How Can An Arizona DUI Attorney Help You?

Getting arrested for a DUI is scary, as well as permanently damaging if it goes on your record.  There is no better time to employ an Arizona DUI attorney than when the threat of a DUI is looming.  You may think that a lawyer is unnecessary or out of your budget, but with an array of offices and available payment plans, there really is no reason why you shouldn’t get some help on your side.  After all, this is their specialty, and it’s your life!

Arizona DUI attorneys are available because there is a need for them.  Unfortunately, the public simply isn’t learning that it’s unsafe and unwise to drive while under the influence.  A lot of people think its okay to have only one drink, perhaps with coworkers after a hard day, but they risk the chance of getting pulled over for a traffic offense only to have the officer smell alcohol on their breath.  There is a No Tolerance policy for drinking and driving at this day and age; even if you consider yourself to be a responsible drinker and/or driver.  With the increasing number of deaths related to drunk driving, it’s not a surprise that driving under the influence is now a deadly serious topic that has the justice system cracking down hard.

DUIs, if convicted, will become a part of your permanent criminal record.  A DUI can be either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on factors like whether your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is above legal limit or if you have a child in the car.  It’s also possible to get more than one DUI charge in a single sitting due to multiple circumstances like having drugs in your system.  Sentencing will depend on the nature of the offense, but can include: suspension or revocation of your driver’s license, fines, jail time, and possibly the installation of a breathalyzer, or Ignition Interlock Device, in your vehicle in order for it to operate.  Add to this the fact that your insurance will also go up and be visible to insurance agents for no less than 39 months, and getting an attorney starts to look pretty good!

An Arizona DUI attorney can help you in many ways. Not only do they know the law extensively, but they can help keep you from being manipulated by those who know you don’t have a clue, such as the prosecuting attorney and law enforcement officials.  You alone cannot debate sentencing with the judge, but your lawyer can.  If there are loopholes or plea bargains that can be made, you can pretty much bet that the system isn’t going to tell you about them, but your lawyer will.

Law offices can either specialize in DUIs or have attorneys available with specific knowledge on DUI cases.  These offices, like Phillips & Associates or the Jaffe Law Firm, offer payment plans that are conducive to your case and try to cater to your income level.  Consultations are usually always free of charge.  Before hiring them they will review the facts with you, discuss potential sentencing, fines, and/or issues that could initiate a dismissal of your case or reduction in sentence, explain the law to you, and come up with a plan of action.  If hired, they file all necessary paperwork with the courts, appear with you (and for you if you can’t appear) in court, present to you all options available, examine police reports, negotiate with judges and prosecutors, provide advocacy and support, and answer any and all questions you may have during your case and often after it has ended.  Trying to do all of this on your own would be mind-boggling and stressful.  Not only that, if you committed an error while representing yourself, you only have yourself to blame if you end up behind bars or with a sentence that is heavier than expected.

In order to secure your future and hire an Arizona DUI attorney, you may have to let go of some cash in order to stay out of hot water.  Not everyone charged with a DUI is a criminal or repeat offender.  There are lots of law-abiding people out there who went out for one drink and wound up getting caught for something else.  These people have families, jobs, and bills, and a DUI conviction would no less than ruin their life—maybe not permanently but definitely for a while.  Single mothers cannot afford to be in jail; one-car families cannot afford to have their vehicle impounded (which will happen upon arrest); and families with one provider cannot afford to have their money dipped into too deeply for fines.  Lawyers can help with all of these things.

Of course, not everyone can afford a lawyer.  It’s no secret that they don’t come cheap, no matter how valuable their services are.  If this is the case with you, keep in mind that you can request a public defender, also known as a court-appointed attorney, if you are facing imprisonment upon conviction.  A public defender is available to defendants as per the 6th Amendment and hired by the government to represent those that are too poor to obtain an Arizona DUI attorney.  This does not mean that fees for the use of a public defender will not be incurred, but they will be considerably less than a private lawyer.

The fact remains that no one should drink and drive.  There is too much risk and not enough reward.  When you drink and drive, you don’t only put yourself in jeopardy, but everyone on the road and any passengers you may have.  Don’t be the one responsible for taking someone else’s life, or your own.  However, if you do find yourself facing a DUI charge, weigh the options and you’ll most likely discover its best to tackle this one with an Arizona DUI attorney.

You or someone you know has just been pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or another impairing substance. Perhaps you encountered a sobriety checkpoint, or swerved into another lane; you may have been sober but were speeding, made an illegal turn, or had one of your headlights out. Whatever the reason, a policeman or woman pulled you over, and at some point during your conversation with the officer he or she came to believe you were intoxicated. What happens if, innocent or guilty, you are read your Miranda rights and taken to a police station?

A chemical BAC test will be administered at the station, a hospital, or even a mobile station. You may have already undergone a breathalyzer test, or you may have refused and requested the blood test. For our purposes, your blood alcohol level was found to be above the legal limit or the results have not yet come in. Stay calm and bare in mind that an arrest does not automatically call for incarceration. If for some reason you are booked into jail, expect the officers to search and fingerprint you, ask you some basic questions, and photograph you.

