AI-assisted research summary: A petitioner must start this proceeding by filing a petition in the circuit court of the county where the petitioner lives or where the petitioner was convicted, and support it with satisfactory proof of good character.
The proceeding for this purpose shall be by petition to the circuit court of the county in which the petitioner resides, or to the circuit court of the county in which the petitioner was convicted of an act depriving the petitioner of citizenship sustained by satisfactory proof that ever since the judgment of disqualification, the petitioner has sustained the character of a person of honesty, respectability and veracity, and is generally esteemed as such by the petitioner's neighbors. Code 1858, § 1995 (deriv. Acts 1851-1852, ch. 30, § 1); Shan., § 3656; Code 1932, § 7184; Acts 1969, ch. 316, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-3702. Attorney General Opinions. An otherwise eligible felon convicted during the 1986-1996 period and sentenced to the penitentiary must obtain restoration of his or her “citizenship rights” by court order according to the procedures outlined in T.C.A. §§ 40-29-101 and 40-29-102 before obtaining a handgun permit, OAG 02-119 (10/24/02). NOTES TO DECISIONS 1. Necessity for Proceeding. 2. Effect of Restoration. 3. Conduct of Applicant. 4. Appeal. 1. Necessity for Proceeding. Where, by conviction and sentence for crime, persons were rendered incompetent to testify as witnesses, they were not relieved of such disability by the pardon of the governor, and can only be relieved by the proceeding authorized under this chapter. Evans v. State, 66 Tenn. 12, 1872 Tenn. LEXIS 440 (1872). 2. Effect of Restoration. Tenure of office of policeman which was terminated as result of conviction for second degree murder was not restored by virtue of restoration of citizenship in proceeding under this section, since it was effective only from date of decree. State ex rel. Harvey v. Knoxville, 166 Tenn. 530, 64 S.W.2d 7, 1933 Tenn. LEXIS 111 (1933). 3. Conduct of Applicant. A party demeaning himself properly for four years after his pardon and discharge from the penitentiary for larceny, and showing by unimpeachable witnesses that he sustains a good moral character, was entitled to be restored to his rights as a citizen, although he was adjudged to be infamous under § 40-20-112 . In re Curtis, 6 Tenn. Civ. App. (6 Higgins) 12 (1915). 4. Appeal. Resident of this state is entitled to an appeal, upon the pauper oath, from the circuit court to the court of appeals from the action of the circuit court in refusing to restore him to citizenship; and the case will be tried de novo in the appellate court, on the proof heard in the lower court. In re Curtis, 6 Tenn. Civ. App. (6 Higgins) 12 (1915). Motion for new trial is not necessary as a prerequisite to an appeal and a hearing in the appellate court, where the application for restoration to citizenship was denied. In re Curtis, 6 Tenn. Civ. App. (6 Higgins) 12 (1915).