Tennessee Drug Laws

crimes in Tennessee are complex and potential consequences if convicted can require looking at a number of factors, including the type of drug, whether any potential enhancements may apply (such as whether you were charged within a school zone) and the range of the offender if it is a felony charge. This is intended to be a summary of Tennessee’s drug laws, however if you have either been arrested or received a citation for a drug offense, you should call a Tennessee lawyer and consult directly with them about your case.

Which drugs are illegal in Tennessee?

Any scheduled drug, without a prescription, is illegal. (Includes marijuana and synthetic marijuana.)

Three Most Common Drug Crimes in Tennessee

Simple Possession: of any drug in Tennessee is a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by fines, costs and 11 months, 29 days in jail. If you received a citation for any drug crime, it is a misdemeanor drug offense. If you were arrested, it could be either a misdemeanor or a felony. Minimum fines depend on the schedule of the drug and court costs vary in each Tennessee county. Typically, a simple possession charge, with both court costs and fines, will be anywhere from $1,000 to $1,600.

Possession with Intent: Tennessee law has pre-determined that certain amounts of drugs are indicative of more than ‘just for personal use’. This does not mean you are presumed guilty of a felony drug crime. The State of Tennessee still must prove you possessed the drugs with the intent to sell or distribute beyond a reasonable doubt.

Sale of a Controlled Substance: When charged, a law enforcement officer has typically directly observed a drug sale, or more often, the sale involved an undercover officer. Sale of a controlled substance in Tennessee is a felony, the potential sentence being determined by the type and amount of the drug (see: Scheduled Drugs in Tennessee), the location of the sale, and the number of prior felonies the person being charged has been convicted.

Marijuana Laws in Tennessee 

Any amount greater than ½ an ounce of Marijuana can be charged as a Felony in Tennessee

Up to ½ ounce – Class A Misdemeanor (Simple Possession)

½ Ounce to 10 lbs – Class E Felony, 1 – 6 years, (Sale, or Possession with Intent)

10 lbs to 70 lbs – Class D Felony, 2 – 12 years, (Sale, or Possession with Intent)

70 lbs to 300 lbs – Class C Felony, 3 – 15 years,  (Sale, or Possession with Intent)

300+ lbs – Class B Felony, 8 – 30 years, (Sale, or Possession with Intent)

Also note that any sale, regardless of the amount, is still a felony offense in Tennessee.

What happens if I am charged with a drug crime? Do I need a Lawyer?

If while attending Bonnaroo, you receive a simple possession citation in Coffee County (and only Coffee County), you may have the option of just paying a fine without having to return for court. If you receive a citation in any other county, you will likely have to come to court to resolve the drug charge.

What are scheduled drugs?

Drugs are categorized based on a number of factors, including risk of dependency, addiction, and whether or not they have any legitimate medical use. Schedule I for example, are considered to be the most dangerous, whereas Schedule VII would be considered to be the least dangerous. Below is some further explanation as well as example of drugs included in those categories. 

Schedule I drugs include those that are the most dangerous and have a high risk of addiction or dependency and no legitimate medical use. Drugs included under this heading include LSD, heroin, mescaline and some varieties of  mushrooms. (Found in its entirety at Tennessee Code Annotated 39-17-406)

Schedule II substances still have a high risk of abuse but may have legitimate medical uses. Schedule II drugs include opium, cocaine, methadone, methamphetamines, and amphetamines.

Schedule III drugs have moderate risk of abuse. Schedule III substances include anabolic steroids, testosterone, ketamine, and some depressants. (Found in its entirety at Tennessee Code Annotated 39-17-410)

Schedule IV drugs have a slight risk of dependency and have very acceptable medical uses. Some Schedule IV drugs are clonazepam, tranquilizers, and sedatives. (Found in its entirety at Tennessee Code Annotated 39-17-412)

Schedule V drugs are substances which have a very low risk of dependency and include drugs like Tylenol with Codeine. (Found in its entirety at Tennessee Code Annotated 39-17-414)

Schedule VII includes only Butyl Nitrate also called “poppers”. (Found in its entirety at Tennessee Code Annotated 39-17-418)

If you are facing any drug charge in Tennessee, it is important you have an attorney who understands the complexity of drug crimes and possible sentencing. There are many factors to consider when analyzing a drug offense, including the type of drug, location of the arrest, whether or not any possible enhancement exist, or may exist upon presentation to a grand jury, as well as the range of the offender. If you have been charged with any drug crime in Tennessee, call our Tennessee criminal defense attorneys.