Regardless of whether this is your first DUI arrest or you have a history of DUI arrests or convictions, you will need to obtain a DUI Lawyers in Arizona. For first-timers, a lawyer is essential to understanding the process that follows your initial arrest, as well as to verifying the validity and legality of the arrest and the arresting process. While the police and the court—the prosecutors—look into your background to uncover any previous arrests or convictions, including those that were out of state, you can brief your DUI Lawyers in Arizona on any histories they can and will dig up, the conditions under which you were pulled over, and the arrest and—if relevant—booking processes.

When your history and the conditions of your arrest have been established, you will be charged either with a misdemeanor DUI or a felony DUI. If a misdemeanor, you should immediately be issued a citation to either a county justice court or a city municipal court with a readily available court date. If a felony—and if you have a record, this is likely—your case will be prosecuted in superior court.

The next steps will depend on your current custody situation. If you were booked into jail, you will—typically within 24 hours—be given a hearing in which the judge will set bail or other conditions of release. While bail is generally granted, the amount may vary and as in all court cases, is meant to ensure you will show up for your next hearing. If you fail to appear for the next hearing, you give up the money and gain a warrant for your arrest. For felony hearings, a preliminary hearing will be held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to move the case on to the Superior Court for an actual trial. Occasionally, the matter of bail will be revisited. This is where your DUI Lawyers in Arizona can make a motion that you be released on your own recognizance During your arraignment, you will be formally informed of all charges, and you may enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest (which is generally taken as “guilty”). If you abstain from answering, a plea of “not guilty” will be entered for you by the court; your lawyer will likely advise you to enter a plea of “not guilty.”

A pretrial conference will give your DUI Lawyers in Arizona a chance to negotiate with the prosecutor, during which time the State of Arizona may offer you a deal. After weighing the pros and cons with your attorney, you may accept or decline the deal or attempt to negotiate a better deal, though seldom does a better deal surface.

Your DUI Lawyers in Arizona may bring motions or evidentiary hearings to convince the judge to allow or refuse admissibility of pieces of evidence in open court. Evidence may include sobriety or breathalyzer tests, BAC tests, statements you made to the arresting or other officer, etc. In some instances, witnesses may be allowed to testify at this time.

In Arizona, you the defendant have a right to a trial by jury, and most arrested for DUIs choose this option. Your DUI Lawyers in Arizona will advise you if waiving this right in favor of a bench trial is in your best interest. Assuming you choose a trial by jury, the first step in the trial process will be selecting the jury. Your case is not John Grisham’s Runaway Jury, rife with corruption, but the concept of weeding out the prospective jurors who hold prejudices to one side of the law or the other applies. Both your attorney and the prosecutor may exercise preemptory challenges to remove jurors who appear unable to remain objective.

Once the jury is selected and the trial begins, the prosecutor will begin his or her opening statement, during which he or she will explain how the State plans to prove your guilt. Your own DUI Lawyers in Arizona may immediately follow the prosecutor’s opening statement with the defending opening statement or may choose to defer the opening statement until after the prosecution rests and all evidence and witnesses for the prosecution have been seen and heard.

The prosecution will then admit evidence and question witnesses, especially the arresting officer in your case. For a DUI case, the prosecutor will likely present the State’s case in the order the events occurred. The arresting officer will speak on the indicators that you were impaired, any admissions you made to the officer, the sobriety tests you submitted to—or your refusal to submit to sobriety tests, which does not shine favorably on you—and the reasons a person cannot operate vehicles safely while impaired. Your DUI Lawyers in Arizona may, as the prosecution rests, make a motion to dismiss the charges against you, claiming the prosecution failed to make the case against you. If the motion is denied, it will be your attorney’s turn to present your case.

Your attorney can, if he or she deferred the opening statement, make that statement now. Any evidence to support your innocence will then be admitted, although your attorney may choose to admit no additional evidence if the State has presented a particularly weak case. Your lawyer will advise you either to testify or to opt out of testifying, and will call any expert or otherwise qualified witnesses in your defense.

Once the defense rests, closing statements are made beginning and ending with the prosecution and then the jury begins its deliberations. The verdict is read in open court; if one could not be reached, the case will be declared a mistrial.

While sentencing can occur immediately after the reading of a guilty verdict, a sentencing hearing is typically held after a short—no longer than a month—delay. During the sentencing hearing, the judge takes into consideration any abnormalities in your situation that may call for a sentence that deviates from the standard. Regardless of your sentence, you have the right to appeal, even all the way up to the Supreme Court, if legal issues arise during any part of the trial process.

If you are convicted of a DUI, expect jail time. In Arizona, it is mandatory. First-time offenders must serve a minimum of ten consecutive days in jail and are not eligible for probation or suspension. If you are convicted of an extreme DUI, which will occur if your blood alcohol content was .15 percent or more, expect to serve 30 consecutive days in jail. If you were driving on a suspended license, had a child in the car, or this is your third DUI offense within seven years, your conviction will fall under “aggravated DUI,” expect a more “aggravated” sentence. Everyone convicted of a DUI is required to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicles, which is used to ensure you cannot even start your vehicle if you are intoxicated. Extreme DUI and Aggravated DUI offenders often find themselves performing community service and under continuous alcohol monitoring.

Those under 21 years old, the legal drinking age, are subject to Arizona’s zero tolerance laws and are automatically granted two years probation and a $1,500 fine, plus and 80 percent surcharge, in addition to the ignition interlock device. Everyone, of every age, may be made to pay fines—in addition to the fees you pay your DUI Lawyers in Arizona—have their license suspended, undergo treatment, serve jail time, and suffer the consequences of having a record in the working world.