Phoenix DUI Lawyer in Arizona

A regular DUI is considered driving with a BAC of 0.08-0.14% or driving with a controlled substance in your bloodstream.

Penalties include:

• Undergoing a substance abuse screening assessment;
• Completing substance abuse treatment program;
• Serving 10 consecutive days in jail and payin g jail costs;
• An additional 9 days in jail will be suspended if the substance abuse program is completed;
• $250 fine plus any surcharge;
• $500 State Prison Construction and $500 State General Fund payments.

Extreme DUI is a BAC of 0.15% or higher; the chances of getting into a catastrophic or fatal collision increase with higher BACs.

Penalties include:

• 30 consecutive days in jail plus jail costs;
• 21 suspended days in jail if you install an interlock device;
• $250 fine plus any surcharge and $250 DUI assessment;
• $500 State Prison Construction and $500 State General Fund payments.

You may also have a temporary license suspension and a harder time getting a hardship license.

Super Extreme DUI is a BAC of 0.20% or greater – more than twice the legal limit. Drivers may be in a “blackout” state and thus even more dangerous.

Penalties include:

• 45 consecutive days in jail plus costs;
• 31 suspended days in jail if you have an interlock device for 12 months;
• $500 State Prison Construction and $500 State General Fund payments;
• $500 fine and $250 DUI assessment;
• $500 State Prison Construction and $500 State General Fund payments.

A second offense with a BAC of 0.08% or higher will lead to stiffer penalties, including:

• Completing a substance abuse screening session;
• Completing any required substance abuse counseling;
• 90 consecutive days in jail plus jail costs;
• 60 days in jail suspended if you complete substance abuse treatment;
• $500 fine and surcharge;
• $1,250 State Prison Construction and $1,250 State General Fund payments;
• 30 hours of community service.

You may also have to surrender your driver’s license.

Your second DUI offense, if you have a BAC of 0.15% or higher, could lead to:

• 120 consecutive days in jail plus jail costs;
• $500 fine and surcharges;
• DUI assessment of $250;
• $1,250 State Prison Construction and $1,250 State General Fund payments;
• 30 hours of community service.

You may also have to surrender your driver’s license and may not have the opportunity to petition for a hardship license in the meantime.

A second DUI offense with a BAC of 0.20% is “super extreme”, and the penalties are correspondingly stiffer, including:

• 180 consecutive days in jail plus jail costs;
• $100 fine and surcharge;
• DUI assessment of $250;
• $1,250 State Prison Construction and $1,250 State General Fund payments;
• 30 hours of community service;
• Surrendering your driver's license.

As a second-time DUI offender, you may not be permitted the opportunity to apply for a hardship license while yours is suspended.

If you are found to have been driving with a BAC above 0.08% and are convicted or plead guilty to a DUI in Phoenix, one of the penalties may be a suspended license.

If your driver’s license is suspended as an admin per se suspension, you may be eligible for a Restricted Permit after 30 days of no driving if you complete substance abuse screening.

Restricted Permit driving privileges are limited to traveling:

• To and from school;
• To and from work;
• To your probation officer’s office for scheduled appointments;
• To and from a substance abuse screening or treatment facility.

If you wish to have your license reinstated after the restriction period, you must show that you completed a substance abuse screening session and pay the reinstatement fee.

Implied consent to a test of your BAC if you are detained on suspicion of drunk driving is part of the covenant agreement (in the fine print) you enter into when you receive your Arizona driver’s license.

You break that implied consent when you refuse to submit to:

• Urine test;
• Breathalyzer;
• BAC blood test.

If you refuse testing, your license is automatically suspended for 12 months.

If you refuse testing a second time within seven years of the first refusal, your license will be suspended for 24 months.

It’s important to note that a blood alcohol concentration or drug content (BADC) test isn’t the same as a field sobriety test (FST) you may undergo if you get pulled over. You are within your rights to refuse to take an FST, but the officer may then arrest you and ask you to undergo BADC testing.

The implied consent suspension of your driver’s license begins when the arresting officer presents a proposed suspension order. Once you receive this order, you have 15 days to request a hearing with the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) to contest your license suspension; if you fail to do so, your suspension goes into effect.

If you have a hearing, the judge will determine whether the suspension is legitimate.

