Arizona DUI Lawyers
What are the different levels of DUI?
Arizona has four different types of alcohol misdemeanor DUI charges and this is how they work:
The first level of DUI is known as being impaired to the slightest degree. This means that it does not matter what your blood alcohol content was if an officer believes that you were impaired even to the very slightest most minimal degree they can charge you with this offense.
The next level DUI is known as the legal limit DUI. This is when your blood-alcohol content is at a .08 or above.
If the government can prove that level, then they can presume that you were impaired.
If your blood alcohol content was at 0.15 or above, this is known as an extreme DUI. With an extreme DUI charge there are increased penalties.
A super extreme DUI is the most serious level misdemeanor alcohol DUI that we have in Arizona.
This is when your blood-alcohol content is at a 0.20 or above.
Now, if you’ve been charged with a DUI, it’s not unusual for the police to stack these charges on top of one another— meaning if you’ve been charged with a super extreme DUI, you are going to see charges for all the lesser DUIs on the same citation.
What are the penalties for a first time DUI in Arizona?
Arizona has some of the toughest DUI laws in the entire country. These are the penalties for a first-time regular DUI conviction:
A person can be convicted of a regular DUI when their blood-alcohol content is between a .08 and a .149.
By statute under the law, the fines and fees for this type of conviction are right around $1,600. There is also mandatory jail time. The law says ten days of jail; nine days out of those ten can be suspended or deleted so long as a substance abuse treatment program is completed.
If it’s not completed, those nine days of jail are reinstated and must be served. The judge may also impose jail costs up to $1,000.
The court may also impose a term of probation lasting all the way up to five years, and the motor vehicle department will impose their own separate penalties.
Upon receiving a conviction, they will impose a requirement that you must have an interlock device installed on your vehicle.
This is supposed to last up to twelve months, but you might be eligible to have it removed after only six.
Additionally, they will impose a mandatory license suspension which can range anywhere from 90 days all the way up to one year depending on the facts of your case.
These are the penalties that are written in the law— they don’t take into account anything else that impacts your life such as your insurance rates, your reputation, your career, or your livelihood.
These penalties are some of the harshest in the entire country.
What are the penalties for a first time Extreme DUI in Arizona?
A person can be convicted of an extreme DUI when their blood-alcohol content is 0.15 or above. The penalties for this charge are severe.
The fines and fees for an extreme DUI conviction total at around $2,800. There is also mandatory jail time of 30 days of jail must be served, according to the law; however, 21 days of that sentence can be deleted so long as you agree to install an interlock device on your vehicle for an extended period of time.
The judge may also impose jail cost which can total at around $2,700, and the court may also impose a term of probation lasting all the way up to five years.
The motor vehicle department, or the MVD, will impose a separate set of penalties. They will require that an interlock device be installed on your vehicle for at least twelve months, but this may be longer.
They will also impose a mandatory license suspension which normally will last 90 days, but can be extended up to one year if there is a refusal to provide a blood or a breath sample.
The court may also impose other penalties, and require that community restitution be paid or that you attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim impact panel.
What are the penalties for a first time Super Extreme DUI in Arizona?
A person can be convicted of a Super Extreme DUI when their blood-alcohol content is a 0.20 or above.
This is the highest level misdemeanor DUI that we have in Arizona and the consequences are severe.
The fines and fees for a Super Extreme DUI total at around $3,300 as well as mandatory jail time of 45 days as stated by the law that must be served; however, 31 of those days can be suspended or deleted if there is an agreement to install an interlock device on your vehicle for an extended period of time.
This turns the 45 day sentence into only 14 days.
The judge may also impose fines and fees which can total at around $4,000.
The court may impose a term of probation which can last all the way up to five years.
The motor vehicle department will impose their own separate set of penalties, and will require that an interlock device be installed on your vehicle or any vehicle that you drive for at least 18 months, but this can be longer.
