DUI Defense
Short answer: Tennessee counts a prior DUI if it falls within ten years of the new arrest, measured arrest date to arrest date, and once you are a multiple offender the window rolls back up to twenty years. Out-of-state convictions count. Vehicular assault and vehicular homicide have no look-back at all.
This page is the detail behind our Memphis DUI lawyer page, on how the State decides whether you are a first, second or third offender. Call (901) 324-5000, or call or text the criminal line at 901-412-2973, any time. Se habla español.
The Ten-Year Look-Back Statute Explained
The “look-back” is the period the State can reach back to find prior DUI convictions for the purpose of enhancing your sentence. Whether you are charged as a first, second, third, or fourth offender turns entirely on how this statute is applied to your driving history.
The Basic Rule – T.C.A. § 55-10-405(a)
If ten or more years have elapsed between the present DUI violation and the immediately preceding DUI conviction, the present case is treated as a first offense — no enhancement. If the immediately preceding violation occurred within ten years of the present one, you are a multiple offender.
The Rolling Look-Back Can Reach Back Up to 20 Years
Once you are classified as a multiple offender, the statute permits a rolling count: every prior conviction within ten years of the immediately preceding violation also counts. Under the leading case, State v. Gober, No. E2001-00296-CCA-R9-CO (Tenn. Crim. App. Sept. 18, 2001), this chain can reach back substantially further than ten years from the present offense. The absolute ceiling, however, is twenty years: a DUI conviction more than 20 years before the present violation can never be counted.
Arrest Date, Not Conviction Date
For arrests on or after July 1, 2010, the ten-year window is measured from arrest date to arrest date, not conviction date to conviction date. This matters because a prior case that was finally resolved years after the arrest can still count as a prior if the original arrest fell inside the window.
Out-of-State Convictions Count
Under T.C.A. § 55-10-405(b), the State may use a DUI conviction from another state if the offense elements match Tennessee’s, along with boating under the influence, vehicular assault, aggravated vehicular assault, vehicular homicide, and aggravated vehicular homicide. A Mississippi or Arkansas DUI from eight years ago is just as dangerous to your current case as a Shelby County DUI from the same period.
No Look-Back at All for Certain Felonies – T.C.A. § 55-10-405(c)
A prior conviction for vehicular assault (§ 39-13-106), aggravated vehicular assault (§ 39-13-115), vehicular homicide by intoxication (§ 39-13-213(a)(2)), or aggravated vehicular homicide (§ 39-13-218) counts as a prior DUI forever. There is no ten-year or twenty-year limit. A vehicular homicide conviction from 1998 will still enhance a 2026 DUI.
How the State Proves Priors
Under T.C.A. § 55-10-405(d), a certified computer printout of the official driver record from the Department of Safety is prima facie evidence of any prior conviction. The defendant is entitled to a copy at arraignment if indicted, or at first appearance or at least fourteen days before trial if charged by warrant. Errors in the driving record are common — wrong dates, wrong counties, dispositions that were reduced or dismissed but never updated. Challenging the printout is a routine part of defense in any multiple-offender case.
Challenging a prior conviction
A prior only counts if it was constitutionally obtained. On an enhanced charge we pull the file on every predicate conviction before anything else is discussed.
Predicate-Conviction Challenges
For an enhanced offense (second, third, fourth, etc.), the State bears the burden of proving each prior was a valid DUI conviction. Predicate convictions that were uncounseled without a valid waiver, taken in violation of Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (1969), or otherwise constitutionally infirm cannot be used to enhance. Reviewing the certified judgment for each alleged prior is part of every responsible defense in a multiple-offender case.
Validity of Prior Convictions
If you are charged as a second, third, or fourth offender, the validity of each prior is fair game. Was the prior plea taken with a knowing and voluntary waiver of rights? Were you represented by counsel, or did you validly waive that right? Was the prior conviction for a substantively equivalent offense if it came from another state? Reducing a fourth offense to a third offense — or a third to a second — by knocking out one prior can mean years off a sentence.
Talk to a Memphis DUI lawyer
Patrick Brooks handles every DUI case personally in Shelby County General Sessions, the Germantown, Bartlett and Collierville municipal courts, and Tipton and Fayette County. A first-offense DUI starts at $3,500, flat; the schedule is on what a DUI lawyer costs in Memphis. Call (901) 324-5000, or call or text the criminal line at 901-412-2973, any time. Se habla español.
Frequently asked questions
Does a DUI from another state count in Tennessee?
Yes, if the other state’s offense would have been a DUI here. The State has to produce the certified record, and the record is where many out-of-state priors fall apart.
My last DUI was eleven years ago. Am I a first offender?
Usually, if there is nothing in between. The ten years run from the arrest date of the earlier case to the arrest date of the new one, so the dates on the paperwork decide it, not the conviction date.
Can the State use a conviction I entered without a lawyer?
Only if you validly waived counsel at the time. An uncounseled plea without a valid waiver cannot be used to enhance a later DUI, and that is a predicate challenge we raise in every repeat-offender case.