Arizona DUI Attorneys

Jury Trials Return For Misdemeanor DUI Charges

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:18:00 +0000

Governor Jan Brewer has signed HB 2284 into law which requires the Courts to offer a defendant in a DUI case the option of a jury trial. This bill has an emergency clause and goes into effect immediately and will be applied retroactive from December 31, 2011. The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Tempe DUI Crackdown

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:57:00 +0000

The Tempe Police Department has made 270 alcohol related arrests last week in a concerted crackdown on drunken driving and underage drinking. The department was aided by state and Arizona State University law enforcement agencies to reduce the number of crimes, violence, serious injury and fatal collisions that occur all too often with alcohol abuse and DUI. The crackdown included 184 underage drinking arrests and 45 for possession of alcohol by a minor. 8 individuals were arrested for DUI. The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

DUI Task Force Arrests Over 4,000 Since November 24th

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:18:00 +0000

The statewide DUI holiday task force has arrested more than 4,000 suspected drunken drivers in Arizona since November 24, 2011. 1,085 drivers have been arrested for for extreme DUI and 385 arrested for aggravated DUI.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Ignition Interlock Device Requirements Changing January 1, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Starting January 1, 2012, Arizona drivers convicted of a first-time DUI offense will get a slightly gentler sentence. A new state law will require first-time offenders to have an ignition-interlock device on their vehicle for six months, instead of the current requirement of a year. Arizona remains among the toughest states in the nation when it comes to DUI laws. It is one of 15 that require first-time offenders to have interlock devices, which prevent vehicles from turning on if alcohol is detected on the driver's breath.

The length of time first-time offenders must use the device varies by state. Oklahoma requires it for at least 30 days; Oregon, New Jersey and Missouri require it for six months; New Mexico and Pennsylvania require it for a year.
Arizona lawmakers in 2001 passed the law requiring repeat offenders to install ignition-interlock devices. In 2007, they required first-time offenders to have the devices. To comply, drivers must pay a provider to install the device, plus a monthly maintenance fee. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the devices cost about $120 to install and $80 a month to maintain.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

DUI Holiday Task Force Nets 2,800 Arrests

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:09:00 +0000

Arizona's holiday DUI task force has so far resulted in more than 2,800 arrests during the 2011 holiday period. Law enforcement agencies have conducted 46,194 traffic stops between November 24, 2011, and December 24, 2011. A year ago, officers made 33,395 traffic stops. Nearly 6,500 police, highway patrol officers, sheriff's deputies and volunteers are participating in DUI task forces around the state this month.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Carefree Approves House Arrest

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:35:00 +0000

The Carefree Town Council has approved a home detention/electronic monitoring program for Carefree Municipal Court. The monitoring devices would most likely be used in DUI cases. The house arrest program has been adopted by several municipal courts. A DUI offender must first serve 15 days in jail and then would be eligible to serve the remainder of a 30 day sentence at home. The price for home detention would be paid on a weekly basis by the offender.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Holiday DUI Enforcement Task Force Starting

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:13:00 +0000

Arizona law officers are serious about arresting drivers who get a little too happy during the holidays. More than 70 Arizona law agencies and thousands of officers will participate in the Statewide Holiday DUI Enforcement Task Force this year, with the goal of getting drunken drivers off the road. On Tuesday, Office of Highway Safety Director Alberto Gutiersaid this year's motto, "Drive Hammered ... Get Nailed!'' embodies "our determination to protect the public." Gutier used $1.1 million of earmarked federal dollars to buy six DUI processing vehicles.
Phoenix acting Police Chief Joe Yahner said each processing vehicle "makes everything faster." "We can do blood and breath testing right in the vehicle and get our people back on the road," Yahner said. "It's a huge time-saver."
Last year in Arizona, there were 581 alcohol-related crashes, resulting in 33 fatalities, and police made 18,244 DUI arrests.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Arizona Referendum On DUI Change Falls Short

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Backers have dropped a proposed referendum to try to block a new Arizona law that would eliminate the current right to a jury trial for defendants charged with first-time regular DUI.

Attorney Cliff Girard says supporters fell short of collecting the required 86,405 voter signatures needed to suspend implementation of the new law pending a public vote in 2012.

Girard says opponents of eliminating the right to a jury trial for first-time regular DUI are considering a possible legal challenge to the law on constitutional grounds.

The law doesn't take effect until Dec. 31, but Tuesday was the deadline to submit referendum petitions.

The jury trial provision was included in a DUI bill signed April 29 by Gov. Jan Brewer.

