Roane County DUI Court Process

Roane County General Sessions Court enforces its written Local Rules hard, and two of them can sink a case before it is called. Cell phones and electronic devices must be powered off before you enter the courtroom. If a bailiff catches a device in use or causing a disruption, the rule says it is confiscated and "becomes property of the County." Leave phones, smartwatches, and anything that records locked in your car. The dress code bars shorts, tank tops, revealing clothing, bandanas, hats, sunglasses, and pajamas, and it specifically requires men to wear their shirt tucked in, at the waist, or they are not allowed in. Get turned away at security over clothing and you can miss your docket call, which triggers a failure-to-appear warrant and bond revocation.

DUI cases all start in General Sessions Court at 200 East Race Street, Suite 16, in Kingston, (865) 376-5584. The two judges are Terry Stevens in Part I and Dennis Humphrey in Part II. Criminal matters, preliminary hearings, and misdemeanor trials are set for Tuesdays, which is also the day the jail moves dozens of inmates to the courthouse, so the building and its single security checkpoint are jammed. Begin screening no later than 8:15 a.m. for a 9:00 a.m. docket. Children under 18 are not allowed in the courtroom without advance clearance, and you cannot leave them unattended in the hallways, so arrange childcare ahead of time.

Tennessee does not allow judicial diversion or pretrial diversion for DUI. There is no path where you finish probation and the charge is dismissed and expunged. A DUI charge only avoids becoming a DUI conviction through dismissal, acquittal, or a negotiated plea to a lesser offense such as reckless driving. A first conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 48 hours in jail, seven consecutive days if your BAC was 0.20 or higher.

Judge Humphrey also runs the Roane County Recovery Court, part of the 9th Judicial District. It is an intensive, judicially supervised program with continuous treatment, randomized testing, community supervision, and graduated sanctions, aimed at non-violent repeat offenders with a substance use or mental health diagnosis. The coordinator is Dennis Humphrey, with Meghan House and Ashley Freeberg providing administrative support. It is a long, demanding commitment.

Tennessee requires a licensed DUI school before your license is reinstated, and only in-person Prime for Life instruction counts, 12 hours. The East Tennessee Human Resource Agency runs it as a single Saturday session from 8:00 a.m. to about 8:30 p.m., for a fee of $145 to $150 paid by money order or cashier's check, no cash, and you bring your own meals. Life Savers of Tennessee at 208 West Cumberland Street in Kingston and A Prodigals Path 2 Recovery also offer the 12-hour course locally. Court-ordered treatment runs through the state-funded Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment network.

Most people facing a DUI charge here hire counsel who regularly appear in this courthouse. You can find a DUI attorney through this site's directory.

Sources

• Roane County General Sessions Court
• East Tennessee Human Resource Agency — DUI Driver Training