The difference between misdemeanor Simple Possession and felony Possession with Intent in Tennessee

There is one difference between misdemeanor and felony drug possession: What you were planning to do with the drug. Did you have it for your own personal use, or rather with the intent to distribute or re-sell it?

WHY WAS I CHARGED WITH A FELONY?

The law sets out certain drug amounts which any amount over that is presumed to be possession with intent to distribute or re-sell. With marijuana, any amount of .5 an ounce is considered possession with intent. 

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE A GOOD CASE?

There are key factors looked at when determining the strength of a case. Simply put, what type of evidence do they have? A few examples:

1. The amount of the drug. Is it an amount that an individual is capable of consuming over a short period of time?
2. How the drug was packaged. Was it in a single bag, or multiple bags? Multiple bags suggest an intent for the drug to be sold.
3. What else was found during the search? Weighing scales, numerous plastic baggies, and large amounts of cash, are all indicators of drug sales. 

CAN YOU HELP ME?

Yes, we have likely handled hundreds of cases similar to yours. If you have been charged with possession with intent in Tennessee, and need to hire a lawyer, call us today.

They’re watching

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO – BONNAROO DRUG CITATION AND ARREST STATS

• 424 drug citations issued on the Bonnaroo campgrounds alone during the four day festival

• Several thousand more drug citations issued to people traveling to Bonnaroo on Tennessee highways and interstates

• 44 people arrested for drugs on the Bonnaroo campgrounds – slightly more than in 2011

• Hundreds more arrested traveling to Bonnaroo on drug related charges in Tennessee

Save our number – Bonnaroo Lawyers  at 615 – 829 – 8259.

Be careful, be smart, have fun. Rock on Bonnaroo 2013.

Tennessee law provides fairly harsh punishments for the underage person attempting to gain admittance to a bar or club by using a fake ID. Certainly the maximum jail time would be harsh however for most people at this age, probation is likely and jail time is not typically considered. The most surprising aspect of Tennessee law is the mandatory loss of your driver’s license for one year. This is not something that can be negotiated with the prosecutor. If you are convicted of using a fake ID in order to gain admittance to place where alcohol is being served, the Tennessee Department of Safety is notified and you will lose your driver’s license for one year.

There are often other available options to resolve these types of criminal charges in Tennessee. Contact our Nashville criminal defense lawyers today for a consultation and to discuss other possible alternatives.

Summary of the punishments for using a fake identification at a bar/club in Tennessee.

[Tenn. Code Annotated § 57 – 3 – 412 (c)]

-        Class A Misdemeanor in TN

-        Maximum punishment is 11 months, 29 days in jail

-        Mandatory Loss of Driver’s License for a period of 1 year

-        Fine of $50 – $200; or 5 – 30 days in jail

Full Text of T.C.A. 57 – 3 – 412 (c) (Updated 2012)

(c) Any person under twenty-one (21) years of age who knowingly makes a false statement or exhibits false identification to the effect that the person is twenty-one (21) years old or older to any person engaged in the sale of alcoholic beverages for the purpose of purchasing or obtaining the same commits a misdemeanor. In addition to any criminal penalty established by this subsection (c), a court in which a person younger than twenty-one (21) years of age but eighteen (18) years of age or older is convicted under this subsection (c) of a second or subsequent offense shall prepare and send to the department of safety, driver control division, within five (5) working days of the conviction, an order of denial of driving privileges for the offender for a period not to exceed one (1) year. The offender may apply to the court for a restricted driver license. The judge shall order the issuance of a restricted motor vehicle operator’s license, in accordance with the provisions of § 55-50-502. The court and the department shall follow the same procedures and utilize the same costs for a person younger than twenty-one (21) years of age but eighteen (18) years of age or older as provided in title 55, chapter 10, part 7, for offenders younger than eighteen (18) years of age but thirteen (13) years of age or older.

