Far more than the fine, and the attorney is not the biggest line for most people.
The court cost of a first DUI starts at a $350 minimum fine plus court costs. Then there is bond, an ignition interlock, SR-22 insurance, a $67 license reinstatement, an alcohol assessment, a DUI Center stay, classes, and the days of work you will miss going to all of it.
Below is every one of them. Not a range, and not "it depends, call us".
Attorneys are known as sharks and almost all of them hold price back until they have you on the phone. I understand the sales logic. I think it is the wrong way to treat someone who is frightened and about to spend real money.
You are the consumer. You have a right to know what this costs before you talk to anybody, including me.
Here is the full inventory. Not all of it applies to every case, and the DUI-specific items drop off if your charge is something else.
Read that list again and notice how few of the items are legal fees.
The minimum fine on a first DUI is $350, plus court costs on top.
Certified copies of your disposition run about $5.50 at most courts, and you need them, because the interlock company will not install without one.
You do not have to pay all of your court costs and fees on the day. If you get probation you have the length of your probation to pay them. If you can clear it, clear it.
At the time of writing this, the Tennessee reinstatement fee is $65 for the license and a $2 application fee. Sixty seven dollars.
That is the state's number. It is not the whole cost of driving again, because the interlock and the SR-22 sit on top of it, and those are ongoing rather than one-time.
Three of them, and they are usually the expensive ones.
Missed work. Every court date, every class, every assessment, every trip to the reinstatement office. Count the days and multiply by what a day is worth to you.
Insurance. An SR-22 filing and a rate increase that outlives the case by years.
Your job. For some people this is the entire cost of the case. If you hold a professional license, the licensing board is its own process with its own attorney fees, separate from anything happening in criminal court.
Add travel. Flights or gas, a hotel or an Airbnb, a rental car or rides, food, and the time.
There is a second out-of-state wrinkle that costs money later rather than now. If you do not have a Tennessee license, the judge is not supposed to take it. Your home state will usually still revoke it, after a delay. That delay is not permission to drive.
Know which one you are agreeing to before you sign.
The two that surprise people are the non-refundable retainer and the hybrid. Ask which one you are signing, ask what "beyond the scope" means in writing, and ask whether the fee covers General Sessions only or Criminal Court as well.
That last question matters more than almost anything else on this page, and most people do not know to ask it.
That is a fair question and people ask it constantly, usually somewhere other than a law firm's website.
I am not going to pretend the answer is always yes. You have the right to represent yourself. What I will say is that the cost of the case is not the same thing as the cost of the lawyer, and the items on the list above that do the real financial damage are the ones that come after a conviction, not before it.
I have written the honest version of this: do you need a lawyer for a DUI.
In some cases we offer payment plans. If I want to help you I will offer this. We are not a bank though and we must be paid before your case is over.
Do not let the price scare you off before you have asked about it.
Take the list and fill in yours.
Total it. That is your real number, and it is the one to make decisions against.
Then call me and we will talk about it. 615-627-4529.
