Currently in Tennessee your license is not automatically suspended when you are charged with a DUI, you retain your license, However, should the Department of Safety suspend your license while a DUI is pending, the trial court may issue a restricted license to you. There are many restrictions placed on your ability to drive under the restricted license. This aforementioned only applies if the Department of Safety has suspended your license, and it is not automatic that your license is suspended, just because you have been charged with a DUI.    

So what you may ask is the current state of affairs in regards to DUI license revocation? In some counties you will retain your license after your plea of guilty and turn it into the DMV local office when you apply for your restricted license, in some counties you will immediately turn your license over to the clerk of the court when you plead guilty or are found guilty by a jury or judge at a trial. 

DUI license revocation all depends on the county you are in at the time of your arrest. If you have any questions please feel free to phone our office Monday through Saturday at (615) 308-2633. We would be pleased to speak with you.

www.nashvilleduiinfo.com

Daniel L. McMurtry, Esq.

When you are released from jail  you will be given a court date to appear in General Sessions Court. General Sessions Court is the court in which you may be able to work out a plea deal, or have a preliminary hearing should you not accept a plea deal that might be offered to you. General Sessions Court cannot take pleas on felonies, but they can take pleas on misdemeanors. At a preliminary hearing you have the right to cross examine witnesses who testify against you, and call your own witnesses. See the evidence that makes up the probable cause that was used to arrest you. Generally most cases at preliminary hearing are bound over to the Davidson County Grand Jury after the hearing. Even if your case is dismissed at preliminary hearing it can still be presented to the Grand Jury for your indictment on a DUI. 

The Grand Jury is composed of citizens from the jurisdiction that you were charged in, generally they indict most cases that they hear, this is called coming back with a true bill. Once a true bill is brought back on your case, your next court date will be for arraignment in Criminal Court.

Criminal Court is where you can have a jury of twelve people decide your case. You may or may not testify, and you may or may not call witnesses, but you do have the right to cross examine any witnesses against you. Each case and trial is different, so what happens in someone else’s trial may not occur in yours.

Should you need assistance in your dui charge, please feel free to phone the office at (615) 308-2633. We look forward to hearing from you.

www.nashvilleduiinfo.com

Daniel L. McMurtry, Esq.

In Nashville Davidson county there is a mandatory 24 hour litter pick up, now this is state law, but many counties outside of the Davidson county area do not observe this condition. The reason probably is financial, many districts just simply do not or will not spend the money to fund this litter pick up, because it costs money to keep deputies out on the side of the road with DUI clients, thus in some counties it is just simply not observed.

Drug and alcohol safety school, in Davidson county it is mandated by the judge, in the some other counties throughout Tennesse it is not, however to obtain your regular license back after your restricted DUI license is lifted you will needed to have completed a drug and alcohol safety school. I would always suggest attending one if your district and judge did not mandate one as part of your sentence.

How soon can you get a restricted license, in Nashville Davidson county you can obtain one after paying half of your fines and court costs, and obtaining your SR-22 insurance, in some counties outside of Davidson you may only get your restricted DUI license after completing all required classes and completely paying all of your fines and court costs. In some counties the judge will sign your Order to obtain your license the same day as your plea, but in Davidson county you must fill out an application that is then sent to the judge after court.

One question that comes up a lot on second offense DUI is the 28 day inpatient treatment, you can receive credit on a 45 day sentence, (the minimum for second offense DUI) for your time in an inpatient treatment center, but the judge has to give his or her ok for the credit, it is not guaranteed.

Nashville Davidson county has specifically trained officers for DUI patrol, most counties around Middle Tennessee simply do not have the funds for such a program.

Should you need help with your DUI, please give us a call, we would be pleased to speak with you.

www.nashvilleduiinfo.com

Daniel L. McMurtry, Esq.

While the answer is yes, it comes with many important things to remember. You should never have more than one beer open in an automobile, if there is only you and the driver, it could easily be inferred that both of you were drinking if there are two beers open and only two people in the car. It is illegal in Tennessee for someone to both drink and drive, even if they are no under the influence.

One beer is certainly legal as stated above, however if there are empty cans in the car and you have an open beer, but the driver does not, it might be inferred that the empty beers could belong to the driver, so again having one beer open is legal, but having more than one, empty or not could result in  inferences that might require an attorney.

While it is legal to drink a beer as a passenger in a car in Tennessee, it could easily result in being pulled over. Should you need assistance with an alcohol related matter please feel free to phone the office Monday through Saturday.

Daniel L. McMurtry, Esq.

So if that was reckless driving, what are the penalties in Tennessee? In Tennessee reckless driving can be a class b misdemeanor, the sentence cannot be longer than six months, and the fine cannot exceed five hundred dollars. If within 12 months you receive two reckless drivings the department of safety will revoke your license for a total of twelve months.

In a legal context it is important to realize that reckless driving is not a lesser included offense of a Tennessee DUI.  There is an element of the crime reckless driving that is required for a reckless driving, but that element is not found in a DUI, thus it cannot be a lesser included offense of a DUI. Can a DUI sometimes be pled down to a reckless driving, Yes.

Considering a reckless driving in regards to a DUI, it is important to note that even with a reckless driving there are penalties such as loss of license for year, SR 22 insurance, and this offense of reckless driving can be considered in determining if you are a habitual motor offender later on in your driving career.

