2010 Changes to Tennessee DUI law Part 1 – Look back period for past offense
The Tennessee Legislature made several changes to the DUI law this past legislative session that went into effect for DUI violations after June 23, 2010. One of such changes amended the law regarding the look back period for past offenses. The old law calculated prior offenses under the DUI law for enhancement purposes by looking back 10 years from the previous conviction to the new conviction. For example, a person with one prior DUI on April 1, 2000 would face the minimums of a second offense if convicted on a second DUI before April 1, 2010.
Under the new law, the 10 years for enhancement purposes is calculated from violation to violation. I imagine such change was made to prevent criminal defense lawyers from continuing their clients cases so as to avoid the enhanced penalties.
Such enhanced penalties are significant. For example, in Tennessee while a first offender may face a minimum sentence of 48 hours in jail, a second offender faces a minimum 45 days in jail. A second offense also requires a larger fine and longer loss of driving privileges.