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Search for Arizona DUI
Attorneys by County.
Tucson DUI Lawyers
- Charnesky & Dieglio:
Basic DUI. The statute prohibits driving (or being in physical control)
while your ability to drive is impaired, even to the slightest degree.
Note, the State need not have an actual breath or blood test result to
prove up this charge. The statute only requires the State prove: 1)
driving or physical control; 2) alcohol or drug intoxication; and 3)
driving ability impaired to the slightest degree by alcohol or drugs.
Prosecutors typically attempt to prove "impairment" through police
officer observations of "voluntary" field agility tests as well as
other observations of possible signs and symptoms of alcohol
consumption (such as blood shot eyes, sway, slurred speech, and driving
behavior).
A common tactic officers use to trick individuals into performing these
"voluntary" physical agility tests is to tell suspects they want to see
if they "are O.K. to drive." While factually correct, the explanation
belies the fact that the officers, the vast majority of the time, have
already decided the suspect is impaired. In such cases, the officer is
not conducting the tests with the expectation the suspect may actually
pass them. The officer is merely gathering evidence to be used against
the suspect at trial. To be sure, officers use a rigid set of
guidelines to grade performance which they purposefully do not
communicate to suspects. DUI suspects are asked to perform the tests
without knowledge of what the officers are actually looking for. Not
surprisingly, under these circumstances, completely sober individuals
have been known to thoroughly fail the tests.
- Sherick Law Office:
How long does a DUI conviction stay on my MVD record? On my criminal
record? A DUI conviction will remain on your driving record for 5
years. The conviction will remain on your criminal record permanently
and may be used to enhance the punishment for a subsequent DUI for 5
years. The conviction may be set aside and the complaint dismissed
after all the terms of the sentence have been served.
- Resnick Law Firm: If you are charged with drunk
driving (DUI), in addition to fines and jail time you are facing loss
of your driver's license. Once your license is suspended, you only have
15 days to request a hearing to challenge the suspension.
- Hochuli & Benavidez:
Hiring a criminal defense attorney is different from hiring any other
kind of attorney. The individual needing to hire a criminal defense
attorney is someone facing criminal charges, often for the first time.
That individual is often either in jail, or has been recently released
from jail. In all criminal cases, that individual is facing the
prospect of either jail or prison time. It is quite common for an
individual facing criminal prosecution for the first time to be
extraordinarily frightened.
- Reyna Law Firm: If you are arrested and charged with
a DUI offense under Arizona drunk driving laws, you have important
legal and constitutional rights that must be immediately
protected. It is vitally important that you receive legal advice
and representation as quickly as possible.
- Michael Bloom: For most individuals, a prosecution
for DUI represents the single most serious encounter they will ever
have with the criminal justice system. DUI prosecutions, alone, result
in more jury trials in Arizona than all other criminal prosecutions
combined.
In Arizona, the consequences from a DUI conviction increase
astronomically if the individual has prior convictions. Even for the
first offense, however, the individual is required to serve ten days in
jail, nine of which can be suspended. If the first offense is an
"extreme" DUI (any DUI in which the suspect has a blood alcohol content
in excess of .15), the individual must serve at least ten days in jail.
A second (non-extreme) offense within five years carries a minimum
penalty of 30 days in jail. A second "extreme" DUI now requires a
minimum sentence of 60 days in jail. Third offenses, or any DUI while
the individual has a suspended or revoked license, are prosecuted as
felonies, resulting in mandatory imprisonment. In any DUI prosecution,
the suspect faces suspension and/or revocation of his driving
privilege, fines, and mandatory probation.
The consequences do not stop, however, merely at incarceration and loss
of driving privilege. For most citizens, any conviction for DUI ,even
for a first defense, can seriously interfere with, or even destroy,
their career.
Despite the drastic consequences, these cases are prosecuted out of the
Stone Age. In addition to the "government science," these cases involve
the use of "standardized field sobriety tests" (SFST). Despite the
fancy sounding name, these tests have no neurological basis and no
scientific validity whatsoever. They are now augmented with fancy names
like "horizontal gaze nystagmus" (HGN), voodoo science that has the
potential to sound impressive to juries that are uninformed.
- Jeffrey Siirtola:
For those taking breath tests at the request of police, independant
blood testing arrangements can be made, through Mr. Siirtola. Contact
the office in Sierra Vista at (520) 452-0197 between the hours of 9am -
5pm Monday thru Friday. On weekends or after regular business hours,
Mr. Siirtola can be paged directly at: 459-9592 [7days/24 hours]. An
independant test, arranged within 2 hours of a police test , will
sometimes yield lower BAC test results.
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