DUI in Tennessee: Misdemeanor or Felony?

Fourth or Subsequent DUI Offenses

A DUI becomes a Class E felony if it is the individual’s fourth or subsequent offense within ten (10) years, or potentially twenty (20) years. The penalties for a felony DUI are more severe than those for a misdemeanor DUI and may include:

• A minimum of 150 consecutive days served in jail with the remainder of the 1 year sentence on supervised probation. However, you can face up to 1 year in jail even though the minimum is 150 days.
• A mandatory fine ranging from $3,000 to $15,000
• License revocation for 8 years, with restricted license availability
• Potential vehicle seizure and forfeiture
• Mandatory enrollment in an alcohol and drug treatment program
• Installation of an ignition interlock device at your expense for 6 months after reinstatement if two convictions occurred within 5 years

Vehicular Assault

If a DUI accident results in serious bodily injury to another person, your DUI charge, even a first offense DUI with no criminal history, may be elevated to a Class D felony vehicular assault. In these cases, the penalties are more severe and may include:

• Mandatory minimum sentences of incarceration, ranging from 48 hours to 150 days, depending on the number of prior alcohol-related offenses.
• You can face up to 2-4 years with no criminal history in jail, or 2-4 years on probation following your jail sentence. However, depending on your criminal history you can face up to 12 years in jail.
• Driving prohibition in Tennessee for varying periods, depending on the number of prior vehicular assault convictions, ranging from 1 year for a first offense to 5 years for fourth and subsequent convictions

Reckless Endangerment

Depending on the circumstances of your driving, you may be charged with reckless endangerment as a Class A misdemeanor or as a Class E felony. Reckless endangerment involves engaging in conduct that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.

Reckless endangerment is typically charged as a Class A misdemeanor, but it can be elevated to a Class E felony if a deadly weapon is involved in the offense. Prosecutors and the Court can classify a vehicle as a deadly weapon, so this charge usually goes along with a vehicular assault charge. Felony reckless endangerment charges often times are brought when there was a child in the vehicle at the time of a DUI. This can lead to more severe penalties, including longer jail time and higher fines.

Some key distinctions about the different classes of reckless endangerment charges:

• Reckless endangerment as a Class A misdemeanor may result in up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, along with potential fines.
• Reckless endangerment as a Class E felony can lead to 1 to 6 years in prison and fines ranging from $3,000 to $15,000.
• If reckless endangerment involves discharging a firearm into a habitation, the charge can be elevated to a Class C or D felony, depending on whether the habitation was occupied at the time of the offense.
  
  

Vehicular Homicide

If a DUI accident results in the death of another person, your DUI charge, even a first offense DUI with no criminal history, may be elevated to a Class B felony vehicular homicide. In these cases, the penalties are more severe and may include:

• Mandatory minimum sentences of incarceration, ranging from 8-30 years depending on your criminal history.

Our attorneys have experience representing individuals charged with vehicular homicide at the trial level. In addition to the elements of a DUI that the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, the state must also prove that the proximate cause of the accident and the proximate cause of the individual’s death was caused by the accident. Many times, there are other reasons for the accident other than impairment such as mechanical failures or distracted driving (although distracted driving many times will be attributed to impairment).