[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6106680,"mediaKeyId","2779721-f4f41e34d6bee7bfbc62a809502d0248","parentId",2779721,"title","Shelby County juvenile court officials ask committee to delay bill while local MOU, transport plan finish negotiations","audioSeconds",2144,"startMs",3156000,"endMs",5300000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779721-f4f41e34d6bee7bfbc62a809502d0248&start=3156&end=5300","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779721-f4f41e34d6bee7bfbc62a809502d0248/thumbnail_3156000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6106680/Tennessee/Shelby-County-juvenile-court-officials-ask-committee-to-delay-bill-while-local-MOU-transport-plan-finish-negotiations","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6106680-62197db9297b85023c4b61633128baff/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448222&Signature=UftDlB27TKSffhgN9k-u-ImrGuXeiOgrpRww6~shA0jN12h80yU-ymlccsNbI6hog1I64s5ejSuNIvLpXcAdmh71SAvir9Su27Vpl5ysB0Zg7J57fhjPVTZ6axxdv33Y~wsGlZLuggAuVL5Wa3RWkoJPmsaJRKEu4LKptpiFtmYEVSKNRe9chVntjFYbAT1-FVdMgDIZvwxKhV21oaXr2dB2PnQd6drPjWjfi6QoUHddCjHLAp8spq-4Mbi2O-Jbm6pKZM7NMYUULkao5IPQmB5Nr7y4yM-onX2Sl5HRc26p4R8SAqMl4U4l7P-4wtLhKxlBRRFrNm34a1Gs3z79lw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","TN State Legislature","date","2025-03-26T00:00:00Z","article","Judge and court managers from Shelby County told the Tennessee House Judiciary Committee that local officials are close to finalizing a memorandum of understanding to restore transportation and fuller court operations for detained juveniles, and they asked lawmakers to delay action on House Bill 797 while negotiations finish.

Why it matters: Sponsors introduced the bill amid a dispute over whether hearings for detained juveniles must be held inside the detention facility’s courtroom or may be transported to the larger downtown courthouse. Court officials and defense attorneys said holding all in-custody hearings at the detention center harms victim safety, attorney–client confidentiality and judicial capacity. Sheriff’s office leaders said the detention facility was built with an on-site courtroom and that transporting youth raises security and staffing concerns.

Judge Sugarman, who has overseen Shelby County juvenile dockets since the court’s displacement last spring, told lawmakers the court “has exceeded our docket slot capacity and are now having delays in our dispensation of cases.” She said the courtroom inside the detention facility offers only 32 docket slots per week compared with about 110 docket slots at the main courthouse on Adams Avenue. “A delay in justice is not only inconvenience, it is it affects the victim in this matter,” Sugarman said, urging time to finalize a local solution.

Matthew John, lead supervising attorney for the Shelby County District Attorney General’s juvenile unit, described the courthouse-in-detention setting as a disadvantage for victims and witnesses: prosecutors and family members must pass through secured pods and wait in small confined spaces, sometimes outside, and prosecutors lack office space at the detention site. John said he has to “tote my files through the security” and described difficulty arranging private conversations and witness support when hearings are held inside the detention center.

Bridal Evans, chief judicial officer for Shelby County Juvenile Court, told the committee negotiations are underway with the Shelby County mayor’s office and the county’s Department of Corrections to transfer daily operations and transportation responsibilities to county corrections; she said participants have met frequently and expect to resolve outstanding items by the fall. Curt Field, chief jailer for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, described the sheriff’s office role operating the Youth Justice and Education Center (YJEC) and said the office has run detention operations and programs since the new facility opened in July 2023.

Defense counsel and the juvenile defender panel warned of logistical problems and confidentiality issues if hearings remain at YJEC. Dorothy Ingram Miller, juvenile defender panel supervisor, said attorneys and clients often lack private interview areas and sometimes conduct interviews in classrooms, cafeterias or even parked cars; she wrote that parents have been turned away or confused when seating and access are limited, which has harmed client participation and representation.