Arizona Republic - July 20, 2011

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Peoria Approves Home Detention Program

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Sun, 15 May 2011 22:10:00 +0000

The Peoria City Council agreed to allow city law enforcement officials to draft an ordinance that would allow those charged with DUI, shoplifting or small thefts to be placed under house arrest. A home detention program would save the city between $100,000 to $200,000 a year. Peoria would join Glendale, Surprise, Goodyear, Phoenix and other cities with such policies. A one year pilot program will start on July 1, 2011.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Cinco De Mayo Holiday Task Force Arrest 511 DUI Suspects

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:30:00 +0000

A statewide task force targeting drunken drivers arrested 511 people during Cinco de Mayo festivities. The Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety said that between Thursday and Saturday 511 drivers were arrested on suspicion of driving drunk. Of those, 167 were considered extreme DUI's. Those drivers had blood-alcohol levels of 0.15 percent of higher, nearby double the legal limit of 0.08 percent. 50 people arrested had prior DUI arrests and 52 drivers were underage.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

DUI Attorney Seeks Repeal To New DUI Law

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Fri, 06 May 2011 22:20:00 +0000

A Phoenix DUI defense attorney has filed the paperwork for a referendum to repeal part of a new DUI law. Senate Bill 1200, which goes into effect on December 31, 2011, makes numerous changes to Arizona's DUI laws. Among other provisions, it reduces the time some first-time DUI offenders must have an ignition interlock device on their vehicle to six months instead of a year, allows cities and counties to create a home detention program for eligible DUI offenders and allows a jury trial only for Extreme DUI and second offense cases.

The Committee for the Right to Jury Trial, led by attorney Clifford Girard, wants to ask voters to repeal the part of the new law that no longer allows all DUI suspects to request a jury trial. Mr. Girard believes that all DUI suspects are entitled to a jury trial under the Arizona constitution.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Home Detention Program Approved For El Mirage

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 14:41:00 +0000

El Mirage City Council unanimously approved a home detention program for DUI offenders. This program could save the town thousand of dollars in incarceration costs. Under the home detention program, a vendor would be selected within 30 to 60 days and only those able to pay for the electronic-monitoring ankle bracelets would be able to avoid jail time.

The program could be used for "super extreme" DUI offenders and for second offense DUI offenders. State law requires lengthy jail sentences for these offenses. A super extreme DUI with a blood alcohol content over a 0.20 percent or greater carries a 45 day sentence. A second conviction on an extreme DUI for a blood alcohol content of 0.15 percent or greater carries a 120 to 180 day sentence.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Scottsdale Police Will Try Renting Out Jail Space

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:02:00 +0000

Scottsdale police will start renting space next month to defendants from other Valley cities who want to serve their sentence in a Scottsdale jail.

The pilot program, which begins March 1, allows defendants convicted of non-violent misdemeanors in other city courts to spend up to 48 hours in Scottsdale's Via Linda detention facility, officials said. City officials hope to bring in as much as $700,000 from the six-month trial.

Scottsdale City Manager David Richert said success of the pilot program will determine whether Scottsdale's Via Linda jail stays open. Right now, Scottsdale's primary booking facility is its downtown jail at 3700 N. 75th St. "The idea is to offset the existing cost," said Sgt. Mark Clark, a police spokesman. "We already pay to have two jail facilities open."

Scottsdale is in a unique position to offer the service because most neighboring police departments typically don't have jail space available to keep defendants overnight, Clark said.
For example, anyone convicted of jail time in Mesa City Court has to serve in a Maricopa County jail, said Sgt. Ed Wessing, a Mesa police spokesman. The Mesa holding facility holds 32 people.
"Each night we fill up the jail with bookings," Wessing said. "We don't have the capacity to house people."

In addition to offsetting costs, Richert said officials will look closely at whether renting jail space can turn a profit. The city is facing a $20 million shortfall for next fiscal year's budget that begins July 1.

City officials have set a goal of $700,000 for the six-month trial. It costs the city about $500,000 to keep the facility open, leaving $200,000 in profit, Richert said. Using the jail to house defendants is a better alternative than shuttering the building, which will still be considered if the program fails, Richert said.

