STEVEN OBERMAN
Attorney at Law
550 Main Street, Suite 730
Knoxville, Tennessee 37902
Phone: (865) 249-7200
Fax: (865) 540-1696
Website: www.tndui.com
E-mail: oberman@tndui.com

Current through August 17, 2023

CURRICULUM VITAE

LEGAL EDUCATION & SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION

• UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE COLLEGE OF LAW, Knoxville, Tennessee
  Doctor of Jurisprudence, 1980
• Board Certified as a Specialist in DUI Defense Law by the National College for DUI Defense, 1999

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

• AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Auburn, Alabama
  Bachelor of Arts, 1977

BAR ADMISSIONS

• U. S. Supreme Court (1985)
• Tennessee Supreme Court (1980)
• Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals (1980)
• Tennessee Court of Appeals (1980)
• U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee (1980)
• U. S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (1981)
• U. S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (1983)

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

• American Association for Justice (1980 – Present)
• Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, Incorporated; Board of Directors
  (1993 – 2000); Vice President (1994 – 1998); President (1998 – 2000)
• Knoxville Bar Association (1980 – 2006); Co-Chair Judicial Committee (1997 – 2001)
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (1982 – Present); Chair or Co-Chair, DUI Committee (1995 – Present)
• National College for DUI Defense, Inc.; Fellow (2010-Present); Dean (2009-10); Board of Regents (1999 – 2011); Founding Member
• Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (1980 – 2006); Board of Directors (1983 – 1989)

LEGAL RELATED EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

• 2010 – Present
  Oberman & Rice
  Trial Lawyers
  Knoxville, Tennessee
• 2008 – 2010
  The Oberman Law Firm
  Trial Lawyers
  Knoxville, Tennessee
• 1986 – 2008
  Daniel & Oberman
  An Association of Trial Attorneys
  Knoxville, Tennessee
• 1996 – Present
  Adjunct Professor
  University of Tennessee College of Law
  Knoxville, Tennessee
• 1993 – 1995
  Adjunct Associate Professor
  University of Tennessee College of Law
  Knoxville, Tennessee
• 1983 – 1985
  Daniel, Claiborne, Oberman & Buuck
  Attorneys at Law
  Knoxville, Tennessee
• 1981 – 1983
  Daniel, Claiborne & Lewallen
  Attorneys at Law
  Knoxville, Tennessee
• 1980 – 1981
  Daniel, Duncan & Claiborne
  Attorneys at Law
  Knoxville, Tennessee

BOOKS

• Oberman, Steven, DUI: The Crime and Consequences in Tennessee.  New
  edition published annually since 2002 by Thomson Reuters (formerly West Publishing).
• Oberman, Steven, DUI: The Crime and Consequences in Tennessee, copyrighted
  1991 by The Harrison Publishing Company.  Supplemented annually through
  1996; Second Edition, 1997, supplemented annually through 2001.
• Taylor, Lawrence and Oberman, Steven, Drunk Driving Defense, Fifth through Ninth Editions, supplemented annually since 2003, published by Wolters Kluwer (Aspen) Publishers, Inc. (cited by the United States Supreme Court in multiple cases)
• Oberman, Steven and Compher-Rice, Sara, Contributing Authors, Vehicular Homicide by Intoxication: Preparation, Strategy and the Law, in Defending DUI Vehicular Homicide Cases, 2012 Edition, pp. 7-30 (Thomson Reuters/Aspatore).

OTHER PUBLICATIONS (in reverse chronological order)

• Oberman, Steven, and Reiff, Robert S., The Modified Romberg Balance Test and Medical Journals, The Champion (published by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), June 2023
• Oberman, Steven, The Ethical Use of Technology: Protecting You and Your Clients, The Champion (published by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), April 2019 (featured cover article)
• Oberman, Steven, Beware Driving Under the Influence of Prescribed Medication, Greater Knoxville Business Journal (published by the Knoxville News Sentinel), October 2016
• Oberman, Steven, Blood or Breath in Birchfield: The Supreme Court Draws a Critical Distinction, The Champion (published by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), July 2016
• Murphy, Doug and Oberman, Steven, Defending Boating While Intoxicated Cases, The Champion (published by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), July 2015
• Compher-Rice, Sara and Oberman, Steven, Investigating the DUI Case: Things to Do, Places to Go, People to See, The Champion (published by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), March 2009
• Compher-Rice, Sara and Oberman, Steven, Have You Told Your DUI Client . . . ?, Dicta (published by the Knoxville Bar Association), April 2008
• Oberman, Steven and Compher-Rice, Sara, The Standardized Field Sobriety Test
  Validation Myth, The Champion (published by the National Association of
  Criminal Defense Lawyers), June 2006
• Hlastala, Michael P., Ph.D., Polissar, Nayak, Ph.D., and Oberman, Steven,
  Statistical Evaluation of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, Journal of Forensic
  Sciences, May 2005
• Kapsack, Bruce and Oberman, Steven, Crawford v. Washington: [The] DUI
  Defense Practitioner’s Perspective, The Champion (published by the National
  Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), September/October 2004.
• Oberman, Steven, Cross-Examination of the State’s Blood Test Expert, The
  Champion (published by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers),
  December 2001
• Oberman, Steven, Drunk or Drowsy? How Fatigue Can Be Mistaken for
  Intoxication, The Champion (published by the National Association of Criminal
  Defense Lawyers), January/February 2001
• Oberman, Steven and Bell James A. H., Effective Use of Police Videos in DUI
  Defense, The Champion (published by the National Association of Criminal
  Defense Lawyers), November 1999
• Oberman, Steven and Cooper, Jonathan D., Attacking the Disclosure and Analysis
  of Hospital Blood-Alcohol Test Results, The Champion (published by the
  National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), April 1997
• Oberman, Steven and Kellogg, Kimberly, DUI as a Federal Crime, The Champion (published by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), January/February 1996
• Oberman, Steven and Cooper, Jonathan D., Evading Roadblocks on the
  Prosecution Highway (Part One), The Champion (published by the National
  Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), December 1994
• Oberman, Steven and Bell, James A. H., D.W.I.: Defend With Ingenuity, a
  periodic series published by the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense
  Lawyers 1985 – 1987
• Oberman, Steven, “Birmingham Drug Survey,” Social Studies: The Humanizing Process, eds. M. Kleg and J. Litcher (Winterhaven, Florida Council for the Social Studies, 1972) pp. 159-168