Speakers on the panel gave cost and capacity estimates: a private vendor model used in Davidson County was cited at approximately $24,000,000 per year, while a national consortium estimated private operation in Shelby County could cost $35–40 million annually. Court leaders worried that, if local government cannot reach an operating MOU, a private contractor could assume responsibility without guaranteeing transportation or the victim-centered access they seek.

After roughly 90 minutes of testimony and questioning, Representative Bond announced an intention to offer an amendment to make the bill effective Oct. 1 and asked the committee to delay final action. The committee voted to roll House Bill 797 as amended to next week's calendar to give local parties more time to complete the memorandum of understanding and, if necessary, to allow the sponsor to file the effective-date amendment.

Committee action and next steps: The committee voted to postpone action on House Bill 797; members agreed to consider the bill again next week. Court and county leaders said they will continue negotiations and try to finalize a transportation and operations agreement between the juvenile court, the sheriff’s office and the Shelby County mayor’s office.

Ending: Court officials asked lawmakers for a short delay so local leaders could finalize the MOU and resume daily transport and broader courtroom scheduling; defense counsel and victims’ advocates asked that any solution preserve private attorney–client space and victim safety.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Judiciary Committee Mar 26, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Judge and court managers from Shelby County told the Tennessee House Judiciary Committee that local officials are close to finalizing a memorandum of understanding to restore transportation and fuller court operations for detained juveniles, and they asked lawmakers to delay action on House Bill 797 while negotiations finish.","taxTitle","Judiciary, House of Representatives, Committees, Legislative, Tennessee","taxId",79849,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6106675,"Votes at a glance: House Judiciary Committee advances series of bills on criminal law, juvenile procedures and victim supports",4225,1418000,5643000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779721-f4f41e34d6bee7bfbc62a809502d0248&start=1418&end=5643","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779721-f4f41e34d6bee7bfbc62a809502d0248/thumbnail_1418000.jpg","/articles/6106675/Tennessee/Votes-at-a-glance-House-Judiciary-Committee-advances-series-of-bills-on-criminal-law-juvenile-procedures-and-victim-supports","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6106675-5d58463c05e7dc34b211461e2b5d3764/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448222&Signature=jfG13toivtcxmi2E21o~6VuiEYs7joOvNGd8dG-KL3JdPIYMjoB6HWGyLbcL7SYmx-sjwsmS-6bDyuHERA-clsVc4JoAiakVNA2HTEIEJtqs5z2hMyMsm~fLvBja9ZMSCy8-GQcE2hkBPvXmaBBqgXtjNkzpcZsIrtotjMAMHgfd55ur3luJlXyVJ81yn32DHzbCgy~fEnuIo64BPFLHGuh7kWL1Bw9reA~wmiYUIhhdqP9eavM7MvcSC0IIL~stlSQJYSZfd57m51b1CR-SlVNCIOLTo7EeKOGtJ69RdNCiFPHbWbwfnPt5cFMHqaV65huO8ESobgTWC5FWDfNN3Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Judiciary Committee advanced a range of bills on criminal statutes, juvenile procedures and victims’ testimony rules, voting to refer most to the next relevant committees while postponing a Shelby County juvenile operations bill for further local negotiations.

Why it matters: The bills impact topics from secured-transaction procedures and criminal definitions to courtroom accommodations for child victims and location limits for adult-entertainment performances. Many cleared the committee on bipartisan voice votes or recorded tallies and will move to either Finance, Ways and Means, or Calendar and Rules for further consideration.

Key committee actions (outcomes recorded at the hearing):

- House Bill 1342 (Representative Balso): The bill amends Article 9 (Uniform Commercial Code) procedures for contested UCC-1 financing statements involving public officials by expanding information exchanged between the filing office and the administrative procedures division and by requiring notice steps after determinations. Committee voted to send HB 1342 to Calendar and Rules (16–0 recorded).

