New Arizona DUI Laws Are In Action Now

New Arizona DUI Laws In Affect After September 2008

Arizona DUI laws underwent significant changes in September 2008. These laws are in affect as of the date of this article.  Arizona already had some of the strictest DUI laws in the country.  During the 2008 legislative session the legislature amended Arizona’s already tough DUI laws to make them even harsher. This means that if your were arrested for a DUI after September 2008, the new law and DUI penalties apply to you.

New Second Offense DUI Time Frame

There were many new changes made to Arizona DUI law in 2008.  First, the prosecutor may now allege a prior DUI for up to seven years.  Under the previous law, the prosecutor could only allege a prior DUI for five years.  Unfortunately, regardless of whether your prior DUI occurred at the time when the law only allowed a prior for up to five years, the State may now use that prior up to seven years later.  This means many more people in Arizona will now be facing second or third DUI offenses because the prosecutor can now reach back seven years to find a prior DUI offense in your history.  So you will have a Second Offense DUI if you have a prior DUI within the last seven years.

No More Suspended Jail Sentences for Extreme & Super Extreme DUIs

In addition to expanding the time in which the prosecutor may allege a prior DUI, the new Arizona DUI laws enhances the mandatory minimum penalty for Extreme DUI and Super Extreme DUI offenders.  The Judge can no longer suspend a portion of your jail sentence if you are convicted of an Extreme (A.R.S. 28-1382(a)(1)) or Super Extreme (A.R.S. 28-1382(a)(2)) DUI.  This applies whether your Extreme DUI or Super Extreme DUI is a first or second offense.

New Extreme DUI Penalties

Under these new Arizona DUI laws, a person convicted of a first offense Extreme DUI, (BAC of .15 or more) in Arizona is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 consecutive days in jail.  The new Arizona DUI laws require a minimum jail sentence of 120 days if you are convicted of a second offense Extreme DUI.

New Super Extreme DUI Penalties

The new Arizona DUI laws require a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 45 days for a First Offense Super Extreme DUI (BAC of 2.0 or more).  A 6 month jail sentence is required for a Second Offense Super Extreme DUI.

New Driver’s License Penalties

The new Arizona DUI laws also have several new consequences on your license.  First, before being allowed to drive following a suspension from MVD, a person charged with DUI will be required to obtained alcohol screening prior to reinstatement.  The requirement for alcohol screening is not dependent upon a conviction.  Also, following any DUI conviction, a person will be required to equip their vehicle with a certified ignition interlock for a period of not less than one year.  The period of time required for the interlock device can be expanded.

The new Arizona DUI laws are sure to affect many people.  Thus, people should be aware that if they or someone they know received a DUI conviction after September 2008, things have changed significantly and it important they contact an attorney to discuss their new case.  The new consequences of a DUI conviction can be life changing.

But I was Not Driving, How Could I get A DUI?

Yes, You Can Get A DUI Even If You Were Not Driving

A common DUI question is whether a person can be charged or convicted of a DUI even if they were not driving when they were cited for DUI.  This typically happens when people are parked in a parking lot getting ready to leave or waiting for somebody.  I have seen it happen when people pull off the road because they think they may have had too much to drive.

That bad news is yes, you can be charged, cited and or arrested for DUI even if you were not driving when the police contacted you.  The good news is that it is that it may be difficult fr the prosecutor to convict you of DUI if you were not driving when the police contacted you.  If you are in this situation, I highly recommend you get an experienced DUI Lawyer to help you as you have a very good defense.

DUI cases that involve people not driving are commonly called Actual Physical Control cases and are referred to as APC cases. Driving is easy to understand, either your in motion or not.  Actual physical control of a motor vehicle applies when your vehicle is parked.  This can be if your just sitting in your car with engine running trying to stay warm until your ride comes.  It can be pulling of the road, shutting the car off but leaving the keys in the ignition.  I have heard of prosecutors claiming actual physical control when the engine was off, keys were out of the ignition on the passenger seat.

DUI prosecutions arise even when the person is not in their car when police arrive.  A common scenario I have seen is people crashing or leaving their cars then and then later, after police arrive, admitting to the police they were driving. In many cases like this, the police did not have probable cause to make a DUI arrest until the suspect opened their mouth and admitted they had been driving.  It is surprising how many people incriminate themselves this way.

Again, the god news is you if you have a case like this, you might have a winable case and definateley have a fightable case.  Therefore, I recomend you get the assitance of an experience DUI Lawyer as there are many legal neuances in fighting an APC case.

Most people reading this blog have likely already been arrested for DUI and released.  They have a ticket and know they have an upcoming court date.  That is about all they know.  Some understand they may be receiving a 90 day driver’s license suspension which could start prior to their next court date.