There will also be a mandatory license suspension. Normally this is 90 days, but it can be extended all the way up to one year if there is a refusal to provide a blood or a breath test.
The super extreme DUI conviction is the most serious and harshest misdemeanor DUI that we have— the penalties are very severe.
But the law provides a number of different provisions that allow us to mitigate or minimize these effects.
We ultimately want these charges gone.
What are the penalties for a second time regular DUI in Arizona?
Penalties for a second offense DUI are severe. If you have a conviction for any type of DUI that happened within the last seven years and you face a new DUI charge, these are the consequences you may be looking at:
The fines and fees for a second offense regular DUI are mandatory and they total at around $3,500. There is also mandatory jail time— the law states that 90 days of jail must be served— however, 60 of those days can be suspended or deleted if a substance abuse screening and follow-up treatment program are completed.
If so, that would leave only 30 days of jail. Some jurisdictions will also allow work release or home detention, but this depends on the specifics of your case.
The judge may also impose jail costs that can total at nearly $8,000. The court can impose a term of probation lasting up to five years, and they may require 30 hours of community service.
When the MVD finds out about the conviction they will issue a one-year revocation of your license. This means you cannot drive at all.
An important part when defending against second offense DUI charges is to challenge and attack the prior.
If the prior offense can be thrown out because of bad paperwork, a bad fingerprint, or differences between state laws then the current new case can no longer be treated as a second offense and the penalties can be reduced significantly.
What are the penalties for a second time extreme DUI in Arizona?
Penalties for a second offense extreme are severe. If you have a conviction for any type of DUI within the last seven years and you are facing new charges for an extreme DUI, these are the consequences that you may be looking at:
The fines and fees for a second offense extreme DUI are mandatory and they total at around $3,800.
There is also mandatory jail time. The law states that 120 days of jail must be served; however, 60 days of that sentence can be suspended or deleted if a substance abuse screening and follow-up treatment program are completed.
This would leave only 60 days of jail left to be served.
Some jurisdictions allow home detention or work release, but this depends upon the specifics of your case.
The judge may also impose jail costs that can amount to over $10,000.
The court can impose a term of probation lasting all the way up to five years and requires thirty hours of community service to be completed.
When the motor vehicle department receives notice of this conviction, they will impose their own penalties and issue a total revocation of your license for one year. This means no driving whatsoever.
An important part when it comes to defending against second offense DUI charges is to challenge the prior.
If the prior offense can be thrown out, whether it’s because of bad paperwork, bad fingerprints, or changes in state laws, then the current case can no longer be considered a second offense and the penalties can be reduced significantly.
What are the penalties for a second time super extreme DUI in Arizona?
Penalties for a second offense “super” extreme DUI are severe. If you have a conviction for any type of DUI within the past seven years and you receive a new charge for a super extreme DUI, these are the consequences that you may face:
The fines and fees for a second offense super extreme DUI are mandatory and total at around $4,300.
There is also mandatory jail time. The law states that 180 days of jail must be served; however, 90 of these days can be suspended or deleted if a substance abuse and follow-up treatment program are completed.
This would leave only 90 days of jail time left to be served. Some jurisdictions will allow for home detention or work release, but this will depend upon the specifics of your case.
The judge may impose jail cost that could amount to over $15,000.
The court can impose a term of probation lasting all the way up to five years, and will require 30 hours of community service to be completed.
When the motor vehicle department receives notice of this conviction, they will impose their own penalties and issue a one-year total revocation of your license. This means no driving whatsoever.
An important part when it comes to defending against second offense DUI charges is to challenge the prior.
If the prior offense can be thrown out, whether it’s because of bad paperwork, bad fingerprinting, or because there are differences in state law, then the current case can no longer be treated as a second offense and the penalties can be reduced significantly.
Contact our office to schedule a free case evaluation so together we can develop the best strategy for you and your case moving forward.
