First Offense DUI in Memphis, Tennessee
February 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Memphis DUI attorneys understand that if you are charged with DUI for the first time, you are probably concerned and worried about your future. Our Memphis DUI lawyers realize that Driving Under the Influence is typically not a crime involving malice. Many individuals charged with DUI are not familiar with the criminal justice system. The DUI laws and regulations are confusing and seem to change frequently.U
nder Tennessee law, any person convicted for a first offense DUI shall be fined between $350 and $1,500. The court will prohibit a convicted person from driving a vehicle in the state of Tennessee for a period of one year. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-403 (2007). A first offense DUI violation is a Class A misdemeanor. The jail time depends upon the circumstances surrounding the conviction.
If you are less than twenty-one years of age at the time of the offense, the court shall sentence you to confinement in the county jail or workhouse for a minimum of forty-eight hours to a maximum of eleven months and twenty-nine days incarceration. As a condition of probation, you must remove litter during daylight hours from state route highways or state-aid highways, for a period of twenty-four hours. The period of litter removal shall be served in three shifts of eight consecutive hours each.
If you are twenty-one years of age or older at the time of the offense, the court shall sentence you to confinement in the county jail or workhouse for not less than twenty-four hours nor more than eleven months and twenty-nine days. As a condition of probation, you must remove litter during daylight hours from state route highways or state-aid highways for a period of twenty-four hours. The period of litter removal shall be served in three shifts of eight consecutive hours each.
• If at the time of the offense the alcohol concentration in your blood or breath is twenty hundredths of one percent (.20%) or greater, the minimum period of confinement for you must be seven consecutive calendar days rather than forty-eight hours.
• If at the time of the offense, you were accompanied by a child under eighteen years of age, you must be punished by a mandatory minimum incarceration of thirty days and a mandatory minimum fine of one thousand dollars $1,000.
• If at the time of the offense, you were accompanied by a child under eighteen years of age, and the child suffers serious bodily injury as a result of the DUI, the violation is a Class D felony.
• If at the time of the offense, you were accompanied by a child under eighteen years of age, and the child is killed as a result of the DUI, the violation is a Class C felony.
Contact a Memphis DUI lawyer to talk about the facts and circumstances surrounding your case. A Memphis DUI attorney can discuss different legal avenues applicable to you. Our Memphis attorneys handle DUI cases in Germantown, Cordova, Collierville, Bartlett and all of Shelby County.
Contact a Memphis DUI Lawyer!
February 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Memphis DUI lawyers realize that a DUI charge can be intimidating, especially if you don’t know a lot about Tennessee DUI law. Memphis, Tennessee DUI lawyers can help you understand Tennessee law, and explain your rights and options. If you have questions about the automatic license suspension or the impact a DUI conviction might have on your insurance costs, you may want to talk with a Memphis DUI lawyer.
You should not wait until your initial court appearance to start asking questions about your particular case. Contact a Memphis DUI lawyer before you appear in court so that your Memphis DUI attorney can gather important information he or she needs to make informed decisions about your case. A Memphis DUI lawyer can assess your case from your point of view, and advise you on Tennessee DUI law as it applies to your situation.
If you have questions about the sentence you face including whether the mandatory jail time provisions apply to you, contact a Tennessee DUI lawyer. You may think that there’s no way to successfully challenge a DUI charge, but Memphis DUI lawyers know that many cases have weaknesses. These weaknesses often open doors to dismissals or acquittals. Any crack in the state’s case could create an opportunity for a Tennessee DUI lawyer to negotiate for reduced charges or a favorable plea bargain.
Take advantage of the opportunity to learn about your rights under Tennessee law before you take a step in any direction. Contact a Tennessee DUI attorney if you have been charged with DUI in Memphis, Tennessee. Our DUI attorneys handle DUI cases in Memphis, Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, Cordova and all of Shelby County.
How Much Will My DUI Cost Me?