You will gain a better understanding of the process by learning what has already happened in your case and then where it is headed.  Therefore, the explanation of the DUI process will briefly cover the DUI stop, arrest and processing before going forward to what happens at court.

Inform yourself by reading or getting a cosultation from a lawyer.  Many DUI lawyers give free initial consultations.  It is time well spent.

Typically, you can hire a lawyer with ten years DUI experience for the price of one with five DUI years.  You should try and get somebody with as much DUI experience as possible.  A good way to measure DUI experience is that the lawyer’s case load should consist of 51% or more DUI cases during each year of their experience.  The higher the percentage, the better.

In fact, many DUI prosecutors who switch their careers over to defending DUI cases have weaknesses in understanding driver’s license consequences and the process of dealing with the Motor Vehicle Department. (“MVD”)  This is because as prosecutors, they are not involved with MVD hearings, appeals, notices etc.  So when they switch sides, they are unfamiliar MVD and its processes.

Proper defense of DUI cases also requires a thorough understanding of “Field Sobriety Tests.” (“FSTs”)  All other non DUI criminal cases do not use FSTs.  These are unique to DUI cases and qualified lawyers need to be thoroughly familiar with them.  This is why I personally have paid for and attended training in administering FSTs and have the current FST training manuals in my office.

Most criminal cases do not involve breath testing machines.  Arizona, typically uses the Intoxilyzer 5000 or 8000 breath testing machines.  In order to properly defend a DUI case, the attorney must be thoroughly familiar with the Intoxilyzer in order to detect and identify all its problems.  That’s why I personally paid for and attended special training in Florida to participate in a breath testing course given to police.  It is also why I own my very own Intoxilyzer.  Regular criminal lawyers simply are not familiar with the breath testing machines, let alone thoroughly familiar with them.

If you are arrested for DUI, the system will suspend your driver’s license for a minimum of one year if you refuse to submit to a breath, blood or urine test.  In most cases, the system will issue a warrant for your arrest if you do not show up for your first court appearance, unless you have a lawyer in a misdemeanor case.  The police are not required to be there.  If the prosecutor forgot your file, the court will reschedule you to come back on another date.  No warrant will issue for the police or the prosecutor.

In many courts, the court will not accept your guilty plea on your first court appearance.  This is because the court wants to make sure the prosecutor has enough time to thoroughly investigate your background to see if you have a prior DUI conviction.  This helps the prosecutor, not you.  When the officer testifies you did something and you testify you did not, the court will almost always find what the officer said to be true, regardless of how ridiculous or preposterous the officer’s version of events sounds.

Although the court systems were originally created and designed by our country’s founders to protect its citizens from government, the Arizona courts seem to operate from the ideology that they are processing criminals.  Consequently, the Arizona court’s view you as one of the criminals it is processing. One man who was wrongfully convicted of murder put it this way, “The best prosecutor in the curt room was the judge.”  Not all judges and courts are this way, but in my opinion, I have found this to be the case, more often then not in Arizona.  The only people that are their to help you are your family, friends and defense lawyer.

Bars Are Not Always The Result

This is false.  DUI cases are won.  My office has had DUI cases dismissed, pled down to offenses other than DUI and obtained not guilty DUI verdicts.  Arizona has some of the toughest if not the toughest DUI laws in the country.  The State Legislature frequently passes new laws making it harder to defend DUI cases.  Despite this, cases are won.

The truth is, DUI cases are hard to win.  But they can be won.  The proliferation of this myth likely comes from the circumstance that nearly all people convicted of DUI are required to go to the same classes.  Consequently, they never see those people who were not convicted of DUI.   Beating a case can vary in results from an outright dismissal to significantly reducing the charge.

In addition to not getting you anywhere, cooperating can make a case against you.  I have had many clients who crashed their car and were out of the vehicle when the police arrived.  They want to cooperate so, they admit they were driving.  In cases like this, the police did not have probable cause to make a DUI arrest until the suspect opened their mouth and admitted they had been driving. It is surprising how many people incriminate themselves this way.

As you can see from the paragraph above, people cooperate with police when they do not have to sometimes, going so far to admit they were driving after they crashed their car. Cooperation does not get you a break. The officer may be nicer to you, but the officer will still investigate and site you for DUI. You will only be giving evidence against yourself when you “cooperate” in a DUI investigation. You do not have to answer questions about your drinking, driving nor submit to field sobriety tests. By doing so, you only give evidence against yourself. Do not confuse cooperation with being courteous, respectful and polite. You can do all that while exercising your right not to incriminate yourself.

I see many people hoping that because they cooperated/incriminated themselves, the cop was going to help them and write a favorable police report or even not turn in a police report. This is just wishful thinking. It is the officers job to get your cooperation as it assists in gathering evidence against you.  Be smart, exercise your right to remain silent and don’t incriminate yourself but, remain pleasant.