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Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 21
RULE 21. CHANGE OF VENUE
(a) In all criminal prosecutions the venue may be changed upon motion of the defendant, or upon the court's own motion with the consent of the defendant, if it appears to the court that, due to undue excitement against the defendant in the county where the offense was committed or any other cause, a fair trial probably could not be had.
(b) A motion for change of venue shall be accompanied by affidavit(s) averring facts constituting the alleged undue excitement or other cause upon which the motion is based. The State may file counter-affidavits.
(c) In a multi-county judicial circuit a change of venue shall be to the nearest county in the judicial circuit in which the prosecution is pending where the same cause for change of venue does not exist. If the same cause for change of venue exists in all other counties in the judicial circuit, the venue shall be changed to the nearest county where the same cause for change of venue does not exist.
(d) In a single-county judicial circuit the venue shall be changed to the nearest county where the same cause for change of venue does not exist.
(e) If in the opinion of the court there are two (2) or more adjoining counties, or counties about equidistant, to which the case might be removed under the provisions of this Rule, the court shall determine to what county the cause shall be removed.
(f) If a change of venue is ordered, the clerk shall make out a full and complete transcript of the record and proceedings in the cause, and transmit the same, together with the indictment and all other papers on file, to the clerk of the receiving court, which transcript shall be entered on the minutes of the receiving court.
(g) The sheriff of the county, if the defendant is in the sheriff's custody, shall, on the order of the court, transfer and deliver such defendant to the sheriff of the county to which the venue is changed, who shall receive and detain the defendant in custody until legally discharged.
(h) The receiving court may release the defendant on bail or upon recognizance.
(i) The receiving court shall take cognizance of the cause, and proceed therein to trial, judgment, and execution, in all respects as if the indictment had been found in that court.
(j) The receiving court may also enforce the attendance of the prosecutor and witnesses, both on behalf of the state and of the defendant, by recognizance or undertaking of bail, as in other cases.
(k) All fines and forfeitures in such cases go to the county in which the indictment was found, and judgment must be rendered accordingly. The fees of all jurors and witnesses, on being properly certified by the clerk of the receiving court, are a charge on the county in which the indictment was found, in like manner as if the trial had not been removed.
This rule was derived from T.C.A. §40-2201 et seq.; the Law Revision Commission's proposed code, §40-305 et seq.; and Smith-Hurd Illinois Ann.Stat. Ch. 38, §114-6(b). Under T.C.A. §40-2204 the defendant could, under some circumstances, choose the county to which the case was removed, and this rule represents a departure from such election.
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