Nashville Domestic Violence Attorney
A domestic assault charge moves fast. You can be held up to 12 hours, a no-contact order issues before any hearing on the merits, and the judge must order you to give up every firearm you own within 48 hours of a conviction. Austin Tomlinson is a Nashville domestic violence attorney who defends these cases in Davidson County.
Do Not Contact the Other Person
If a no-contact order is in place, it binds you even if the other person calls you first, invites you over, or asks you to come home. Answering the phone can be a violation. A violation is a new criminal charge, it is far easier for the State to prove than the original allegation, and it damages the underlying case badly. No text message is worth that. Route everything through your attorney.
What Counts as Domestic Assault in Tennessee?
Domestic assault under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-111 is an ordinary assault committed against a domestic abuse victim. It does not require an injury. Causing someone to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury, with no contact at all, is enough to charge a Class A misdemeanor.
The relationship categories are wider than most people assume. The statute reaches current or former spouses, adults or minors who live together or have lived together, people who are dating or have dated, people who have or had a sexual relationship, and family members. A roommate you have never dated can make a case a domestic case, and that changes the consequences significantly.
Tennessee Domestic Assault Penalties
Figures below come from Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-111 and § 39-13-101. Repeat convictions carry mandatory jail that a judge cannot suspend.
| Conviction | Class | Confinement | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Class A or B misdemeanor | Class A: up to 11 months 29 days. Class B: up to 6 months | Up to $15,000 where bodily injury is charged |
| Second | Misdemeanor | 30 consecutive days minimum, up to 11 months 29 days | $350 to $3,500 |
| Third or more | Misdemeanor, or Class E felony | 90 consecutive days mandatory minimum | $1,100 to $5,000 |
Which misdemeanor class applies to a first offense depends on the conduct charged. Causing bodily injury, or causing someone to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury, is a Class A misdemeanor. Offensive or provocative physical contact with no injury is a Class B misdemeanor. That distinction is worth fighting over, because the ceiling drops from 11 months 29 days to 6 months.
A third offense is not automatically a felony. The felony enhancement depends on the conduct charged, on the alleged victim falling within specific relationship categories, and on the prior convictions qualifying. Prior convictions older than ten years generally do not count toward the enhancement. Whether a particular third charge is a felony is a question to put to Austin with the actual charging documents in hand.
The Mandatory Hold and No-Contact Order
Tennessee bars release for up to 12 hours after a domestic abuse arrest, though a magistrate may release sooner on a finding that you are not a threat to the alleged victim. That window extends to 24 hours where serious bodily injury, strangulation or attempted strangulation, or a deadly weapon is involved. Conditions of release routinely include a no-contact order and an order to stay away from the home.
Those conditions arrive before you have had a hearing on whether any of it happened. They can mean not going home, not seeing your children if they live there, and not retrieving your own belongings without an escort. A lawyer involved early can ask the court to modify conditions, which is often the most urgent practical relief available in the first week.
The order binds only you. The other person cannot waive it, lift it, or give you permission to ignore it. If they reach out, that is not consent, and a violation is charged against you regardless of who initiated it.
A No-Contact Violation Is Its Own Offense, and It Reaches Further Now
Section 39-13-113(i)(1), rewritten by 2026 Tenn. Acts ch. 949 effective July 1, 2026, makes it an offense to knowingly violate a no-contact order issued before release on bond after arrest for any Title 39, chapter 13 offense where the alleged victim is a domestic abuse victim under § 36-3-601, or one issued as part of a sentence or as a condition of probation or parole after conviction for such an offense.
That second half is the part that is new. The offense used to be framed around the pre-trial bond condition. It now reaches the order that follows you through probation and parole, and the same act changed the sentencing language in § 39-13-113(i)(2) from “arrested” to “arrested or convicted” so the consecutive rule tracks the new reach.
The default is consecutive. Under § 39-13-113(i)(2) a violation is a Class A misdemeanor, and the sentence must be served consecutively to the sentence for the underlying offense unless the sentencing judge or magistrate specifically orders otherwise. That is the opposite of what most people assume. The offense requires a knowing violation, and what counts as one depends on the terms of the order you were actually given, which is the first thing to read carefully rather than rely on memory of what was said in court.