January 30, 2008 | 1 Comment
So, you’ve received a DUI in Memphis or Mississippi! How much is your Memphis DUI or Mississippi DUI going to cost you? $500, $1,000 maybe $,1500?
If your arrested and convicted for a Mississippi DUI or Memphis DUI you’d be surprised at the cost. The penalty with a conviction for a Mississippi DUI or Memphis DUI will costs you for years to come. Here’s a look at the cost from CNBC.
Drunk Driving Could Cost $20,000
CNBC News. Dec. 14 - Twenty thousand dollars sounds like a lot to pay for a drink at a holiday party, but if that last cocktail puts you over the legal limit, that “one for the road” could easily cost you that or more.
One drink too many puts you at risk for not only an arrest, but also for fees, fines and costs that can run you thousands of dollars. While a DUI or DWI may be a misdemeanor charge in a number of jurisdictions, it’s a matter that most judges and district attorneys take very seriously. The financial toll of a conviction will play out for years to come, and in many states that can add up to $20,000 before everything is over. This includes bail, fines, legal fees, increased auto insurance premiums, loss of work income, court-ordered alcohol education programs and more.
Of course, if you get fired from your job as a result of the arrest, that dollar figure would skyrocket…
The Texas Department of Transportation says a June 2006 survey in that state showed the total costs of a DWI arrest and conviction - for a first time offender with no accident involved - would range from $9,000 to $24,000.
In many states today, you’re better off committing a felony burglary, for example, than a misdemeanor DUI. The difference between .07% and .08% alcohol in your blood could be the difference between a brief detention and a nightmare in the legal system with a $20,000 price tag.
‘Ever wonder why?
So the next time you decide to drink and drive think about the consequences. Not only will a Mississippi DUI or Memphis DUI cost you over $20,000 in higher insurance costs, court costs, and lost income, it could cost even more if you harm someone when you’re behind the wheel. Remember never drink and drive, but if you feel that you need a Memphis DUI attorney or Mississippi DUI attorney then give us a call.
(special thanks to Lawrence Taylor’s blog for alerting us to the CNBC article)
DUI Entrapment in Mississippi and Tennessee
January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Although he’s not a Memphis DUI lawyer or a Mississippi DUI lawyer, dui attorney Lawrence Taylor is an expert in the dui defense field. He had an excellent post on DUI entrapment that takes a look at how police and the courts have looked at dui entrapment.
You can view his post on his site here or just read it below.
DUI Entrapment
Monday, December 13th, 2004
Suppose a police officer asks or orders an individual to drive a vehicle - and then arrests him for DUI when he complies?This situation comes up more often than you might think. Take, for example, the following case that eventually made its way to the New Jersey Supreme Court….
The defendant asked his brothers at a wedding reception to drive him home because he was too intoxicated to drive. In the parking lot, however, the brothers got into a fight, attracting the attention of local police. One of the officers struck a brother with his nightstick. The defendant asked the officer to quit hitting his brother. The officer replied by ordering him to leave the parking lot. When the defendant did not immediately comply, the officer repeated the order and then forcefully escorted him to his truck. The defendant obediently got into the vehicle, started the engine - and backed into a police car.
He was arrested for drunk driving.
At trial, the judge ruled that the defendant had failed to prove entrapment or duress as a defense, and he was convicted. On appeal, however, the conviction was reversed on grounds of quasi-entrapment - that is, the defendant should have been acquitted if he could show that but for the officer’s order to leave in the vehicle he would not have driven. The prosecution appealed this reversal to the state’s supreme court.
Incredibly, the supreme court reversed the lower court and reinstated the conviction. Its reasoning? “Obviously,” the court said, “if the law were to permit [drunk drivers] to offer as a defense that they drove only because they reasonably feared that telling the police that they were drunk might lead to arrest, the invitation to offer a pretext would be clear”. The court continued its twisted logic:
“No one ordered the defendant to get drunk and no one ordered defendant to drive drunk. The police did not coerce defendant into driving his vehicle through the use or threats of violence. The police officers merely ordered defendant to get in his truck and leave the scene of the fight….” (Emphasis added) State v. Fogarty, 607 A.2d 624 (N.J. 1992).