It is important to note as well, reckless driving and reckless endangerment are two separate and distinct charges, reckless endangerment is a more serious charge and carries with it the increase in penalty, and in some situations becomes a felony.

Should you need assistance in your DUI charge, please give us a call at toll free (877) 271-2633 or local you may phone us at (615) 308-2633.

www.nashvilleduiinfo.com

Daniel L. McMurtry, Esq.

It is a class A misdemeanor carrying 11 months and 29 days in jail, with a minimum of 120 days to serve. When you serve the 120 days you then must serve the remainder of your jail time on probation, with conditions of probation. Conditions of probation can include drug screens, loss of vehicle, loss of license will be for between 3 years and 10 years, a fine of $1,100.00 dollars to $10,000.00 dollars, and a possible alcohol interlock device on your car or truck.

The law does not allow a third offense DUI defendant to get jail credit for rehabilitation like one is eligible for on a second offense DUI. There is no work release allowed until the minimum sentence of 120 days is served day for day. Your DUI third offense conviction must be served consecutively, there is not weekend service of your sentence allowed. The court may require inpatient jail drug and alcohol treatment as part of your sentence.

As you can see, the third offense DUI in Tennessee is serious business, there are defenses available to you. Please give us a call at toll free (877) 271-2633 or local (615) 308-2633 at no obligation to review your case.

A Tennessee DUI is not based on your past history of no prior convictions or charges, a first offense DUI only involves one thing, whether or not you were under the influence when they pulled you over, and while you were in control of an automobile, your past history of no problems with the law will not matter.

What are the consequences of a Nashville DUI first offense, well it starts with your license being revoked for a period of one year, some may be eligible for a restricted license, others may not.  You are now required to pick up litter for a total of 24 hours, that is three Saturdays of litter pick up. You are required to spend at minimum 48 hours in jail. You are subject to fines and court costs, you are subject to alcohol and drug treatment, safety school. You are subject to 11 months and 29 days probation with drug screens if required. The penalties are severe in Tennessee for a first offense DUI.

Is there any hope for my case?This is a question I hear quite frequently, and the answer is yes, there are alternatives to pleading guilty, just because a friend pled guilty to a first offense DUI does not mean you will have to do the same. 

If I did not blow into the breathalyzer does that make me guilty of a DUI?No it does not, by refusing the breathalyzer you possibly violated the implied consent laws of Tennessee but that suspends your license, it does not mean you are guilty of a DUI.

I took the field sobriety tests, I think I failed, there is no hope? Not true, the field sobriety tests in Tennessee are not pass or fail, they are graded on a point scale for each infraction the officer witnessed. There are defenses to these tests available.

If I was driving ok, not violating any traffic laws can they just stop me for a possible DUI? No, the stop in a DUI is protected by Constitutional safeguards, hunches are not enough for the police to pull you over.

Please give the law office a call at toll free (877) 271-2633 or local at (615) 308-2633 and let us put our experience to work for you.

A second offense DUI is a misdemeanor carrying with it an automatic penalty of 11 months and 29 days in jail, the period of incarceration shall not be less than 45 days in jail and the remainder of the sentence shall be served on probation after the confinement period is completed. The fine for second offense DUI ranges from $600.00 dollars to $3,500.00 dollars, and as discussed earlier on my website, you may also lose your caror truck permanently under the forfeiture guidelines for the State of Tennessee. 

There is no good time credit given for a second offense DUI in Tennessee until the minimum sentence of 45 days is served day for day. The only credit obtainable is for in patient drug and alcohol treatment. Once you are released on probation you may be subject to the interlock device being placed on your car, if they have not seized it.

The State of Tennessee has implemented a new policy on public service for a DUI. You must now do 24 hours of litter pick up along with all the fines and penalties that accompany your second offense DUI conviction. The consequences of a second offense DUI are great, they should be taken seriously.

There are defenses available to you, should you wish to discuss your case, please give the law office a call.

Although the judge imposing sentence does not seize cars for a DUI, the State of Tennessee can and does seize cars. It is not widely known by the public, but your car can be seized by the State of Tennessee for a second offense DUI.

The Department of Safety is the branch of the Tennessee Government that seizes cars for DUIs, it is not the Judicial Department. Included in the seizure laws is the ability of the State of Tennessee to seize cars for drag racing or fleeing a drag race.

The destinction between the seizure of a car for DUI and drag racing is very important. Upon the charge of DUI Second, your car may be seized, however under the drag racing law your car may only be seized upon the conviction of the offense.

Should you have further questions in regards to a Tennessee DUI, please feel free to phone the office at toll free,

 1 (877) 271-2633, we look forward to hearing from you.

Daniel L. McMurtry, Esq.

In Tennessee a person commits vehicular assault who, as the proximate result of the person’s intoxication as set forth in 55-10-401 recklessly causes  serious bodily injury to another person by the operation of a motor vehicle, this statute includes both drug induced intoxication and alcohol induced intoxication.

A violation of the DUI vehicular assault statute is a class D felony in Tennessee, and the person is not permitted to drive a vehicle for a period of one year.  The penalty of not driving increases in years for each subsequent offense of this statute.

The question that can arise in a case involving a DUI vehicular assault is one of serious bodily injury, what constitutes that? It is a question that is very important if you are charged with this crime in Tennessee.

Should you be charged with DUI vehicular assault in Tennessee, please give me a call, I would be pleased to schedule an appointment to discuss your case.  You can phone the office at (615) 308-2633.