Legal Question in Criminal Law in Tennessee

Technically, you cannot "drop charges" since you didn't bring the charges, the State of Tennessee did.

But, if you tell the District Attorney responsible for the case that you do not want to prosecute because the defendant has paid

restitution (we sometimes call that "settled as a civil matter") the District Attorney probably will move to dismiss the case by a

process called "entering a nolle prosequi." Most District Attorney's have enough cases on their plate that they will welcome the

opportunity to dismiss one with the agreement of the parties. However, since the State has become involved, the Defendant may be liable for court costs even if the case is dismissed by agreement.

It is generally a good idea to discuss accepting any payment from a Defendant with the prosecuting attorney in advance, if done wrong it can even lead to you being charged with a crime. It's called "compounding."

T.C.A. §39-16-604. Compounding.

(a) It is unlawful for any person to solicit, accept or agree to accept any benefit in consideration of refraining from reporting to a law enforcement officer the commission or suspected commission of an offense.

(b) It is unlawful for a complaining witness to solicit, accept or agree to accept any benefit in consideration of abstaining from, discontinuing or delaying the prosecution of another for an offense.

(c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the benefit was solicited or accepted by the victim and did not exceed an amount reasonably believed by the victim to be due as restitution or indemnification for loss caused by the offense.

(d) A violation of this section with respect to an offense classified as a misdemeanor is a Class A misdemeanor. A violation of this section with respect to an offense classified as a felony is a Class E felony.