In Tennessee is assault with a deadly weapon always a felony?

The law in Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-101 (2007)) defines assault as intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury; fear of imminent bodily danger; or offensive physical contact.   Assault with a deadly weapon is aggravated assault and always a felony, but can be different classes.  The level of the crime will most often depend on your state of mind and any defenses that you successfully offer.

If you intended to harm someone, it will be a class C felony punishable by 3 to 15 years in prison.  If the intention element is absent, it would be a class D felony for which the penalty would be 2 to 12 years in prison.

One of the most often used defenses is self defense but this can only be used if it can be shown that the other person threatened or attacked you first; and that the force was reasonable to prevent the attack.  In other words, you cannot use a gun in response to someone threatening you with a fist fight.

Assault with a deadly weapon is always a serious felony crime and one that will likely result in prison time. You will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to help you minimize the penalty and help you in reducing the level of the crime.