Nashville DUI Defense Lawyer
Drunk Driving—DUI Per Se—DWI—Refusal Suspension
Phone: 615-259-9867 (Tenn) 305-728-5255 (Fla)
Based in Nashville, the DUI lawyer at the Law Office of Brent Horst defends clients throughout Tennessee, including Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Clarksville, and Nashville charged with DUI or other alcohol related offense.
Experienced Nashville DUI Lawyer
Our experienced DUI defense lawyer, Brent Horst, is a former prosecuting attorney and Board Certified Criminal Trial Specialist with over 100 criminal jury trials tried to verdict and over 20 years of criminal trial experience, including experience defending DUI-DWI charges.
It is illegal to drive in Tennessee with a blood alcohol level of .08 or greater or while ones driving is impaired by alcohol or illegal or prescriptrion drugs.
In Tennessee, there is an implied consent (you agree to it when you sign for your driviers license) to submit to a breathalyzer or blood test when a police officer has probable cause to believe that your driving is impaired due to drugs or alcohol. That means that if a police officer has lawful grounds to stop you and probable cause to believe you are impaired or over the legal limit (usually an odor of alcohol will be all that it takes)he can ask you to submit to a blood-alcohol test. Refusing a breath or blood test can result in the loss of your license even if you are later found not guilty of DUI or DWI.
If your test result is over the legal limit (currently .08 for alcohol) you will be charged with DUI per se (that means if the prosecution can show the test was accurate and the stop was lawful, you can be convicted of drunk driving simply for having an illegal blood alcohol amount while driving regardless of how well you may have been driving).
If your breath or blood test is under the legal limit, or you refuse the test you can still be charged with driving while impaired (DWI ) / Driving under the influence (DUI) if the state can show your ability to operate the vehicle was impaired because of alcohol or drugs. There is no per se limit for drugs and the state must show that the drugs impaired your ability to drive. The evidence the state will typically attempt to rely upon to show impairment (especially when they do not have a breath or blood test because the person refused) is the manner of driving, the results of field sobriety tests, and the person’s general demeanor and appearance.
Field sobriety tests, which are typically walking a strait line, standing on one foot, and similar tests are not required to be performed and a person does not risk loosing their license for refusing these tests.
Typical defenses provided by the law office of Brent Horst include claims that the stop by the officer was not lawful, the field sobriety tests and or the breath test were not accurate because they were administered incorrectly or are inherently unreliable, the breath or blood test did not accurately measure the amount of alcohol at the time the person was actually driving, and the manner of driving and the persons demeanor did not demonstrate impairment.
For more information about Tennessee drunk driving laws, refusal charges, or for experienced representation from an aggressive Tennessee DUI defense lawyer and former prosecuting attorney who is a board certified specialist with over 100 cases tried to verdict and over 20 years of criminal trial experience, we invite you to schedule a free confidential case evaluation by visiting us, calling us at 615-259-9867, e-mailing us, or filling out our intake form on our Contact Us page. Experience matters.
