For over 15 years, I have defended DUI cases in Arizona. I have extensive experience defending DUI and DUI and/or vehicle related crimes throughout Arizona, and the municipal courts including Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and others in the Phoenix metro area.
In Arizona, a DUI may occur in several different ways and may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or a felony. But under Arizona law, any DUI conviction requires jail or prison, fines, counseling, and the loss of your drivers license. It is critically important to hire an attorney who has the experience to obtain the best result possible.
For example, if you are stopped by police, it is generally not a good idea to take a field sobriety test. Although there is no requirement to submit to a field sobriety test, officers are not required to tell you that.
However, if an officer has a reasonable basis to suspect drugs or alcohol in your body, the officer has the legal right to require you to take a blood or urine test. If the test shows you have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.08, your license will be suspended for 90 days, although you may be eligible for a restricted license for work purposes after the first 30 days of no driving. If you refuse the test, you may be subjected to a blood draw based on a search warrant. And, if you refuse to any reasonable request by the officer for a blood or breath test, your license will be suspended for one year.
In Arizona, you have committed a misdemeanor DUI if you are driving a motor vehicle when your ability to drive is impaired in any way by alcohol, drugs, or a combination of any substance. It is also a misdemeanor if, within two hours of driving, you have a BAC over 0.08. A DUI with a BAC of more than 0.15 is prosecuted as an Extreme DUI with more severe punishment.
In addition, there are three basic types of Aggravated DUI, which are considered felonies. A misdemeanor DUI can rise to the felony level if you are caught committing a normal misdemeanor DUI when you have two or more prior convictions in the past 5 years; committing a normal misdemeanor DUI when you are driving on a suspended, canceled, revoked, or refused license; or committing a normal misdemeanor DUI when there is a child under 15 years of age is in the car.
If you are involved in an alcohol related accident involving a serious injury or death, it is often NOT prosecuted as a DUI, but rather as an Aggravated Assault. And, if so prosecuted, the minimum, mandatory penalty is 5 years in prison.
Howard Snader is one of a select number of attorneys who is Certified as a Criminal Law Specialist in the State of Arizona by the Board of Legal Specialization. He has the skill and expertise to protect your rights.
For an initial consultation with an Arizona DUI attorney at the Law Offices of Howard A. Snader, call 480-559-8218, or contact me online.
