Like most states, Tennessee has laws that make driving under the influence a crime. If you are arrested for and later convicted of a driving under the influence offense, you will face serious penalties that include jail time, fines, and the loss of your Tennessee driving privileges. Being convicted of a DUI offense will also give you a criminal record and make it difficult for you to obtain employment with any company that conducts criminal background checks prior to extending an offer of employment to anyone. Because of these serious consequences, it is important that you contact a Tennessee DUI lawyer immediately after you have been arrested for driving under the influence. Having a Tennessee DUI attorney represent you is your best chance for defeating these serious charges or minimizing the penalties imposed against you if you are convicted.
Tennessee DUI Arrests and Prosecution
In Tennessee, it is illegal to operate a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. It is even illegal if you operate your vehicle under the influence of a narcotic drug, even if the drug was legally prescribed for you by your physician. You can be arrested for DUI in Tennessee even if you were not actually driving on a public road. If you are sitting in a parking lot or alley, you may be arrested for DUI if you have possession of the keys and are considered to be the operator of the car. Once you are arrested for a DUI, the prosecution will file charges against you based on any prior offenses and the severity of your current offense. In order to convict you of a DUI offense, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you had physical control of a motor vehicle and were operating it on a public highway or other public area while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The prosecutor may introduce evidence of your impairment such as an intoxicated appearance, dangerous driving patterns, and failure of field sobriety tests in order to prove that you are guilty of the DUI offense. You can also be prosecuted based solely on the chemical testing result obtained the day you were arrested. If this chemical test result showed a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or greater, you can be charged with DUI in Tennessee. The prosecutor does not have to show that you were impaired in any way; he or she simply has to prove that your blood alcohol content level was at or above the legal alcohol limit. If you are being prosecuted on the basis of test results, a skilled Tennessee DUI attorney can try to win your case by showing that the test was faulty or that the sample was obtained improperly.
By Michael Tasner
Tennessee DUI Arrests and Prosecution
In Tennessee, it is illegal to operate a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. It is even illegal if you operate your vehicle under the influence of a narcotic drug, even if the drug was legally prescribed for you by your physician. You can be arrested for DUI in Tennessee even if you were not actually driving on a public road. If you are sitting in a parking lot or alley, you may be arrested for DUI if you have possession of the keys and are considered to be the operator of the car. Once you are arrested for a DUI, the prosecution will file charges against you based on any prior offenses and the severity of your current offense. In order to convict you of a DUI offense, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you had physical control of a motor vehicle and were operating it on a public highway or other public area while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The prosecutor may introduce evidence of your impairment such as an intoxicated appearance, dangerous driving patterns, and failure of field sobriety tests in order to prove that you are guilty of the DUI offense. You can also be prosecuted based solely on the chemical testing result obtained the day you were arrested. If this chemical test result showed a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or greater, you can be charged with DUI in Tennessee. The prosecutor does not have to show that you were impaired in any way; he or she simply has to prove that your blood alcohol content level was at or above the legal alcohol limit. If you are being prosecuted on the basis of test results, a skilled Tennessee DUI attorney can try to win your case by showing that the test was faulty or that the sample was obtained improperly.
By Michael Tasner
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