Classes of DUI
A DUI can be either a misdemeanor or a felony. For your run-of-the-mill first DUI, whether you have a blood alcohol concentration just over the legal limit or a blood alcohol concentration three times the legal limit, although the mandatory jail sentences differ, the charge will be a class 1 misdemeanor. However, a regular DUI can become a felony and be considered “aggravated” if, among other things, you had a suspended license, two prior DUIs in the past seven years, or a person under fifteen years of age in the car. A DUI that’s aggravated because of a suspended license or two prior DUIs in the past seven years is a class 4 felony, and a DUI that’s aggravated because there was a child in the car … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Statutes, DUI
The Right to Counsel, Admin Per Se
If an officer has probable cause to believe you are in actual control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the law provides that you will lose your license for a year if you don’t submit to a chemical test. Personally, I find the whole concept offensive and wholly incompatible with the idea of a free society. However, one thing that makes it even worse is that the judge at your admin per se hearing (license suspension hearing) will only consider whether the officer had reasonable grounds to believe you violated a DUI statute, whether you were arrested, whether you refused or failed to complete an alcohol or drug test, and whether you were informed of the consequences of your refusal or failure. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Statutes, DUI, MVD Hearings
Can you get a DUI in a car that doesn't work?
A case that addressed that question, State v. Larriva, cited out-of-state authority for the proposition that “the inoperability of the vehicle does not preclude a finding of actual physical control,” later concluding “that the operability of the vehicle is only tangentially relevant to the determination of actual physical control.” In Larriva, the defendant was stuck on a curb and couldn’t move his car. However, Larriva was later questioned in State v. Dawley, where the court stated in a footnote that “the facts on which we based our decision in Larriva would support a conviction on a theory of driving as shown by circumstantial evidence, as suggested by the special concurrence in that case, not on a theory of actual physical control.” Dawley was dealing with jury instructions, and the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Cases, DUI
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