This “no win” scenario is fairly typical of what I have referred to in earlier posts as “the DUI exception to the Constitution”.
Two-tiered level of DUI
December 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Mississippi and Memphis DUI lawyers might be looking at new classifications of dui’s in the future if what is going on in the West Virginia legislature is any indication.
West Virginia has a bill up that will change the ways that dui’s are prosecuted. The new legislation would make it so that two different tiers of dui’s are created.
Tier 1 would be for all dui’s in which the person blew a .08 to a .14 into the breathalyzer. For these dui’s the person would no longer need to serve 24 hours in jail and would instead be released after a few hours with just time served.
Tier 2 would be for what will be called “aggravated dui’s” in which a breathalyzer reading of .15 or higher was reached. These individuals would then be required to stay in jail for at least 48 hours.
The reasoning behind he law is that West Virginia is trying to lower the number of people required to stay in jail in order to help a crowded jail population. Currently all offenders are required to stay at least 24 hours in jail.
If this new law goes into effect it should give anyone arrested in West Virginia even more reason to hire a dui lawyer. Why you might ask? Because breathalyzer’s are not infallible. In fact they are very often wrong and an experienced dui lawyer should be able to point that out to the court. Here the difference between .14 and .15 could mean an extra few days spent in jail, and thousands of extra dollars in insurance and other costs, not to mention to possible loss of a job for being convicted of “aggravated dui”.
To get a copy of the free report “The Unauthorized Guide to Memphis DUI Defense” or “The Unauthorized Guide to Mississippi DUI Defense” written by DUI Lawyer James Ferrell, just email us at info@lawferrell.com or call our 24/7 automated line at 1-800-546-2713 today.
Memphis DUI Lawyers, “It just depends on how good of an attorney you get,”.
December 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment
In an article running in today’s Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Metro DUI Seargent Chris Jones huffs that when it comes to getting out of a DUI, “It just depends on how good of an attorney you get.”
The article in the paper also states that Since 2003, the Shelby County Attorney General’s Office has had a DUI Prosecution Task Force. That head of that task force is prosecuting attorney Charles Bell, who spent more than a dozen years prosecuting violent crimes.
Mr. Bell had this to say about prosecuting DUI cases, “I came to DUI, quite honestly, not realizing how difficult it is to prosecute cases,” he says.
The article goes on to talk about how Memphis and Shelby County are working together to try and crackdown on drinking and driving this holiday season.
At one point in the article the prosecutor is quoted as saying “You can be a little buzzed and be impaired” and follows that up by saying “On the other hand, I’m sure the defense bar will tell you it’s not illegal to have a drink and drive.” These quotes came in response to whether he thought the breathalyzer even mattered, which he apparently does not believe.
It seems that Mr. Bell thinks that anyone drinking and driving should be arrested for DUI. The problem is that it is not against the law to drink and drive. It is only against the law the be intoxicated and drive. There’s a big difference between the two, but I guess Mr. Bell doesn’t think so. In his opinion if you’ve had a beer and drive then you should be behind bars.
This is the type prosecutor and officer that you’ll be against when facing a DUI charge. Unfortunately they sometimes don’t care about the law, just about putting someone behind bars.
To read the full article you can click here.
To get a copy of the free report “The Unauthorized Guide to Memphis DUI Defense” or “The Unauthorized Guide to Mississippi DUI Defense” written by DUI Lawyer James Ferrell, just email us at info@lawferrell.com or call our 24/7 automated line at 1-800-546-2713 today.
Olive Branch, Mississippi Receives Grant for New DUI Officer
December 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment
According to the latest issue of the Desoto Times the city of Olive Branch will be adding a new DUI officer to the city payrolls courtesy of a $42,000 grant received through the state.
