Germantown Criminal Lawyer On: Being Charged With a Crime in Germantown, TN

Germantown, Tennessee is a suburb of Memphis located in Shelby County.  Because it is outside the Memphis city limits, it has an independent municipal government including its own court system.  If you are charged with a crime in Germantown your case will be heard in the Municipal Court located at 1930 South Germantown Rd.  Germantown court convenes one night a week, on Wednesday. The Germantown court is a general sessions court, which means it does not have jurisdiction to dispose of felony cases.  Felonies must be transferred to the Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis for review by the grand jury.  However if your case is a misdemeanor or if it’s a felony that can be reduced to a misdemeanor, it can be resolved in Germantown.  The following are some of the more common misdemeanors handled through the Germantown court:

• Shoplifting
• DUI
• Domestic Assault
• Reckless Driving
• Minor in Possession of Alcohol
• Marijuana Possession
• Disorderly Conduct

Under Tennessee law the maximum punishment on most of these crimes is 11 months and 29 days.  A Germantown criminal defense lawyer should be contacted to see what options there are for keeping the charge off your record and avoiding jail time. For example, with Germantown shoplifting charges, the accused may be placed on judicial diversion for a period of time and then have the entire record of the case dismissed and expunged at the end.  Alternatively, the case may be resolved through a shorter process where the accused pays restitution to the store in lieu of prosecution.  Your lawyer can coordinate with the store and the prosecutor’s office on how to do this. Germantown domestic assault cases can sometimes be resolved without a trial or guilty plea.  Diversion is always an option for those who qualify, and there may be the possibility of a faster resolution through attending an anger management course.  If the victim wishes to have the accused can return home while the case is pending, a Germantown domestic violence attorney can work with the prosecutor and the judge to amend the no-contact order. For Germantown speeding tickets, the court offers a six-month probation program.  If the individual does not receive another ticket in that time the ticket will be dismissed with payment of court costs.  A Germantown speeding ticket lawyer can go to court for you and set this up. DUI cases in Germantown are tougher.  If the state feels it has enough evidence for a conviction, it will not dismiss the charge.  In challenging a DUI case, some of the things to look at are whether the police had reasonable suspicion to intitate the stop, how the driver performed on standardized field sobriety tests, and whether he or she submitted to a blood alcohol content test and, if so, what was the result.  There could be many other factors.  A Germantown DUI attorney can advise you further after reviewing your case.  Felony cases such as drug possession with intent and sex crimes will probably be sent to the grand jury and cannot be disposed of in Germantown court.  However, you should contact a Germantown criminal defense lawyer to begin investigation and to explore what options there are for resolving the case. Patrick Stegall is a Germantown TN criminal attorney.  Criminal offenses in Germantown are treated seriously and may be sent to the Shelby County grand jury for indictment.  To see what options you have for challenging the evidence and avoiding jail time and a permanent conviction, contact Mr. Stegall at 901-205-9894 or email him at pstegall@stegall-law.com.