Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Tennessee DUI attorneys understand that getting charged with DUI is a difficult experience. If you drive a company vehicle for a living, your job could be in jeopardy. A DUI charge can be embarrassing and your reputation with your friends, family, and community may be negatively impacted. A DUI charge can also be expensive with the attorney fees and court costs.

Often times, the same people are in and out of the criminal justice system. What seems to separate DUI charges from a lot of the other criminal charges is that anyone can be charged with a DUI. Many times, the person charged with DUI lives a normal life with a full time job or school and simply makes a mistake. He or she is not engaged in daily criminal activities.

Vehicular assault in Tennessee is a crime that arises from a DUI. According to Tennessee law, a person commits vehicular assault who, as the proximate result of the person’s intoxication, recklessly causes serious bodily injury to another person by the operation of a motor vehicle. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-106 (2007). Vehicular assault is a Class D felony in the state of Tennessee.

A person can not be charged with both DUI and vehicular assault in the state of Tennessee from the same occurrence because DUI is a lesser included offense of vehicular assault. If convicted of vehicular assault, the accused faces not only incarceration time, but loss of driving privileges as well.

Upon the conviction of a person for the first offense of vehicular assault, the court shall prohibit the convicted person from driving a vehicle in Tennessee for a period of one year. For the second such conviction, the court shall prohibit the convicted person from driving a vehicle in Tennessee for a period of two years. For the third such conviction, the court shall prohibit the convicted person from driving a vehicle in Tennessee for a period of three years. For fourth and subsequent convictions, the court shall prohibit the person from driving a vehicle in Tennessee for a period of five years. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-106 (2007).

If you are charged with DUI or vehicular assault in Tennessee, contact a Tennessee criminal defense lawyer. It is important that these charges be handled in a competent and diligent manner. Often times, the punishment on these charges are exponentially harsher on the second offense, so make sure you are well represented on the first charge. Our office handles DUI and other criminal matters in the Knoxville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Johnson City, and Chattanooga areas.

Tennessee criminal defense lawyers hope that everyone who attended Bonnaroo this past weekend had a safe and enjoyable trip. Bonnaroo is a huge music and arts festival that brings top performers in rock and roll, along with dozens of artists in styles such as jazz, Americana, and hip-hop. The 2008 Bonnaroo music festival included top contemporary musicians such as Pearl Jam, Widespread Panic, Jack Johnson, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, and Metallica. The Bonnaroo festival was held June 12, 2008 through June 15, 2008 on a large farm in Manchester, Tennessee. Manchester is located about sixty miles southeast of Nashville.

Tennessee criminal law attorneys know that police attention elevates on Bonnaroo weekends, and this year was no different. People come to Bonnaroo from all parts of the country, and most drive to Bonnaroo. State, county, and local police charge many people with alcohol-related offenses like DUI and many drug offenses involving marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine, mushrooms, and LSD from events surrounding Bonnaroo. Our criminal defense attorneys help adults and juveniles charged with:

DUI;
HMVO Violations;
Implied Consent;
Underage Consumption;
Underage Possession;
Underage Driving While Impaired;
Simple Possession;
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia;
Felony Drug Possession;
Felony Drug Sale; and
Felony Drug Delivery;

If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime, contact one of our criminal defense attorneys in Knoxville or Sevierville. Our criminal defense attorneys have helped people charged with a variety of criminal offenses, from traffic citations to complicated felonies like homicide. All initial consultations are free, Our criminal lawyers work throughout East Tennessee including Knoxville, Sevierville, Johnson City, Maryville, Newport, Jefferson City, and Gatlinburg.

Our Tennessee criminal attorneys understand that any charge associated with unlawful observation can have long-lasting effects on you and your family. It’s very important to find an experienced Tennessee criminal attorney to protect your rights. Our Tennessee criminal attorneys will conduct a thorough investigation of your case and actively pursue the best possible resolution for you and your family.

According to Tennessee law, it is an offense for a person to knowingly spy upon, observe or otherwise view an individual, when the individual is in a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, without the prior effective consent of the individual, if the viewing:

• Would offend or embarrass an ordinary person if the person knew the person was being viewed; and
• Was for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of the defendant. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-607 (2007).

It is never a defense to observation without consent that you were lawfully on the premises where the observation occurred. It is important to note that a reasonable expectation of privacy must exist for someone to be convicted under the unlawful observation statute. This is an important distinction from the stalking statute, which does not have this requirement.

A violation of the observation without consent statute is a Class A misdemeanor. If you or someone you know is charged with observation without consent under Tennessee Law, contact a Tennessee criminal defense lawyer. Our lawyers have much experience handling these types of cases and understand the process that is required to vigorously defend these types of charges.