(1) If the person violating this subsection (c) is less than eighteen (18) years of age, that person shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) and not less than twenty (20) hours of community service work, which fine or penalty shall not be suspended or waived. The fine imposed by this subdivision (c)(1) shall apply regardless of whether the violator cooperates with law enforcement officers by telling them the place the alcohol was purchased or obtained or from whom it was purchased or obtained.

(2) If the person violating this subsection (c) is eighteen (18) years of age or older but less than twenty-one (21) years of age, that person shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200) or by imprisonment in the county jail or workhouse for not less than five (5) days nor more than thirty (30) days. The penalties imposed by this subdivision (c)(2) apply regardless of whether the violator cooperates with law enforcement officers by telling them the place the alcohol was purchased or obtained or from whom it was purchased or obtained.

Our Criminal Defense Lawyers Practice in Middle Tennessee, including but not necessarily limited to the following counties: Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Maury, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, Wilson counties.

So far this year, 22% of all fatal crashes in Nashville (9 of 41) have involved impaired drivers.  Blood alcohol test results are pending in more recent traffic fatality cases.

What is Simple Possession in Tennessee?

Generally, simple possession is the possession of illegal drugs in an amount the legislature has determined to be such a small amount that it is indicative of personal use and is not likely possessed with the intent to be resold or delivered. Simple possession in Tennessee is a Class A Misdemeanor and is punishable by fines, community service, and up to 11 months, 29 days in jail.

I received a citation for simple possession. Where I am from you would be arrested. Since I received a citation, can I just pay a fine?

With a misdemeanor offense in Tennessee, police officers have discretion in deciding whether to issue a written citation or make an arrest. If you are caught with a small amount of marijuana or drugs and are cooperative, often times those officers will simply issue a written citation. A written citation for simple possession is not like a speeding ticket and with exception to a few counties, such as Coffee County where Bonnaroo is held, it cannot just be paid. It is required that you show up for court and resolve the case.

I received a simple possession citation in Tennessee on the way to Bonnaroo. Am I going to jail?

Not necessarily, many simple possession cases result in probation.

The reason the officer gave me for stopping my vehicle is not true. Can they do that?

The 4th Amendment provides us with the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Your assertions are probably accurate – you were likely stopped because the tags on your vehicle are not from Tennessee and you are young or fit their profile of someone who may be traveling with illegal narcotics. The officers are primarily concerned with getting drugs off the street and out of your possession, in whatever way they have to do it. Officers recognize that sometimes their stops may not be lawful – and that those charges may ultimately be dismissed. They are successful, however, in seizing the drugs and they know that their credibility will be accepted over that of someone who is facing a drug charge. If you are looking to challenge the validity of the stop, contact our Tennessee drug defense lawyers today and we will be glad to speak with you about your case.

Can I fight the charge?

Absolutely. If you feel that you have been wrongfully charged, or that the officer did not have probable cause to stop or search your vehicle, you may have a valid defense to the charges. Call us today and we will be glad to discuss your case and your best course of action in resolving it.

Do I need an attorney for the simple possession citation in Tennessee?

When facing a criminal offense that could result in jail time, it is always advisable that you hire an attorney.

Which counties do you receive the most calls from following Bonnaroo?

Historically, we receive the most calls regarding cases in Rutherford County (Murfreesboro, TN) and from Putnam County (Cookeville, TN).

Which counties do you serve in Tennessee?

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the criminal charge, we offer our services in all of Middle Tennessee, including the Cookeville, TN area.

Our Nashville, Tennessee criminal defense lawyers have experience handling all types of drug cases, and are available to answer questions about your case. Contact them today for a free consultation and discussion about how to handle your drug charge in Tennessee.

More than just DUI checkpoints

The Tennessee Highway Patrol has also announced that over the holiday they are stepping up efforts enforce the seatbelt law in Tennessee. The net effect will yield not only more people wearing seatbelts, but also more traffic stops which will likely lead to more DUI arrests.

