Once again substantive changes have been made to the Tennessee DUI Laws:
Operating an Employer’s Vehicle. Under prior Tennessee Law, individuals with a restrictive driver’s license, which required the use of an interlock device on their vehicle, could drive an employer’s vehicle WITHOUT the requirement of an interlock device on the vehicle, as long as the employer acknowledged in writing they were permitted to do so. The 2014 changes to the DUI law remove this provision in total from the restricted driving statute.
Another area impacted by the 2014 DUI law changes is sentencing credits for in-patient and out-patient treatment for DUI offenses. Prior law allowed sentencing credits for substance abuse treatment of up to 28 days of a sentence for those convicted of a DUI 2nd Offense and only permitted sentence credits for inpatient treatment programs. The changes to the statute in 2014 only allow sentence credits after a mandatory minimum service of 25 days.
However, for the first time, those convicted of DUI 3rd Offense may receive in-patient treatment credits after serving 65 days of the mandatory minimum of 120 days. While a defendant may receive this credit whether treatment is received prior to or after the conviction, prior to the participation in a treatment program, the defendant must have a clinical substance abuse assessment conducted by a qualified and licensed alcohol and drug abuse treatment professional. An individual must fully complete the program recommended to receive the sentence reduction credits.
Major strides were made toward financially responsible methods of fully treating addiction by allowing sentencing credits for inpatient treatment if deemed appropriate by certified substance abuse treatment counselors. While the standards are strict, many offenders who can’t complete inpatient treatment due to employment and financial obligations or simply need longer term outpatient programs to fully treat their issues, will be permitted one (1) day credit for every nine (9) hours of successfully completed intensive outpatient treatment.
While the above statutes are applicable to offenses occurring after July 1, 2014, those who were after July 1, 2014, but who were charged with the offense prior to July 1, 2014, may request that the judge sentence them under this new provision of the law.
In the defense of the citizen accused,
~ Frank Lannom
(Handling criminal cases in Lebanon, Mount Juliet, Murfreesboro, Gallatin, Lafayette, Smyrna and all other Middle Tennessee areas)