Fighting Charges of “Driving while High” in Tennessee

Driving under the influence of drugs in Tennessee is a serious crime. You can be charged with a DUI – Driving under the Influence – if an officer believes that you are impaired while behind the wheel. You may face these charges even if you are taking a legally prescribed medication.

Our attorneys will begin an intense review of the details surrounding your arrest. Since the arrest followed a traffic stop, we will examine the validity of the stop by the police officer. Did the officer have probable cause to initiate a traffic stop?

Probable cause includes burned out running lights, brake lights, headlights or failure to use a turn signal. Officers also look for erratic driving, speeding, changing lanes often, weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating, distracted driving and other actions by a driver to initiate a traffic stop.

If the officer did not have probable cause to initiate a traffic stop, our attorneys will work to have the charges thrown out in court due to this issue. An arrest following an unwarranted traffic stop should not be able to stand.

Challenge the test used to determine drugs in your system

For the most part, you will be issued a urine test or a blood test to determine the type of drug in your system and how much of the drug is in your system at the time of your arrest. There’s a lot that can go wrong with these tests, including the chain of command and tampering with the results. The results could also wind up getting lost. Our attorneys will work to make sure that the test results being submitted as evidence against you actually came from your body.

The attorney you consult from our firm will also question the sobriety tests that were conducted during the traffic stop. Was the officer properly trained to administer these tests? If they issued a breath test, was the device properly calibrated? Did the officer act professionally throughout the traffic stop?

Were you in physical control of the vehicle?

A question that often arises in DUI cases involving drugs is whether or not the vehicle was moving when the traffic stop occurred. (For example, maybe an officer approached your parked vehicle in a parking lot and determined you were high.) The question that the court will need to answer is: were you in physical control of the vehicle? The prosecution will need to address the following:

• Were you asleep or awake when the police approached your vehicle?
• Was the engine of the vehicle running?
• If the engine wasn’t running, where were the keys located?
• How close were you to the steering wheel?

In general terms, the closer you were to putting the vehicle in motion, the more likely it is that the judge will say you were in control of the vehicle.

Facing a charge of driving while high in Tennessee is serious. The experienced DUI defense lawyers from the Law Offices of Adrian H. Altshuler & Associates can help investigate the charges and help you fight them. Call our office at 615-977-9370 or complete a contact form on our website to schedule a consultation. Our offices are located in Franklin, Brentwood, and Columbia.