Can a Felony Be Dismissed in Tennessee?

Yes. Felony charges in Tennessee are dismissed, dropped and reduced every week, and it happens at several different points between arrest and trial. What decides the outcome is usually the strength of the state's proof, the defendant's record, and whether the case fits one of the diversion programs written into Tennessee law.

What follows is how a felony charge actually ends without a conviction in this state, and what each ending leaves behind on your record. Whether any of them apply to a particular case depends entirely on its facts.

"Dismissed," "dropped," "reduced" and "expunged" are four different things

People use these interchangeably. Courts don't.

Dropped is not a legal term. It usually means the prosecutor decided not to pursue the charge. In Tennessee the formal version is a nolle prosequi.

Dismissed means the case is terminated by court order. That can come from the judge, or from the state with the court's approval.

Reduced means the charge is still prosecuted, but at a lower class — a Class C felony resolved as a Class A misdemeanor, for example. There is still a conviction.

Expunged is what happens afterward. It removes the record of the arrest and charge. A dismissal doesn't erase anything on its own; you have to ask for that separately, and most people don't realize it.

Tennessee doesn't have first, second or 3rd degree felonies

If you are searching whether a 3rd degree felony can be dismissed in Tennessee, the premise doesn't apply here. Degree classifications belong to states like Texas, Florida and Ohio, and most of what is written about them online was written for those states.

Tennessee classifies felonies by letter, from Class A down to Class E, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-111:

The class matters for dismissal because it controls which options are open. Judicial diversion, covered below, is off the table for Class A and Class B felonies.

Seven ways a Tennessee felony charge ends without a conviction

1. The judge finds no probable cause at the preliminary hearing

Most Tennessee felony cases start in General Sessions Court. Before the case moves up, the defendant can ask for a preliminary hearing, where the state has to show that an offense was committed and that there is probable cause to believe this defendant committed it.

If the state can't, Rule 5.1 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure says the magistrate "shall discharge the defendant."

One caution that gets left out of most explanations of this: discharge is not the end. The same rule states plainly that discharge "does not preclude the state from instituting a subsequent prosecution for the same offense." The prosecutor can still take the case to a grand jury. A win at the preliminary hearing is real, but it isn't always final.

2. The grand jury returns a no true bill

Felony prosecutions in Tennessee generally require a grand jury indictment. The prosecutor presents the case to a grand jury, which decides whether there is enough to formally charge.

When the grand jury declines, it returns a "no true bill" and the charge does not go forward. That outcome is one of the specific grounds for expungement under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-32-101.

3. The prosecutor dismisses the case

Under Rule 48(a), "with the court's permission, the state may terminate a prosecution by filing a dismissal of an indictment, presentment, information, or complaint."

Two details in that sentence matter. The state needs the court's permission, so a prosecutor cannot simply walk away from a case unilaterally. And a dismissal cannot be filed during trial without the defendant's consent, which prevents the state from aborting a trial that is going badly and starting over.

Prosecutors dismiss for practical reasons: a witness stops cooperating, lab results come back differently than expected, or the evidence turns out to be weaker than the arrest report suggested. Defense counsel's job is to surface those problems early, in writing, while the prosecutor still has room to reconsider.

4. The court dismisses for unnecessary delay

Rule 48(b) lets a judge dismiss a charge when there is unnecessary delay in presenting the case to a grand jury, or in bringing a defendant to trial. This is less common than the other routes, but it exists, and it is worth tracking in a case that has been sitting.

5. A suppression motion takes out the state's evidence

If police obtained evidence by violating your constitutional rights, the exclusionary rule can keep that evidence out. Courts may exclude evidence that came from:

• a traffic stop made without cause
• a stop and frisk without reasonable suspicion
• a warrantless search of a vehicle or home
• a warrantless wiretap
• a statement compelled against your interest
• questioning that continued after you asked for a lawyer

Take a marijuana case. Police stop a car without an articulable reason, search the trunk without consent or a warrant, and find enough to support a felony possession charge. A motion to suppress argues that the search was unlawful and that everything found in it is the fruit of that violation.

If the court agrees and excludes the evidence, the state is left trying to prove possession of something it can no longer put in front of a jury. Cases in that position frequently do not survive, though the outcome depends on what other proof the state has.

6. Pretrial diversion

Pretrial diversion suspends the prosecution before there is any plea or finding of guilt. It runs on a written memorandum of understanding between the defendant and the district attorney general under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-15-105.

The statute caps the suspension at two years. If the defendant completes the terms, the trial court "shall dismiss with prejudice any warrant or charge against the defendant upon the expiration of ninety (90) days after the expiration of the period of suspension." With prejudice is the important part — the charge cannot come back.

The decision rests with the district attorney general, not the judge. A defendant who is refused can petition the trial court for review, and if the court finds the prosecutor abused that discretion, it can order diversion.

7. Judicial diversion

Judicial diversion works differently, and the distinction is one most people get wrong.

Here the defendant does plead guilty, or is found guilty. But under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-313, the court defers further proceedings "without entering a judgment of guilty and with the consent of the qualified defendant," and places the person on probation.

