Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

In what reads like part of a script from a good comedy movie, a woman has been charged with DUI after her escapades resulted in her trying to pay a police officer for her food at a Sonic drive-in. A 911 caller reported that the woman had nearly struck several vehicles while trying to navigate the complex obstacle course that is the Sonic parking lot before safely settling in a parking space. When the police arrived, they found the woman slumped over the steering wheel. When a police officer tried to get the woman’s attention, the woman does what any good customer at Sonic does and attempted to pay for her food by handing a $20 bill to the officer. The officer then informed the woman that she was a police officer, not a Sonic employee, but the woman remained undeterred and continued to try to offer the officer the $20 bill. The intoxicated driver was arrested and police found a syringe, a spoon with a white powdery residue, and numerous bottles of prescription medication in the car. She was charged with DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia.

DUI has been discussed fairly often on this blog, but possession of drug paraphernalia has not been examined too frequently. Tennessee makes it a crime to possess, use, or deliver drug paraphernalia. An extremely in-depth definition of what constitutes drug paraphernalia can be found in T.C.A. §39-17-402(12), but it basically means anything that is used in the growth, manufacture, packaging, or use of a controlled substance. The determination of whether or not an item constitutes drug paraphernalia is made upon the consideration of a number of factors, including but not limited to: any statements made by the person in control of the object, prior convictions of the person in control of the object for controlled substance offenses, the existence of any residue on the object, and the community’s perception of the object and it’s use. Possession of drug paraphernalia is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail. However, if such paraphernalia is delivered or manufactured or possessed with the intent to deliver, the offense is upgraded to a Class E felony, punishable by up to six years in prison.

Source: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1587285.html