2020 Tennessee Code
Title 29 - Remedies and Special Proceedings
Chapter 21 - Habeas Corpus
§ 29-21-107. Petition — Affidavit

1. Application for the writ shall be made by petition, signed either by the party for whose benefit it is intended, or some person on the pertitioner's behalf, and verified by affidavit.
2. The petition shall state:
   1. That the person in whose behalf the writ is sought, is illegally restrained of liberty, and the person by whom and place where restrained, mentioning the name of such person, if known, and, if unknown, describing the person with as much particularity as practicable;
   2. The cause or pretense of such restraint according to the best information of the applicant, and if it be by virtue of any legal process, a copy thereof shall be annexed, or a satisfactory reason given for its absence;
   3. That the legality of the restraint has not already been adjudged upon a prior proceeding of the same character, to the best of the applicant's knowledge and belief; and
   4. That it is first application for the writ, or, if a previous application has been made, a copy of the petition and proceedings thereon shall be produced, or satisfactory reasons be given for the failure so to do.

Code 1858, §§ 3722, 3725; Shan., §§ 5502, 5505; Code 1932, §§ 9673, 9676; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), §§ 23-1806, 23-1807.

Textbooks. Tennessee Jurisprudence, 14 Tenn. Juris., Habeas Corpus, § 9.

Law Reviews.

Appellate and Post-Conviction Relief in Tennessee (Ronald W. Eades), 5 Mem. St. U.L. Rev. 1.

Cited: Ussery v. Avery, 222 Tenn. 50, 432 S.W.2d 656, 1968 Tenn. LEXIS 505 (1968); Middlebrook v. State, — S.W.3d —, 2009 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 1012 (Tenn. Crim. App. Dec. 11, 2009); Thornton v. State, — S.W.3d —, 2010 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 580 (Tenn. Crim. App. July 15, 2010); Davis v. Morrow, — S.W.3d —, 2010 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 592 (Tenn. Crim. App. July 19, 2010); Matthews v. Parker, — S.W.3d —, 2010 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 679 (Tenn. Crim. App. Aug. 17, 2010); Flinn v. Blackwood, — S.W.3d —, 2011 Tenn. App. LEXIS 181 (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 13, 2011); Decker v. State, — S.W.3d —, 2011 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 129 (Tenn. Crim. App. Feb. 24, 2011); Ware v. Steward, — S.W.3d —, 2011 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 221 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 25, 2011); Murdock v. State, — S.W.3d —, 2011 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 261 (Tenn. Crim. App. Apr. 5, 2011); Hayes v. State, — S.W.3d —, 2011 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 304 (Tenn. Crim. App. Apr. 28, 2011); Ali v. State, — S.W.3d —, 2011 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 351 (Tenn. Crim. App. May 11, 2011); Brewer v. State, — S.W.3d —, 2011 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 837 (Tenn. Crim. App. Nov. 15, 2011); Turner v. State, — S.W.3d —, 2012 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 211 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 30, 2012); Cooper v. Carlton, — S.W.3d —, 2012 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 267 (Tenn. Crim. App. Apr. 30, 2012); Herndon v. State, — S.W.3d —, 2012 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 955 (Tenn. Crim. App. Nov. 20, 2012); McDaniel v. Sexton, — S.W.3d —, 2013 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 264 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 25, 2013).