Six beds in the Via Linda jail already are used to house overnight convicts from Scottsdale City Court. That leaves an additional eight beds for out-of-city defendants, Clark said. Offenders are charged $189 per day. "Right now, we want get the word out that we're doing this so we can work with the current court officials and defense attorneys to let them know this is an option for their misdemeanor defendants," Clark said.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Grants To Boost El Mirage DUI Patrols

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:24:00 +0000

The El Mirage Police Department plans to use nearly $19,000 in state grants to bolster DUI patrols and equipment. Three grants from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety will allow the police to buy more equipment, such as speed measuring devices and breath testing units. The city will modernize its DUI van used to process impaired drivers. The grant money will also provide overtime for officers in the West Valley who participate in a DUI task force.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Proposed Bills to Decrease First Time DUI Penalties

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:34:00 +0000

For more than a decade, Arizona has had no tolerance for drinking and driving. But this year, there's a push to loosen penalties for first-time offenders. Arizona is among the toughest states in the nation when it comes to DUI laws, and it's one of a dozen states that require offenders to install ignition-interlock devices, which prevent vehicles from turning on if the driver's breath has any alcohol on it. Two bills this year propose to decrease or eliminate that penalty.
Sen. Linda Gray, R-Glendale, who has led the effort for the past 13 years to strengthen DUI laws, has proposed a bill to decrease the time a first-time offender must drive with the device to six months from a year. Gray's Senate Bill 1200 has passed the Senate and now goes to the House for consideration. She said she believes six months is long enough to teach a lesson, and she hopes her bill will keep the even less restrictive House Bill 2371 from passing. HB 2371, sponsored by Rep. David Burnell Smith, R-Scottsdale, would eliminate the ignition-interlock requirement for first-time offenders. Smith, an attorney whose specialties include DUI defense, said the devices are "financially unfair" to first-time offenders. Legislative leaders have not yet granted his bill a hearing.

Arizona lawmakers in 2001 passed a law requiring repeat offenders to install ignition-interlock devices. In 2007, they required first-time offenders to have the devices. To comply, drivers must pay a provider to install the device, plus a monthly maintenance fee. Forty-eight states have some sort of ignition-interlock law and 12 require the device for first-time offenses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The length of time first-time offenders must use the devices varies. Oklahoma requires it for at least 30 days; Oregon, New Jersey and Missouri require it for six months; New Mexico and Pennsylvania require it for a year. The devices have saved lives in Arizona. Arizona's DUI fatalities dropped to 219 in 2009 from 399 in 2006, according to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. "No other state has accomplished that much in preventing DUI fatalities," Gray said, referring to all such laws and interlock requirements in particular. Gray said that the liquor industry fought many of the changes to the laws for years and that several increases to DUI penalties to comply with federal-government standards succeeded only under threat of losing federal funding. Liquor distributors and their lobbyists consistently donate large amounts of money to state lawmakers.

At the same time Gray credits the interlock devices for helping to reduce fatalities, she calls the 12-month requirement for first-time offenders "very punitive." She said that's more time than is needed to teach a lesson. Also, the devices are expensive. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, they cost about $120 to install and $80 a month to maintain. Gray said SB 1200 offers a balance. "I think people in six months can learn a lesson," she said. "And I don't support eliminating it." Gray admitted her bill also is an effort to keep Smith's even less restrictive bill from passing. Smith said his bill proposes eliminating the requirement because it is too expensive. "They have to pay to install it, pay a monthly fee and then pay to take it off," Smith said. "It would be better to just require more education." He said he proposed two other DUI bills for the same financial reason. One requires judges to let offenders out of jail for work release and the other allows for more house-arrest programs instead of jail time. "We have a high unemployment rate," he said. "We want to punish them, but we want them to keep their jobs."

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Less Holiday DUI Arrests in 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:19:00 +0000

Over the holidays, Arizona officials arrested thousands of drivers on suspicion of driving under the influence. The Governor's Office of Highway Safety on Sunday released statistics showing that 3,534 DUI arrests were made from Nov. 25 through Jan. 1. That's down about 1,000 from the same period of 2009. Sixty-seven agencies, including Mesa police, Phoenix police, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the state Department of Public Safety, saturated streets throughout the state to help encourage people to use designated drivers.

Of those arrested, nearly 25 percent were cited for extreme DUI. Such a citation is given to people with blood-alcohol content greater than 0.15 percent. About 10 percent of drivers were cited for aggravated DUI and nearly 11 percent were repeat offenders. The 6,511 officers and deputies who participated also recorded the use of 1,283 sober designated drivers. Using a designated driver is the motto officials tout during the round-ups.

