Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

While individuals who attempt to escape from jail or custody probably are not overly concerned with the consequences of such behavior being that they are likely preoccupied with their plan to escape custody, it is still useful to know what constitutes an escape and what the penalties are. Escape from prison or custody is defined as follows under Tennessee law:

(a) It is an offense for any lawfully confined person arrested for, charged with, or found guilty of a civil or criminal offense to escape from a penal institution, as defined in § 39-16-601.

(b) (1) A person commits the offense of escape who is in the lawful custody of a law enforcement officer and knowingly escapes the officer's custody.

(2) As used in subdivision (b)(1), "lawful custody" means a person has been taken, seized or detained by a law enforcement officer either by handcuffing, restraining or any other method by which a reasonable person would believe places the person in custody and that otherwise deprives the person's freedom of action in a significant way.

Continue reading "Escape" »

Several months ago, this site ran a blog that discussed failure to appear in Tennessee and some of the possible penalties. What that blog article did not do, however, was include the statutory language of the failure to appear statute, T.C.A. 39-16-609, so that potential defendants who are perusing this blog may familiarize themselves with the actual elements. The statute defines failure to appear as follows:

(a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly fail to appear as directed by a lawful authority if the person:

(1) Has been lawfully issued a criminal summons pursuant to § 40-6-215;

(2) Has been lawfully commanded to appear for booking and processing pursuant to a criminal summons issued in accordance with § 40-6-215;

(3) Has been lawfully issued a citation in lieu of arrest under § 40-7-118;

(4) Has been lawfully released from custody, with or without bail, on condition of subsequent appearance at an official proceeding or penal institution at a specified time or place; or

(5) Knowingly goes into hiding to avoid prosecution or court appearance.

Continue reading "Failure to Appear in Tennessee" »

While evading arrest may garner you fifteen minutes of fame on some reality show somewhere, it will also probably guarantee that you get roughed up a little extra when you are caught and that you get an extra charge or two tacked on to the offense for which you were originally fleeing the authorities. Evading arrest in Tennessee is defined as follows:

(a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (b), it is unlawful for any person to intentionally flee by any means of locomotion from anyone the person knows to be a law enforcement officer if the person:

(A) Knows the officer is attempting to arrest the person; or

(B) Has been arrested.

(2) It is a defense to prosecution under this subsection (a) that the attempted arrest was unlawful.

Continue reading "Evading Arrest Under Tennessee Law" »

Tennessee's DUI statute reveals that the legislature apparently thought that by the time a person garners a fourth DUI conviction, the message probably isn't getting across anyway and that the fourth conviction is a logical stopping point for the increase of penalties. According to the statute, the fourth and any subsequent DUI convictions carry the same penalties:

(vi) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the fourth or subsequent conviction shall be a Class E felony punishable by a fine of not less than three thousand dollars ($3,000) nor more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000); by confinement for not less than one hundred fifty (150) consecutive days, to be served day for day, nor more than the maximum punishment authorized for the appropriate range of a Class E felony; and the court shall prohibit the person from driving a motor vehicle for a period of five (5) years. For the preceding sentence to apply, at least one (1) of the violations of § 55-10-401 must occur on or after July 1, 1998.

Continue reading "DUI: Fourth Offense" »

In an effort to explore and analyze statutory framework that sets out the offense of Driving Under the Influence and the punishments for that offense, this blog has previously examined the possible punishments for a first and second DUI offense. As discussed earlier, the penalties for DUI offenses increase as an offender acquires more DUI convictions up until the offender gets a fourth or subsequent offense. Today’s blog focuses on the punishment for a third DUI offense.

Continue reading "Third Offense DUI" »

As mentioned in earlier blogs, the punishment for DUI convictions increases in proportion to how many times a particular offender has been convicted previously of a DUI up until the offender receives his or her fourth or subsequent DUI conviction. The punishment for a second DUI offense constitutes a significant enhancement in punishment over that imposed for a first offense in DUI in some respects.

