Legal Question in Criminal Law in Tennessee

As a general rule ... yes.

Of course, you can't get contraband back (drugs, sawed off shotguns, etc.).

It's my policy -- if my client alerts me to the issue -- to always make a specific condition of the diversion that certain named property is returned to the defendant when the diversion ends and the case is dismissed.

Most often these are cell phones, but sometimes guns are specified to be returned if the defendant is not otherwise disqualified from ownership of them.