibits such a person with access to a petition or order from disclosing, releasing, or disseminating the information except as otherwise permitted by this bill or other applicable law.

ON MARCH 23, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2219, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, require e
ach juvenile court, through the juvenile court clerk or juvenile court staff,
to,
each month, within the statewide juvenile case management system prescribed by the administrative office of the courts, report to the administrative office of the courts
e
ach new dependency and neglect case, including for each child named in the petition
, all of the following information:



The date the case was filed or opened
.


The referring agency or person filing the petition
.


The statutory allegations in the petition
.


The child's unique child ID number, which may be the same number used if the child has a delinquent or unruly case
.


The unique case or docket number, followed by -01, -02, -03 for each child named in the petition.


The child's name, date of birth, race, sex, ethnicity, and social security number.

For each
such
case reported
, this amendment additionally requires the
following information, as applicable, along with the unique case or docket number:



The beginning and ending date and type of out-of-home placement
.


The beginning and ending date of a trial home placement
.


The date the child was adjudicated a dependent and neglected child or the date the case was dismissed or transferred to another court
.


For a child in the custody of the department of children's services, the permanency goal achieved or the reason for not achieving permanency
.


The date of case closure
.


The beginning and ending date of an extension of foster care.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 2219
By Haile

HOUSE BILL 2352
By Littleton
HB2352
012158
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37,
Chapter 1, relative to juvenile court data.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 37-1-153, is amended by deleting
subsection (b) and substituting:
(b)
(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a) and subject to subdivision (b)(2),
petitions and orders of the court in a delinquency or unruly proceeding under this
part are open to inspection, subject to the confidentiality requirements of §§ 10-7-
504 and 37-1-154, only by:
(A) A judge, magistrate, officer, or professional staff of a court
with juvenile jurisdiction in this state when acting in the course of official
duties;
(B) A district attorney general or assistant district attorney general
when the inspection relates to the performance of official duties in a
matter involving a child; and
(C) A public defender or assistant public defender when the
inspection relates to the performance of official duties in a matter
involving a child.
(2) A person with access to a petition or order under subdivision (b)(1)
shall not disclose, release, or disseminate the information except as otherwise
permitted by this part or other applicable law.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect January 1, 2027, the public welfare requiring it.