Last year, officials recorded a total of 4,693 DUI arrests.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Arizona DUI Task Force Nets 2,350 Arrests So Far

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 21:07:00 +0000

A statewide task force targeting drunken drivers has led to the arrests of more than 2,350 people so far. The Governor's Office of Highway Safety says the enforcement began November 25, 2010, and will end in two weeks. In less than a month, agencies have arrested 2,352 people on charges of drunken driving. Of those, 585 face extreme DUI charges because their blood alcohol content was more than 0.15 percent, or at least double the limit of 0.08 percent. Of those arrested, 248 had previous DUI arrests and 111 were under the age of 21. Agencies participating in the task force include police in the Phoenix and Tucson areas and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

DUI Home Arrest Program A Success In Scottsdale

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:17:00 +0000

A house arrest and ankle-monitoring program for some offenders convicted of DUI has saved Scottsdale more than $200,000 in its first five weeks, officials said. The program saves the city money because it doesn't have to pay the jail costs to incarcerate DUI offenders. Instead, the offenders are monitored at home and can continue to work. The City Council in June approved home detention and use of electronic monitoring devices for sentencing eligible offenders in city court. At the time, city officials estimated yearly savings would be about $500,000, said Janet Cornell, the court administrator. But the city is on track to save much more. From Oct. 1 to Nov. 8, 116 defendants have become eligible to participate, with an estimated savings of $209,000, Cornell said. The savings potential is promising, especially at a time when Scottsdale is struggling with a potential $28 million budget shortfall for next year.

Stricter DUI laws, passed in 2009, require jail time for all DUI offenses. Home-detention programs aren't new. Arizona law has allowed a city or town to create such programs for years. Most Valley city courts already have similar programs. But when Scottsdale City Court officials were look for ways to trim costs earlier this year, the program made sense. The home-detention and ankle-monitoring program costs the offender a $100 start fee, then about $20 per day afterward. Right now if someone goes to a Maricopa County jail, the first day costs $192. Each additional day is $72. The first 15 days are mandatory and must be served in jail. That requirement continues. But any jail time required after the 15 days can be served at home, if the defendant is eligible.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Arizona DUI Task Force Arrests More Than 1700

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:27:00 +0000

Armed with thousands of officers, Arizona's DUI task force arrested more than 1,700 people driving under the influence during a National Impaired Driving Crackdown campaign, which began Aug. 20 and ended Monday. The Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety is expected to release the total number of DUI arrests today. As of Sunday, nearly 60 law-enforcement agencies from throughout the state netted 1,792 DUI arrests, an increase from last year's 1,318 during the same period. For those younger than 21, there were 111 DUI citations and 348 citations given for minor consumption. An increased number of officers contributed to the statewide crackdown.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

City Of Surprise Cracking Down on DUI Warrants

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:34:00 +0000

Starting today the Surprise police department will round up people with outstanding DUI warrants. A joint task force between the Surprise and the Arizona Department of Public Safety will work through Friday. Officers will go to homes and business in an attempt to clear some of the more than 300 outstanding warrants in Surprise. To avoid conflict, people can self-surrender at the Surprise City Court through Thursday.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Arizona's DUI Fatality Rate Steadily Decreasing

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:18:00 +0000

As Labor Day weekend nears, Arizona will roll out its familiar, highly visible arsenal to combat drunken driving. Bolstered by a tough set of laws, safety officials will flood the airwaves with ad campaigns and set up checkpoints. About 300 people are killed by drunken drivers in Arizona every year. Such tactics have helped the country and the state drive down the number and rate of deadly alcohol-related crashes in the three decades since drunken driving shot into the national conscience. Yet one figure hasn't changed since the early 1990s: the proportion of drivers involved in fatal crashes who had illegally high levels of alcohol in their system.
Since 1995 Arizona has cut the fatality rate from drunken driving in half and closed in on the national rate, which itself tumbled nearly 30 percent. In the same period, a steady 20 percent of U.S. drivers in fatal crashes had recordable blood-alcohol levels over today's legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent. In Arizona, the rate was 30 percent in 1998. The next year, it tumbled to low-20s and stayed there. Arizona safety experts blame the stubborn statistic on habitual offenders. In 2008, the most recent year for which data are available, 324 people were killed by drivers who were known to have too much to drink, according to figures compiled by the Arizona Department of Transportation. In 2005, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studied why the share of drunken drivers in fatal crashes was unchanged. "The leveling off of the alcohol-related driving trend raised questions as to whether these alcohol programs are still as effective in deterring impaired driving as they were before," the researchers wondered. They analyzed demographics, alcohol-consumption trends and laws against driving under the influence. They concluded that a series of tough laws brought the drunkenness levels down from the 1980s and kept them down. Laws haven't changed much since, and the other contributing trends had slowed. Those included increasing numbers of women and older drivers and lower beer consumption. Arizona's tough DUI laws Arizona prides itself on being the toughest state in the country on DUI offenders, and with some cause. This year, a new law took effect penalizing so-called superextreme DUI offenders, those with blood-alcohol levels of 0.20 percent or higher. First offenders of the new law face a minimum 45 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Since Arizona joined the nation in passing 0.08 percent DUI laws in 2001, the state has steadily stiffened penalties and lowered blood-alcohol thresholds. For instance, extreme DUI used to be measured at 0.18 percent but is now 0.15 percent blood-alcohol content. Arizona drivers convicted of their first DUI must get ignition-interlock devices, which stop cars from starting if the driver's breath shows too much alcohol. Arizona has issued 19,000 of the devices, more than any state. The state also makes existing laws more keenly felt. Since 2003, the number of arrests for DUI, underage DUI and extreme DUI has ballooned about twelvefold, which far outpaces population growth. Those trends, plus engineered safety improvements to cars and roads, have brought the fatal crash rate and the fatality rate involving alcohol-impaired drivers down. The decline mirrors a drop in traffic fatalities in general. But it hasn't always been steady progress. Figures kept by the Arizona Department of Transportation show an increase in alcohol-related fatality rates in 2005 and 2006. That differs from federal figures because the NHTSA uses a statistical model rather than relying solely on police reports to calculate drunkenness levels. For years, Arizona and U.S. residents have been hit with slogans to stop them from driving drunk, such as this year's "Drive Hammered, Get Nailed." The Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety increased its spending on ad campaigns, training and enforcement by more than 800 percent from 2004 to 2010, to nearly $9.5 million.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Holiday Weekend DUI Enforcement Push Resulted In 434 Arrests