Continue reading "DUI: Second Offense" »

Our previous blog entry concentrated primarily on what does and does not constitute a DUI. While it is essential for any defendant to know what qualifies as driving under the influence, it is also extremely important to be aware of what penalties a person may face should he or she be convicted of a DUI. Under Tennessee law, the penalties increase as a person garners more and more DUI convictions. This blog article focuses on the possible penalties for a person’s first DUI offense.

Continue reading "DUI: First Offense Penalties" »

An often overlooked question with regard to DUI discussion is what type of conduct actually constitutes a DUI. This is defined in Tennessee Code Annotated §55-10-401, which basically provides that it is unlawful to drive or “be in physical control of” a motor-driven vehicle on a public road, highway, alley, or street, or any other place that is frequented by the public while you are:

(1) Under the influence of an intoxicant, marijuana, narcotic, or drug producing a stimulating effect on the central nervous system, or

(2) The blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in your breath is eight hundredths of one percent (.08%) or more.

Continue reading "Driving Under the Influence" »

In most criminal cases, the number of prior convictions an individual has on their record usually plays a bigger role in the sentencing phase of the trial. However, there are a few instances where the number and type of convictions on an individual's record can actually determine what offense a defendant is facing at trial. One of those offenses is aggravated vehicular homicide.

Continue reading "Aggravated Vehicular Homicide" »

For an offense that is not encountered frequently in the criminal justice system, the offense of assisted suicide has a long and complicated definition that needs plenty of explanation. First, the statute, T.C.A. 39-13-216, sets out what type of behavior qualifies as assisted suicide:

(

a) A person commits the offense of assisted suicide who:

(1) Intentionally provides another person with the means by which such person directly and intentionally brings about such person's own death; or

(2) Intentionally participates in a physical act by which another person directly and intentionally brings about such person's own death; and

(3) Provides the means or participates in the physical act with:
(A) Actual knowledge that the other person intends to bring about such person's own death; and
(B) The clear intent that the other person bring about such person's own death.

Continue reading "Assisted Suicide" »

The statutory definition of reckless homicide in Tennessee is incredibly simple, stating merely the following:

Reckless homicide is a reckless killing of another.

While the definition of reckless homicide surely makes sense, one must dig a little deeper, to the definition of reckless itself, in order to find out exactly what type of conduct constitutes a reckless homicide. The term "reckless," as discussed in a previous blog is defined as follows:

"Reckless" means that a person acts recklessly with respect to circumstances surrounding the conduct or the result of the conduct when the person is aware of, but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the accused person's standpoint;

Continue reading "Reckless Homicide in Tennessee" »

If one has perused many of this site’s recent blogs, it should be clear by now that Tennessee law provides for several different types of homicide offenses addressing several different types of conduct that may take or endanger the lives of others. One type that has been heretofore unaddressed is the offense of vehicular homicide, which as T.C.A. 39-13-212 describes is homicide caused by the operation of some sort of vehicle (automobile, airplane, motorboat, or any other motor vehicle) as the proximate cause of one of three types of conduct:

(a) Vehicular homicide is the reckless killing of another by the operation of an automobile, airplane, motorboat or other vehicle, as the proximate result of:
(1) conduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a person;
(2) the driver’s intoxication, as set forth in §55-10-401. For the purposes of this section, intoxication includes alcohol intoxication as defined by §55-10-408, drug intoxication, or both; or
(3) As the proximate result of conduct constituting the offense of drag racing as prohibited by Title 55, chapter 10, part 5.

Continue reading "Vehicular Homicide in Tennessee" »

Tennessee’s statute for criminally negligent homicide is perhaps the most circular definition contained in the Tennessee Code, defining criminally negligent homicide in the following manner:

(a) Criminally negligent conduct that results in death constitutes criminally negligent homicide.

