Brown & Little, P.L.C. » Entries tagged with "DWI"
Happy National No-Phone Zone Day!
Every TV channel I saw at the gym this morning seemed to be covering the fact Oprah has declared today “National ‘No-Phone Zone’ Day.” I guess that Oprah has convinced the USDOT, the NHTSA, the GHSA, and a variety of other government entities with acronym names to join her in promoting awareness to end distracted driving. I normally wouldn’t post about something like that, as every day is stop-something day, but my head filled with thoughts as I watched part of a segment showing teenagers trying to drive a golf cart around a course marked with cones while texting. Needless to say, very few cones remained standing at the end, and the exercise supposedly demonstrated the dangers of what I’m going to call DWD, driving while distracted. I … Read entire article »
Filed under: DUI, Government Rants
Roving Packs of Pit Bulls, Drunk Drivers
I had a discussion a month or two ago with someone who really embraced the idea of outlawing pit bulls. His concern was that if people weren’t limited in what kind of dog they could own, some people would breed and train extremely powerful, vicious dogs who’d eventually wreak havoc on society. There would be roving packs of pit bulls bred and trained to kill. I hear a similar argument every time I criticize DUI laws. When I suggest lesser penalties (and especially when I suggest eliminating DUI laws altogether), people say that if there weren’t strict DUI laws, everyone would drive drunk. In essence, there would be roving packs of drunk drivers liquored up and ready to kill. Sure, eliminating DUI laws might result in an increase … Read entire article »
Filed under: DUI
Actual Control (Again)
Recently, I was surprised when Division Two looked at an issue very close to (if not the same as) something I previously discussed in a post. The issue in State v. Zaragoza was “actual control,” and most of the commentary I’ve read seems to claim that the opinion narrows the term significantly. Here it is. Although I have no doubt that it’s a step in the right direction and may well assist me in future motions, I am skeptical about how positive an effect the opinion is likely to have. Like any appellate opinion, it can be narrowed by its facts. The time line isn’t entirely clear to me, but I think the officer was on top of things as soon as the defendant got in the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Cases, DUI
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
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