- House Bill 1314 (Leader Cochran; as amended by House Amendment 43-48): The amendment adopted; the bill creates a criminal offense for knowingly threatening mass violence intended to cause terror (class E felony; class D if directed at a school, place of worship or law-enforcement performance). The committee voted to send the amended bill to Finance, Ways and Means (final recorded tally 15–2–1 present-not-voting).

- House Bill 573 (Chairman Doggett): Lowers the felony threshold for fentanyl from 150 grams to 50 grams. Committee vote to send to Finance, Ways and Means: 19–0–1 present-not-voting.

- House Bill 578 (Chairman Doggett; as amended by House Amendment 5,970): The amendment adopted; the bill adds 15 criminal offenses to the definition of dangerous felony for weapons-related statutes. Committee vote to send to Finance, Ways and Means: 20–0.

- House Bill 579 (Chairman Doggett): Adds robbery to the list of crimes treated as violent. Committee vote to send to Calendar and Rules: 19–0–1 present-not-voting.

- House Bill 583 (Chairman Doggett; as amended by House Amendment 36-23): The amendment adopted; the bill allows qualified forensic interviewers to authenticate child forensic interview recordings when the child cannot do so and makes limited provisions for federal forensic interview admissibility when cases are transferred. Committee vote to send to Calendar and Rules: 20–0.

- House Bill 761 (Chair Lady Littleton): Modifies the definition of “harmful to minors” in the Protect Tennessee Minors Act; the committee sent the bill to Finance, Ways and Means: 16–5.

- House Bill 762 (Chair Lady Littleton): Allows certified facility dogs to accompany victims in court to help them testify and requires juries be instructed not to view the dogs’ presence as prejudicial. Committee vote to send to Calendar and Rules: 21–0.

- House Bill 1025 (Chairman Russell; as amended by House Amendment 49-30): Suspends a juvenile’s driving privileges following an adjudication for bullying or cyberbullying; sponsor noted added restrictions and the committee cleared the bill to Calendar and Rules: 20–2.

- House Bill 884 (Chairman Todd): Narrows a venue loophole in adult-entertainment location rules so a one-off explicitly obscene performance at a venue primarily used for other events would be subject to the same 1,000-foot restriction from schools, parks and places of worship. Committee vote to send to Calendar and Rules: 16–6.

- House Bill 797 (item rolled): Committee postponed action on HB 797 to allow local parties (Shelby County juvenile court, mayor’s office and sheriff’s office) to finish a memorandum of understanding and transport/operation plan. See separate article for detailed testimony.

- House Bill 1200 (Dr. Kumar): “Savannah’s Law” — creates a domestic-violence registry after a second conviction with time periods and limited public information; committee sent the bill to Finance, Ways and Means: 19–0.

Quotes from sponsors and staff (verbatim from the hearing): Representative Balso on HB 1342: \"This bill deals with UCC 1 financing statement ... [it] expands the information that the filing office must provide to the administrative procedures division\". Chairman Doggett on HB 573 (fentanyl): \"150 grams of fentanyl is enough fentanyl to kill every single person in our house, every single person in our house districts, about 75,000 people.\" Judge Sugarman (testifying on HB 797): \"A delay in justice is not only inconvenience, it is it affects the victim in this matter.\" Curt Field, Shelby County Sheriff's Office: \"The sheriff's office has transformed juvenile detention operations in Shelby County into a model for other similar operations.\"

Ending: The committee forwarded most measures to the next step in the legislative process and delayed one local juvenile-court operations bill to allow local officials to complete an MOU and transportation plan. Legislators and staff said several bills will receive additional edits in the next steps before possible floor consideration.

","The House Judiciary Committee advanced a range of bills on criminal statutes, juvenile procedures and victims’ testimony rules, voting to refer most to the next relevant committees while postponing a Shelby County juvenile operations bill for further local negotiations.","actionData","errors"]

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Shelby County juvenile court officials ask committee to delay bill while local MOU, transport plan finish negotiations

Votes at a glance: House Judiciary Committee advances series of bills on criminal law, juvenile procedures and victim supports