Thus, this definition does not provide much help to someone who is trying to match a set of facts to the element of the crime since it simply says that criminal negligence that causes a death is criminally negligent homicide. Well, of course it is, but some deeper meaning must exist that allows this statute to be applied to a set of facts and to be the basis of homicide charges brought against individuals.

Continue reading "Criminally Negligent Homicide" »

The offense of voluntary manslaughter has the distinction of being the offense most depicted in Lifetime movies and country-western songs, usually being carried out by a scorned lover who has caught his or her significant other in a compromising position with another individual. It is most noteworthy in the legal field for being the offense that many individuals actually try to get convicted of, as it is usually a favorable alternative to a potential first or second degree murder conviction. Voluntary manslaughter is distinguishable from the two more serious offenses in that it contemplates that an individual is not fully responsible for his or her actions in killing another person because the killing party was in an impassioned state of mind.

Continue reading "Voluntary Manslaughter in Tennessee" »

Yesterday, our blog focused on second-degree murder in the form of a knowing killing of another person and noted that while that form of second-degree murder is the most commonly thought of and charged, it is not the only form that second-degree murder can take. The Tennessee legislature, in an obvious effort to enhance the penalties for those individuals who distribute the most dangerous form of illegal drugs, has included as second-degree murder the distribution of Schedule I and II controlled substances when the substance distributed causes the death of the user.

Continue reading "Second-Degree Murder: Sale of a Controlled Substance" »

Previous blog posts have focused on the offense of first-degree murder and its elements, the primary element of which is premeditation. As discussed in those blogs, premeditation can be formed in an instant but is not present in every situation. Tennessee law recognizes that some killings, while intentional, are committed under circumstances that do not justify a first-degree murder charge and are more appropriately considered murder in the second degree.

Continue reading "Second-Degree Murder" »

Contrary to a popular misconception among Tennesseans, Tennessee joins most other states in recognizing the concept of "felony murder," which means that a murder committed during the commission or attempted commission of certain types of felony offenses is treated as first degree murder. Tennessee's felony murder statute, T.C.A. 39-13-202(a)(2), reads as follows, defining as first degree murder:

(2) A killing of another committed in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate any first degree murder, act of terrorism, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child or aircraft piracy...

Continue reading "Felony Murder in Tennessee" »

First-Degree murder holds the distinction of being the most serious offense a person can commit under Tennessee law as measured by the possible sentence it carries. While almost everyone has an idea of what type of conduct constitutes first-degree murder in most cases, it is worth noting that there are essentially three different "types" of first-degree murder for which a person can be convicted. The statute lays the three types out as follows:

(1) A premeditated and intentional killing of another;

(2) A killing of another committed in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate any first degree murder, act of terrorism, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child or aircraft piracy; or

(3) A killing of another committed as the result of the unlawful throwing, placing or discharging of a destructive device or bomb.

Continue reading "First-Degree Murder in Tennessee" »

When learning that they are facing some type of charges, many criminal defendants immediately ask the same initial question: how much time am I looking at? While the answer to this question generally tends to focus on the maximum term of imprisonment that an individual can face, it is also important to consider whether the charged offense has a statutory minimum that is in excess of the normal range prescribed by Tennessee law. One such offense with an enhanced statutory minimum is rape of a child, which can be found in T.C.A. 39-13-522.

Continue reading "Rape of a Child in Tennessee" »

The offense of reckless endangerment in Tennessee seems fairly straightforward in that it can be charged against anyone who acts recklessly and thereby endangers another person. The elements of the offense read as follows:

(a) A person commits an offense who recklessly engages in conduct that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.

(b) Reckless endangerment is a Class A misdemeanor; however, reckless endangerment committed with a deadly weapon is a Class E felony.

Like most criminal offenses, however, there are several nuances that pertain to reckless endangerment that may increase or decrease a defendant's potential criminal exposure or may make it so that reckless endangerment cannot be charged against an individual at all. One such nuance is the concept of the victim being within the "zone of danger."

Continue reading "Reckless Endangerment in Tennessee" »