If you have been drinking, don’t drive. If you find yourself being stopped at a DUI checkpoint or on the highway, remember your rights. Understand that officers are trained to look for indications of impairment and everything you say will likely be used against you in a court of law. Always be cooperative with the officer – being uncooperative will typically lead to making it more difficult to resolve your case in a favorable manner.

If you’ve been arrested and charged with a DUI, contact our office for a free consultation with one of our Nashville DUI attorneys.

Our DUI defense lawyers accept cases in Cheatham County and Ashland City, TN, Dickson, TN, Williamson County and Franklin, TN, Wilson County and Lebanon, TN, Sumner County and Gallatin, TN, Rutherford County and Murfreesboro, TN.

What happens after I am arrested/receive a citation for a criminal offense in Tennessee?

After receiving a citation or being arrested for a criminal offense, you will be booked. When booked, the arresting agency will gather information about you, including your birthdate, home address and will take you photographs and fingerprints.

If you are arrested, the booking process will begin as soon as you arrive at the jail.

If you receive a criminal citation, the booking process will either occur before or on your court date. Each county in Tennessee is different as to the requirements of when you must be booked. Many counties require that you be booked within 10 days of receiving the criminal citation.

Am I going to jail on my first court date?

No. The first court date is typically referred to as your initial appearance or your arraignment. On that day the judge will ask you whether you have an attorney and will set your second court appearance (the ‘settlement date’). With the exception of a few Class B and C Misdemeanor offenses, it will be the next court date before you will have an opportunity to settle your case.

The judge will also ask whether you intend to hire an attorney or whether you would like an attorney appointed. If you request a court appointed attorney they will require you to fill out an affidavit of indigence to determine whether you qualify for an appointed attorney. They may also require you to perform public service work or pay an administrative fee for a court appointed attorney.

In some counties, the judge may ask you at your initial appearance whether you plead guilty or not guilty. It is never advisable to plead guilty without an attorney.

What happens when I go to court for the second time in Tennessee?

After your first appearance in court, your case will be given a second court date which will be for the purposes of settlement discussions. On that day your attorney will have an opportunity to speak with the District Attorney about the specifics of your criminal case. They will discuss the facts of the case and any defenses you may have to the charges. After discussing the case, the district attorney will extend a plea offer.

What happens if I don’t accept the plea offer?

If you refuse the offer by the district attorney you will have a preliminary hearing. The purpose of the preliminary hearing is to determine whether it was likely a crime was committed, and whether it was likely you were the person that committed the crime. The burden is on the State, however most cases will be bound-over to the grand jury. If the judge finds that there is probable cause, they will also determine whether the bond that was set is still appropriate and could increase your bond amount.

You may also choose to bind your case over to the grand jury without a preliminary hearing; however that is not advisable for most cases.

What happens after my case is bound over to the grand jury?

In all likelihood, the grand jury will return an indictment and your arraignment date (or initial appearance) in either Circuit or Criminal Court will be set. The same process just described will essentially repeat itself, except that if you do not accept the plea offer by the district attorney, your case will be set for trial instead of a preliminary hearing.

If you have a court appearance upcoming and have questions about your case, contact our Nashville criminal defense attorneys today for a free consultation.

Psychologist Fiery Cushman asks us to consider the following. Hal and Peter drink together in a bar. After becoming intoxicated from consuming identical amounts of alcohol, they drive separate cars home. Each man loses control of their car on an icy road. Hal’s car runs into a tree. Peter’s car hits a little girl and kills her. Hal will face some driving-related sanctions. Peter, on the other hand, has committed a homicide and will probably serve some time in prison.

Why should two accidental outcomes of identical behavior result in such drastically different punishments? Legal scholars refer to this situation as an example of “moral luck” — the idea that chance outcomes can and do affect the way we judge culpability.

But Cushman contends that “moral luck” is more than just a topic for philosophers. Rather, it illustrates a conflict that is hard-wired into our brains. One part of the brain assigns punishment in proportion to the harm an actor causes; thus, it wants to see Peter punished more severely than Hal. But another part of the brain evaluates moral wrong based upon the actor’s intent to harm; this part of the brain sees Peter as no more culpable than Hal. In short, we blame based on the actor’s intention, while we punish based on the harm that occur red.