Tennessee Now Has a Public Domestic Violence Offender Registry
The registry at § 40-39-402 was created by 2025 Tenn. Acts ch. 520, effective January 1, 2026, and amended by 2026 Tenn. Acts ch. 921, effective July 1, 2026. It is administered by the TBI and it is public. A second qualifying conviction is what puts a person on it: the statute says that where the person convicted has at least one prior conviction for an offense committed against a domestic abuse victim, the court shall order the defendant to register.
What the 2026 act changed is worth knowing precisely. As passed in 2025, the registry statute did not enumerate which offenses qualified. Chapter 921 added the list, added a requirement that the court's order state the number of prior convictions, and re-anchored the clerk's seven-day deadline to run from receipt of the signed final judgment rather than from the date of conviction. All three took effect July 1, 2026, so a conviction entered between January and June of this year was processed under different rules.
The qualifying list is broader than people expect. Where the victim qualifies under § 36-3-601, it reaches domestic assault, violation of a protective, restraining or no-contact order, theft, vandalism, abuse of an elderly or vulnerable adult, aggravated abuse, sexual exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable adult, harassment, stalking, sexual exploitation of a minor in all three of its grades, and any felony under Title 39, chapter 13. Comparable out-of-state convictions count too.
| Prior qualifying convictions | Time on the registry |
|---|---|
| One | 5 years |
| Two | 7 years |
| Three | 10 years |
| Four or more | 20 years |
Removal is automatic, and the clock runs from your most recent qualifying conviction. The statute directs the TBI to remove the listing once the applicable period has run. There is no petition to file, which also means there is nothing to argue about later — the number is set when the judgment is entered.
That is why the judgment itself is worth reading before it goes in. The court's order specifies the number of prior convictions, and if the order does not say, the statute defaults it to one. A number written in quickly sets how long a public listing lasts. The clerk then has seven days from receiving the signed final judgment to forward it to the TBI.
Domestic Violence and Your Gun Rights
Two separate things happen. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-111(c)(6), a judge who convicts you of domestic assault must order you to give up every firearm you possess within 48 hours and file an affidavit saying you did. That one is automatic. Separately, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) bans possession of firearms or ammunition after a conviction for a qualifying misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, nationwide.
A separate provision, § 922(g)(8), reaches people subject to a qualifying protective order issued after notice and a hearing. That one can attach before any conviction at all.
Whether the federal ban applies is not automatic, and that is the part worth fighting over. The federal relationship definition at § 921(a)(33)(A) covers spouses, former spouses, parents, guardians, people who share a child, cohabitants similarly situated to a spouse, and dating partners. Tennessee's statute is broader than that, reaching plain roommates and relatives generally. A conviction on one of the wider Tennessee branches may not be a federal predicate at all. The federal ban can also be lifted by expungement, pardon or restoration of rights, so it is not necessarily permanent either.
This is the single most under-explained consequence in Tennessee domestic assault cases. People take a misdemeanor plea to end a stressful situation quickly and find out afterward what it cost. If you hunt, hold a carry permit, serve in the military, work in law enforcement or security, or hold a clearance, this has to drive the strategy from the first conversation rather than surface at the plea.
Can the Alleged Victim Drop the Charges?
No. In Tennessee the case belongs to the State, not to the complaining witness. A prosecutor can and frequently does proceed on a domestic assault charge over the objection of the person who called police, using the 911 recording, body cam, photographs and the responding officers.
What the complaining witness says still matters, but it reaches the court through the prosecutor's office, through a victim-witness coordinator, or through testimony. It does not reach the court through you. Any attempt to discuss the case with that person, directly or through a friend or family member, risks a no-contact violation and a tampering charge, and it hands the State a far stronger case than the one they had.
If the account given to police was inaccurate or incomplete, there is a correct way to get that in front of the court. Your attorney handles it.
Where Domestic Assault Cases Break Down
These cases are often built in twenty minutes at a chaotic scene, by officers under policies that push toward an arrest. That speed leaves gaps, and finding them is the first job of a Nashville domestic violence attorney.
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Self-Defense
Tennessee recognizes the right to defend yourself. Where both people have injuries, who started it and who was responding is frequently not what the first officer on scene concluded.