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:43:00 +0000

Enforcement agencies state-wide arrested a record number of drivers over the Fourth of July weekend on suspicion of alcohol or drug impairment. Authorities made 434 DUI arrests, up from 350 in 2009. Officers logged 9,008 traffic stops Friday through Monday.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Arizona Supreme Court Rules That Warrants Are Needed For DUI Blood Tests

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:29:00 +0000

In a decision that defense attorneys said respects the Fourth Amendment, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday that police must get a search warrant to take a blood sample from a DUI suspect unless the person clearly consents to providing a sample. Phoenix prosecutors had argued in the case decided Monday that the state's implied consent law permits police to take a blood sample from a DUI suspect not refusing to give one. The Supreme Court said the state's implied consent law does broadly state that a person who operates a motor vehicle consents to a blood test to determine alcohol concentration or drug content. But the law also has specific provisions that generally require police officers to get a warrant to draw a blood sample if they don't get clear consent from the suspect, the justices said. The ruling didn't disturb the consent law's provision that refusing to provide a blood sample subjects a DUI suspect to an automatic driver's license suspension. The Phoenix City Prosecutor's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but two defense attorneys said the ruling tells police that the only direct consequence of a DUI suspect not consenting to a blood draw is the license suspension.
The case decided Monday involved a man who apparently didn't object when officers took a blood sample as he sat on the steps of a police van after vomiting, court rulings in the case said.
According to the rulings, Jose Carrillo testified that he only spoke Spanish and that the officers did not speak to him in that language. He also said he did not consent to the blood draw but did not resist because he was afraid. Officers said they communicated with Carrillo through gestures and some Spanish. The Supreme Court's ruling sent Carrillo's case back to trial court to determine whether he clearly consented to the blood drawn.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

West Valley Memorial Day DUI Task Force Planned

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:05:00 +0000

Peoria police and the West Valley DUI Task Force will increase DUI enforcement efforts for the Memorial Day holiday. A DUI checkpoint and extra patrol officers will be in the area near Lake Pleasant. Their goal is to catch as many alcohol impaired drivers as possible. Officers will have a DUI checkpoint along Castle Hot Springs Road near the Lake Pleasant entrance. The checkpoint is scheduled to run from 3 to 8 p.m., on May 31st. Police hope the location of the checkpoint will encourage people to arrange for a designated driver. At the checkpoint, cars will be stopped and police will speak with the driver to check for any signs of impairment. Drivers who appear drunk will face further questioning and investigation. Additional patrol officers will also police Arizona 74.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.

Electronic Monitoring Approved For Scottsdale DUI Offenders

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona DUI Attorneys) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 23:51:00 +0000

The Scottsdale City Council unanimously approved a program to implement house arrest and electronic monitoring. Scottsdale hopes to save at least $500,000 in annual jail costs by implementing this program for DUI offenders. Offenders with a history of violence, a domestic violence conviction or those who are unemployed would not be eligible for the program. Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Surprise and several other municipalities use home detention programs.

The information in this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Please contact us to obtain legal advice pertaining to your situation.