Jean Piaget in the 1930s noticed the tension that exists between these two moral judgment components: The harm a person actually causes, as opposed to the harm a person intends. To examine this, Piaget performed an experiment in moral judgment where he presented children with two stories about boys who broke teacups. In one, a boy accidentally broke one cup while trying to steal cookies in the kitchen. In the other, a boy accidentally broke 15 cups while helping his mother set the table. Piaget then asked each child which boy was “naughtier.”

Children 6 years and older generally gave the answer an adult would give: The boy with bad intentions who broke one cup is worse than the boy with good intentions who broke 15 cups. Yet children under 6 generally found the boy who broke 15 to be worse. Experiments similar to this that have been replicated dozens of times consistently show that while older children and adults focus on the actor’s intent, young children focus on the harm the actor caused.

Interestingly, Cushman conducted a survey of 1,000 adults and found that their responses were not all that different from the children’s. Like the 6-year-olds, adults based judgments of “moral wrongness” almost exclusively on the actor’s intent. But, like the children under 6, adults also tended to assign punishment based on the harm caused — that is, attempts to harm were punished more severely when they succeeded than when they failed. Further, accidental harm was not fully excused.

Thus, the different criminal sentences we give depends on a basic psychological impulse present in the youngest minds: The impulse to punish those who cause harm.

Can we locate this tendency in the physical brain? Psychologist Liane Young has conducted experiments concerning a part of the brain that has been connected to processing information about other people’s mental states, e.g., whether an approaching stranger is a friend or foe.

This region of the brain is called the right temporo-parietal junction, RTPJ for short. Young conducted a series of brain scans of people who were asked to make moral judgments involving several different scenarios that varied both the fictional actor’s intention or belief and whether there was a good or bad outcome. When the person was processing the actor’s state of mind, the RTPJ “lit up,” thus suggesting that this is the part of the brain that registers beliefs that are relevant for assessing moral blame.

Further, Young actually found a correlation between the intensity of the RTPJ response and the moral judgment rendered. People with a high RTPJ response — people more attuned to an actor’s intent — blamed actors less for causing accidental harm. But people with a low RTPJ response — people who reacted less to the actor’s intent — assigned more blame to actors causing accidental harm.

But is the intensity of the RTPJ response a cause or an effect of the moral judgment? Young applied an electrical current in the brain to dull the RTPJ during a moral judgment experiment. Disrupting the RTPJ resulted in moral judgments far more concerned with outcomes rather than the intent of the actor.

Thus, the disruption resulted in more lenient judgments of failed attempts to harm — “no harm, no foul.” Conversely, it resulted in harsher judgments of mere accidents — “if there is harm, there must have been a foul.” Thus, the moral mind is actually rooted in the physical brain.

Cushman and Young have each described their work in “Future Science: Essays From the Cutting Edge,” Max Brockman, Ed., Vintage, 2011.

So what do we do with this information? Perhaps nothing. Morris B. Hoffman, both a trial judge and a member of the MacArthur Foundation Law and Neuroscience Project, has also noted the “blame/punish” problem involved with moral luck.

But he observes that “[C]riminal law’s harm principle may be a kind of evolutionary shortcut for [assessing] blame.” Given the impossibility of determining precisely what punishment is proper in a given situation, “evolution armed us with the ability to make rough guesses about deterrence. Bad intentions unaccompanied by any harm are too hard to detect, so harm became one proxy for blame; however, because … accidents do sometimes happen, evolution armed us with a second blame proxy: intentionality. It is when there is no intentionality — when our blame intuitions depend exclusively on harm alone — that our moral luck dissonance is at its starkest.” Morris B. Hoffman, “Ten Legal Dissonances,” 62 Mercer L. Rev. 989, 1008 (2011).

Even with science’s remarkable breakthroughs in understanding brain structure, “muddling through” may still at this time be the best we can do in struggling with “blame/punish” problems in criminal law.

Criminal Procedure

By Timothy P. O’Neill

Timothy P. O’Neill is a professor at The John Marshall Law School. He was a finalist for the 2010 “Peter Lisagor Award” for Exemplary Journalism in the area of Commentary. Readers are invited to visit his Web log and archives at jmls.edu/oneill.