HONORS, AWARDS & SPECIAL RECOGNITION

• Visiting Adjunct Professor teaching American Criminal Law and American Trial Advocacy at the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Law, the largest university in Slovenia (in Slovenia from February – June 2024)
• Visiting Adjunct Professor teaching American Criminal Law and American Trial Advocacy at Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law, the oldest and largest university in Hungary (in Budapest from February – June 2023)
• Fulbright Scholar Grant Recipient from the Institute of International Education in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State to teach as a Visiting Adjunct Professor at the University of Latvia Faculty of Law (February – June 2019)
• Named to “Best Lawyers in Knoxville” by the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Greater Knoxville Business Journal (Every year since its inception in 2009)
• Named to the Best Lawyers List (Every year since its inception in 2008)
• Awarded “Lawyer of the Year” in the field of Criminal Defense in Knoxville, TN by Best Lawyers for 2013, 2018, and 2020
• Awarded “Lawyer of the Year” in the field of DUI Defense in Knoxville, TN by Best Lawyers for 2022, and 2024
• Named to the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” by The National Trial Lawyers
• Named as a “Super Lawyer” in Mid-South Super Lawyers Magazine (Every year since its inception in 2006)
• Named as a “Top Attorney” by the Knoxville City View Magazine in the area of DUI Defense (Every year that the specialty area has been included since its inception in 2006)
• Albert Nelson Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)
• Erwin-Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by National College for DUI Defense, Inc. (2014). See https://www.ncdd.com/about-the-ncdd/erwin-taylor-award.
• Kentucky Colonel, Presented by Governor Steven Beshear (2011)
• Fellow, National College for DUI Defense, Inc. (2011 – Present)
• Arkansas Traveler, Presented by Governor Mike Beebe (2008)
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The President’s Legal Education Achievement Award, in recognition of exceptional achievement in CLE programming and for outstanding contributions to the professionalism and integrity of the criminal defense bar (2008)
• Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education & Specialization, Award for Leadership in Attorney Certification (2006)
• First attorney in State of Tennessee to become certified as a DUI Defense Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education & Specialization (2006)
• Appointment to Governor Phil Bredesen’s Task Force on DUI Laws in Tennessee, Selected as Committee Vice-Chair (2006)
• Participant (invitation only) in meeting sponsored by Center for Disease Control/National
• Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Alcohol Impaired Drivers: Injured, Uncharged and Untreated (2005)
• The Bernstein-Ritchie Award for Extraordinary Service to the University of Tennessee College of Law Legal Clinic (2004)
• University of Tennessee College of Law Outstanding Adjunct Professor (2002)
• American Bar Association/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Panel Member of the Judicial Issues Group Development Meeting regarding Driving Under the Influence of Drugs Per Se Legislation (2001)
• Member of the Board of Regents, National College for DUI Defense, Inc. (1999 – 2011)
• Advisory Board Member to The Champion, The Official Publication for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (1999 – Present)
• Appointee to the Administrative Office of the Tennessee Supreme Court Committee to Educate the Tennessee Judiciary about DUI Laws (1998)
• Graduate of The National Judicial College, Reno, Nevada, DUI/Traffic Safety Faculty Development Workshop developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (1998)
• DUI Committee Chair or Co-Chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (1995 – Present)
• Moot Court Board Special Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to the University of Tennessee College of Law Advocacy Program (1995 – 1996)
• Forrest W. Lacey Award for Outstanding Faculty Contribution to the University of Tennessee College of Law Moot Court Program (1993 – 1994)
• Coach, University of Tennessee College of Law National Trial Team (1991 – 1996)
• Special Judge, General Sessions Court of Knox County, Tennessee, Criminal Division (1987 – 2009, 2017)
• Colonel Aide de Camp, Tennessee Governor’s Staff, presented by Governor Lamar Alexander (1983)
• Marquis Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Who’s Who in the World, and Who’s Who of Emerging Leaders in America

FEATURED SPEAKER FOR LECTURES AND SEMINARS (in alphabetical order by organization)

• Over 200 presentations at legal conferences in 30 states, the District of Columbia and seven foreign countries.  Host organizations include the American Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The National College for DUI Defense, various agencies of the United States Federal Government, The Police Academy of the Czech Republic and many state bar associations.  A list of all presentations is available upon request.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

• Knoxville Racquet Club; Board of Directors (1991 – 1993), President (1992 – 1993)
• Arnstein Jewish Community Center; Board of Directors (1987 – 1991), President (1990)
• Knoxville Legal Aid Society; Board of Directors (1986 – 1988)
• Project First Offender (A probation program involving the rehabilitation of first offenders
  of certain criminal laws); Board of Directors (1981 – 1986), President (1983 – 1986)