This is good news for everyone in Olive Branch. Adding a well-trained DUI officer should end some of the unneccesary arrests that occur each year when a poorly trained officer arrests someone for DUI who clearly is not intoxicated. The truth is that a well-trained DUI officer really helps the community in two ways. The first is that he gets people off the streets who shouldn’t be driving and the second way is that he actually cuts down on the number of arrests where people weren’t actually drunk.
Statistically speaking, DUI field sobriety tests are only accurate roughly 60% of the time. That means that a large number of people who are arrested each year because of failed sobriety tests were actually not intoxicated. That’s a pretty scary statistic. Just think about it. Up to 40% of the people arrested for merely failing a field sobriety test could possibly be not guilty. That’s why we need experienced law officers and that’s why you need a good dui lawyer.
To get a copy of the free report “The Unauthorized Guide to Memphis DUI Defense” or “The Unauthorized Guide to Mississippi DUI Defense” written by DUI Lawyer James Ferrell, just email us at info@lawferrell.com or call our 24/7 automated line at 1-800-546-2713 today.
Olive Branch, Mississippi DUI Statistics
December 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment
For the week ending November 29, 2007 the City of Olive Branch, Mississippi issued four citations for DUI and one citation for refusing a sobriety test.
To get a copy of the free report “The Unauthorized Guide to Memphis DUI Defense” or “The Unauthorized Guide to Mississippi DUI Defense” written by DUI Lawyer James Ferrell, just email us at info@lawferrell.com or call our 24/7 automated line at 1-800-546-2713 today.
Famous DUI’s!
December 5, 2007 | 3 Comments
If you’re like most people when they receive a DUI here in Memphis or Mississippi the first thing you think is that you’re life is over. And although a DUI does hamper many aspects of your life a conviction is not going to ruin your life forever (it just makes it more difficult).
A DUI conviction in Kennebunkport, Maine didn’t seem to stop a young George W. Bush from going on to become the future President. And two convictions of Dick Cheney didn’t stop him from later becoming a Vice-President.
Here in Tennessee State Senator Jerry Cooper recently received a DUI. As did Al Gore’s son Al Gore, Jr. when visiting California.
Several mayors around the country have been convicted. The list includes the mayor of Boise, Idaho; Carson City, Nevada; Gore, Oklahoma, Norton, Ohio and more.
Even prosecutors get in on the act sometimes. As is the case in Miami where the city prosecutor hit two people riding a scooter while he was driving under the influence.
Remember, it’s best not to drink and drive. But if you have been convicted it doesn’t mean your life is over. Just make sure that you know your rights.
To get a copy of the free report “The Unauthorized Guide to Memphis DUI Defense” or “The Unauthorized Guide to Mississippi DUI Defense” just email us at info@lawferrell.com or call our 24/7 automated line at 1-800-546-2713 today.
Tennessee DUI Conviction Worse Than a Violent Felony?
December 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Here’s an interesting article from The Tennessean that looks at how a DUI Conviction here in Tennessee can stick with you for life. You’d be better off if you’re arrested for domestic violence, burglary or almost any other felony except for misdemeanor DUI here in Memphis.
DUI convictions can’t be erased
By SHEILA BURKE Staff Writer -What can a drug user, wife beater and burglar do that someone convicted of driving under the influence can’t?Under Tennessee law, all but DUI offenders are eligible to have their criminal records wiped clean. Such harsh terms normally apply only to the most violent perpetrators, such as murderers and sexual predators.
Criminal defense attorneys say that’s one more reason drivers should be careful this holiday season, a time when DUI arrests typically rise… click here to read the rest of the article
It seems to me that DUI offenders are everyone’s favorite easy target these days. If you’ve been arrested for DUI make sure that you speak with a lawyer and know the repercussions before going to court alone.
To get a copy of the free report “The Unauthorized Guide to Memphis DUI Defense” just email us at info@lawferrell.com or call our 24/7 automated line at 1-800-546-2713 today.
