Tennessee DUI Law Questions
Reported by Will Carr
Hamilton County’s Assistant District Attorney says Tennessee does not
have a provision for a D.U.I. offender who has more than four offenses.
This comes after a Chattanooga man was charged with his 8th d-u-i this
past weekend.
The former president of Hamilton County’s Mother’s Against Drunk
Drivers says there is only one way to deal with re-peat D.U.I.
offenders.
“They need to be locked up. There are laws that will do that. We just
have to do our part,” Jim Herman says.
Herman is the former president of Hamilton County’s M.A.D.D, and he
says people who have been charged multiple times for D.U.I. should be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
This comes after Donald Lowery was charged with his eighth D.U.I.
Saturday night. Lowery hit two un-occupied cars on Dodson Avenue
including a 2004 Saturn.
“You know I think there are plenty of law right there, we just need to
enforce those laws,” Herman says.
Assistant District Attorney Jay Woods says they’re doing everything
possible to prosecute D.U.I. offenders.
“We are eager to make sure that offenders such as this eighth offender
aren’t continuing to endanger the public,” Woods says.
Right now a first time D.U.I. offender receives a misdemeanor, a
mandatory 24 hours in jail, and a suspended driver’s license for a
year.
The second offense has a minimum of 45 days in jail and a driver’s
license suspension of two years.
A third offense carries a minimum 120 days of jail time and a driver’s
license suspension of three to ten years.
A fourth offense turns into a felony conviction and jail time of at
least 150 consecutive days.
“After that a fifth offender still has the same minimum 150 days to
serve. Sixth, seventh, eighth the minimum is still 150 days to serve,”
Woods says.
So no matter how many offenses the minimum remains the same as a four
time offender. “We need a minimum sentence that addresses a multiple
offender who continues to pick up D.U.I.’s after he’s become a felon,”
Woods says.
Right now its up to the judge and the prosecutor’s discretion on how
to deal with offenders who have more than four D.U.I.’s. And Woods says a
package is going in front of legislature this year that will deal with
repeat offenders.
Source: http://www.wrcbtv.com