Arizona DUI Field Sobriety Tests
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test or the “Pen” Test
If you were stopped for DUI, chances are you probably were given the “pen” test. Here is how we as defense attorneys show this little eye exam is absolute nonsense:
The pen test is formally called the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test.
When the police look into your eyes they are looking for nystagmus; in other words, they are watching for your pupil to jerk back towards the center as they move the pen around.
A good analogy for this phenomenon is the windshield on your car.
When it’s raining outside, the windshield wipers move smoothly back and forth, but when it’s dry your wipers will jerk across your windshield.
This jerkiness is what the police are looking for in your eyes.
Here’s the problem: in most DUI situations the pen test is administered in very poor conditions. There are headlights, street signs, and are cars whizzing around.
The officer will hold the pen too high or too low, too close or too far, or they’ll hold it out to the side for far too long and cause fatigue in your eyes.
This is a scientific test being administered in a non-scientific environment. The fact is that the police are not trained, nor are they qualified to use this test to determine whether you are impaired under the influence of alcohol.
This test was designed by medical professionals to be used by doctors to diagnose head trauma, not the impairment of alcohol.
There are literally 86 other types of nystagmus and other causes for the jerkiness in your eyes.
The police have no training on identifying any other type of nystagmus and why should they? They’re not medical doctors.
DUI Investigation Walk & Turn Test
If you were stopped for DUI and given tests on the side of the road, the officer probably asked you to walk in a straight line, turn around,
and walk back.
Not surprisingly, this is called the Walk and Turn test, and this is how it fails:
The Walk and Turn test is what is known as a “divided attention” test.
This means a person is asked to concentrate on more than one thing at a time.
The officer will ask the individual to walk a straight line, keeping their feet heel-to-toe for 9 steps the entire way.
Then, when they reach the end, they are asked to turn around and walk back.
The officer is looking for different “clues” of impairment, this includes things like stepping off of the line, using hands or arms for balance, or not following instructions.
In reality, this is a hard test for many people to complete regardless of alcohol or drugs.
Walking heel-to-toe in a straight line is just not a natural way to walk.
Officers make this test more complicated and inaccurate by asking people to walk imaginary lines instead of real lines, or administering the test on uneven, poorly lit, and/or sloped ground.
They also hardly never consider whether you have ADD or ADHD, inner ear problems, vertigo or balance issues, and/or whether you have foot, knee or back problems.
Any of these variables can greatly impact the accuracy of your case and have a significant impact on the result.
DUI Investigation One-Leg Stand
One of the most common “tests” the police administer on the side of the road during a DUI stop is called the “One-Leg Stand test”, which is not an easy test to complete.
Let’s review the instructions and take a look at how it works:
To begin the test, you are supposed to be a on a reasonably dry, hard, level, non-slippery surface.
The environment around you needs to be relatively safe.
The instructions sound simple— stand on one leg and raise your other leg forward straight in front you, 6 inches above the ground.
Keep your arms straight to your sides, and count out loud starting with one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three, and so on until you’re told to stop.
The officer is supposed to wait until you get to one-thousand-thirty before stopping you.
If you have never tried this test, pause this video and give it a shot.
Most people will notice around 25 to 30 seconds in, the muscles in your calf and leg will start to feel strained from maintaining your
balance.
While the officer is watching, they are looking for 4 different clues: putting your foot down, hopping on one leg, swaying (either
front to back or side to side), or raising your arms from your sides by 6 inches or more.
Two or more of these “clues” constitute a failure of this test.
Having tried the test yourself, you’ll know it is very easy to sway, raise your arms for balance, and/or feel the need to put your foot down so you don’t fall over.
Add in an uneven sidewalk, flashing police lights, officers walking around, cars whizzing by, any physical ailments you may have, inner ear problems, coordination issues— not to mention extreme anxiety and fear from being questioned by an officer— you’ll see this so-called test is extremely easy to “fail”.
Contact Scottsdale DUI Lawyer at The R&R Law Group today for more information on DUI in Arizona and how we can work together to assist your case!