You may also be permitted to drive if you install an interlock device on your car. This is like a breathalyzer that prevents the car from starting if your BAC is over the legal limit.

If you have a misdemeanor DUI conviction in Phoenix, your license may be suspended if one of these two situations applies:

• You have had a DUI conviction in the last 7 years (but you may be entitled to a SIRL or limited permit);
• If you have prior convictions for violating racing on highways or reckless driving laws within the last seven years (you will not be permitted a SIRL).

The seven-year period is from the date each offense was committed, not the date you were convicted.

A special interlock restricted license (SIRL) is a limited driving permit for which some people convicted of DUI may be eligible. If your license is suspended or revoked, but you still need to drive to school, work, or other necessary places, you may petition for a SIRL.

The eligible cases include:

• First offense felony DUI with a child in the vehicle;
• Second DUI conviction within seven years of the first;
• First refusal of an implied consent BAC test.

If you wish to have a SIRL, you must:

• Complete a substance abuse screening;
• Post an SR-22 Certificate of Insurance;
• Install an ignition interlock breathalyzer device.

With a SIRL, the only places you are permitted to drive are from your home to:

• Work;
• School;
• A treatment facility or screening center;
• DUI education appointments;
• Appointments with your probation officer;
• A doctor or other healthcare professional;
• The ignition interlock service facility.

A SIRL can be part of the negotiated plea deal your DUI attorney arranges in Maricopa County Superior Court on your behalf.

If you are convicted of DUI in Arizona, you’ll have 8 points added to your driver's license. To put this into perspective, speeding only results in 3 points, while most other moving traffic violations are just 2 points.

If you accumulate a certain number of points in a rolling 12-month time period, you may have your license suspended or revoked:

• 13-17 points: 3-month suspension;
• 18-23 points: 6-month suspension;
• 24 points: 12-month suspension.

A restricted license isn’t an option if your license is suspended due to accumulated points. You can request a hearing to reduce or eliminate a points assignment, but the request itself will not keep the points from being added; only approval by the judge at your hearing will prevent points from being added to your license.

If you hold a CDL in Arizona, your DUI penalties will be stiffer than those for a private driver. And the threshold for DUI is lower for commercial drivers; you can be arrested for a BAC of just 0.04%.

Penalties for CDL license holders include:

• 1-year disqualification from holding a CDL if you are convicted of a DUI;
• No admin per se suspension is permitted for the CDL, even if the DUI was dismissed;
• 3-year disqualification of the CDL if you were transporting hazardous material at the time you were pulled over.

In Arizona, you can be charged with DUI if your Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) is above .08%. Prosecutors use your BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) as evidence of your level of impairment. However, you can be charged with DUI if your BAC is less than .08% if the law enforcement officer believes you are impaired.

If you are arrested for DUI/DWI in Arizona, you will have a separate hearing with the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD). It is possible to lose your driver’s license for 90 days or one year in Arizona, even if you are never convicted. You must submit a written request for a hearing within 15 days, and your suspension of your driver’s license will be automatic.

Representation from a DUI attorney varies depending on the nature of your charges. The Law Offices of Brandon White, PC offer consultations and affordable, flat-fee representation.

You have the right to refuse a breath alcohol test after a DUI arrest unless the officer has a warrant. However, if you do so, your driver’s license may be suspended for a year or longer.

Yes, Arizona law permits people charged with any DUI offense, felony, or misdemeanor to have their DUI attorney argue at a trial before a jury. Unlike other misdemeanor charges, even someone charged with a DUI misdemeanor in Phoenix can have a jury trial.

Yes, even if you have an AMMA card for the medicinal use of marijuana, if you are driving under the influence of marijuana in Arizona and are stopped for suspicion of DUI, you can still be subject to a DUI arrest and misdemeanor or felony DUI-drugs charges.

Depending on the situation, your DUI case could take from two months to upwards of a year to settle. If you opt for a jury trial, your case would take longer than if your DUI attorney negotiated a plea bargain for a misdemeanor DUI charge.

Per Arizona DUI law, DUI charges are not to be dismissed unless the charges are deemed to be factually insufficient. In some jurisdictions, an experienced attorney may negotiate a DUI charge to be reduced to a reckless driving charge and punished accordingly.