Complete the probation and "the court shall discharge the person and dismiss the proceedings." The statute specifies that this discharge is "without court adjudication of guilt," and that it "shall not be deemed a conviction for purposes of disqualifications or disabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime." A nonpublic record stays with the court.

To be a qualified defendant, a person must not have a prior felony conviction, and must not have a prior Class A misdemeanor conviction for which a sentence of confinement was served. Anyone who has already used pretrial or judicial diversion is ineligible. The statute also excludes:

• Class A and Class B felonies
• DUI
• vehicular assault
• sexual offenses
• official misconduct committed by a public official in that capacity

Judicial diversion is available for many Class C, D and E felonies and most misdemeanors. For someone with no record facing a lower-class felony, it is often the difference between a clean record and a conviction that follows them permanently.

Getting a felony reduced to a misdemeanor

Not every case ends in dismissal. A common outcome is a reduction — a felony resolved as a misdemeanor instead.

The practical difference is large. A Class E felony carries one to six years. A Class A misdemeanor carries a maximum of eleven months and twenty-nine days, and it does not bring the collateral consequences that attach to a felony conviction: the loss of firearm rights, the loss of the right to vote — which in Tennessee is not automatically restored when the sentence ends — and the professional licensing problems that follow a felony record.

Reductions come out of negotiation, and a negotiation only moves if the defense has something to put on the table. That is built the same way a dismissal is: by finding the weak points in the state's proof and raising them with the prosecutor before anyone has committed to a position.

A dismissal does not clear your record by itself

This is the step people miss.

When a charge is dismissed, the arrest and the charge stay in the public record until someone asks a court to remove them. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-32-101 allows expunction when:

• the charge was dismissed
• a grand jury returned a no true bill
• you were found not guilty
• you were arrested and released without being charged
• a nolle prosequi was entered
• you successfully completed pretrial or judicial diversion

Expunction generally requires a petition to the court that handled the case. It is not automatic. There is normally no fee where the charge was dismissed, a no true bill was returned, you were acquitted, or you were released without being charged; expunctions that follow diversion carry a clerk's fee.

The effect is what people are actually after: once a court orders expunction, the public records of the arrest and charge are removed and destroyed, and they stop appearing in the background checks that employers and landlords run.

A dismissal you never expunge is a dismissal that still shows up in a background check.

How this works in Williamson County

Felony cases here begin in Williamson County General Sessions Court and, once bound over or indicted, move to Circuit Court, which also convenes the grand jury. Both sit at the Williamson County Judicial Center at 135 Fourth Avenue South in Franklin.

One local point that is frequently reported incorrectly: the 21st Judicial District now covers Williamson County alone. Hickman, Lewis and Perry counties left the district on 1 September 2022 to form the new 32nd Judicial District. A number of Tennessee attorney pages still describe the old four-county arrangement.

Knowing which judge sits in which Circuit Court division, and how a particular prosecutor's office approaches diversion, changes how a case should be positioned. That kind of knowledge only comes from appearing in these courtrooms regularly.

Related reading

• Understanding a felony case in Tennessee
• Felony and misdemeanor charges explained
• Drug possession charges
• What happens at a preliminary hearing in Tennessee?

Frequently asked questions

Can felony charges be dropped before trial in Tennessee?

Yes. A prosecutor may dismiss a charge before trial, though Rule 48 requires the court's permission. Charges also end before trial when a judge finds no probable cause at the preliminary hearing, when a grand jury returns a no true bill, or when a defendant completes pretrial diversion.

How long does a felony case take in Tennessee?

It varies with the class of the charge and the court's docket. Cases resolved by dismissal or diversion often conclude in months; contested felonies set for trial commonly take a year or more. Pretrial diversion itself can run up to two years under state law.

Can a first-time felony be dismissed in Tennessee?

Often it can. Judicial diversion under § 40-35-313 is designed for people without a prior felony conviction, and successful completion ends in dismissal. It is not available for Class A or B felonies, DUI, vehicular assault, or sexual offenses.

What is the difference between pretrial and judicial diversion?

Pretrial diversion suspends prosecution before any plea, by agreement with the district attorney general. Judicial diversion comes after a guilty plea or finding of guilt, but the court withholds judgment. Both end in dismissal on successful completion.

Does a dismissed felony show up on a background check?

Yes, until it is expunged. Dismissal ends the case but does not clear the record. Under § 40-32-101 you must petition the court that handled the case to have the arrest and charge removed.

Can a public defender get a felony dropped?

Yes. The mechanisms described here are available to any defense lawyer, appointed or retained. What matters is the strength of the state's case and the time available to examine it.

Talk to a Franklin felony defense lawyer

The Law Offices of Adrian H. Altshuler & Associates has defended felony cases in Williamson County and the surrounding Middle Tennessee courts since 1991. If you are facing a felony charge, the earlier the case is reviewed, the more of these options remain open.

Call 615-977-9370 or use our online form to schedule a free initial consultation. Offices in Franklin, Brentwood and Columbia.