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Who the Primary Aggressor Was
Officers are trained to identify a primary aggressor, and they get it wrong, particularly where one person is calmer, more articulate, or called first.
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The Physical Evidence
Photographs, injury patterns, the state of the room, and whether they match the account given. Defensive wounds tell a different story than offensive ones.
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The 911 Call and Body Cam
What was said in the first minutes, before anyone had time to shape a narrative, is often the most useful evidence in the file, and it frequently helps the accused.
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Motive to Fabricate
A pending divorce, a custody dispute, or an immigration issue can shape an allegation. Raising it requires evidence and care, not accusation.
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Whether the Relationship Qualifies
If the relationship does not meet the statutory definition, the charge is an ordinary assault. The domestic label is what carries the 48-hour surrender order and the federal exposure, so removing it matters enormously.
Veterans Facing a Domestic Assault Charge
For a service member or a veteran in law enforcement, security or any field requiring a firearm, a domestic assault conviction is not a fine and a class. The federal firearm prohibition can end a career outright, and a clearance review follows close behind.
The Davidson County Veterans Treatment Court exists to route eligible veterans toward treatment rather than conviction, taking participants through a diversion program or as a condition of probation. A service-connected condition in the background of a case is exactly the circumstance it was built for. Austin is a veteran and raises it early.
Veterans Defense OptionsYour Career and Clearance
A conviction means surrendering your firearms within 48 hours, and a qualifying one carries a federal ban on top. For many service members that is the whole job.
Veterans Treatment Court
Davidson County runs a dedicated Veterans Treatment Court. Participation comes as a condition of probation or through a diversion program, depending on the case.
PTSD and TBI as Context
Service-connected trauma is never an excuse and Austin does not present it as one. It is context, and it belongs in front of the prosecutor.
Why Clients Hire Austin as Their Nashville Domestic Violence Attorney
Choosing a Nashville domestic violence attorney comes down to who understands what a plea actually costs you after the case is over.
Conditions Addressed First
Getting you back to work, back to your belongings and, where appropriate, back to your children is the most urgent thing in week one.
Collateral Consequences Mapped
Firearms, clearance, licensing, immigration and custody all get examined before any resolution is agreed to, not after.
One Lawyer, Start To Finish
Austin handles the intake, the negotiation and the court dates himself. These cases are personal and they do not get delegated.
Nashville Domestic Violence FAQ
Can I go home after a domestic assault arrest?
Usually not right away. Conditions of release commonly include staying away from the residence, and that holds even if the home is in your name and you pay for it. A lawyer can ask the court to modify those conditions, and can arrange a civil standby with police so you can retrieve belongings without violating anything.
What is the difference between a no-contact order and an order of protection?
A no-contact order is a condition of your release in the criminal case, set by the magistrate or judge. An order of protection is a separate civil proceeding the other person files, with its own hearing. They can both exist at once, they carry different consequences, and the civil hearing can produce testimony the State will use in the criminal case. Both need handling together.
Will a domestic violence charge show up on a background check?
The arrest will, until it is expunged. A dismissed or diverted charge is generally eligible for expungement, but expungement is a separate filing that has to actually be made. A conviction stays, and carries the firearm consequences with it.
Can I get diversion on a domestic assault charge?
It is possible depending on your record and the facts, and it is a far better outcome than a conviction because a completed diversion ends in dismissal rather than a qualifying conviction. Prosecutors treat these cases cautiously, so diversion is negotiated, not requested.
Both of us were arrested. What happens now?
Dual arrests happen when officers cannot determine a primary aggressor at the scene. Each case is prosecuted separately, and you cannot share a lawyer with the other person because your interests conflict. Get your own counsel immediately, and do not discuss the case with them.
What if there were no injuries and no one was touched?
You can still be charged. Tennessee's assault statute reaches causing someone to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury, which requires no contact and no injury. These are frequently the most defensible cases, because the entire charge rests on what somebody says they felt.
How long does a domestic assault case take in Davidson County?
A misdemeanor domestic case in General Sessions commonly runs three to six months. Cases where the complaining witness does not appear can take longer rather than shorter, because the State will often reset rather than dismiss.