Frequently Asked Questions About DUI Charges in Arizona

If you have been charged with a DUI in Arizona, you need an Arizona DUI attorney—someone who is routinely in these jurisdictions, stays up-to-date on problems and developments, takes cases to trial, and knows the strategies that have proven to be successful. The jury typically trusts the “scientific” breath or blood results, so it is imperative to be represented by a lawyer who understands the science and can present and explain scientific deficiencies to a jury.

Mark’s office examines all of their clients’ cases in detail to investigate both the legal issues surrounding the events and the less obvious scientific problems. They have spent hundreds of hours presenting this material to juries in the courts throughout Maricopa County as well as the hundreds of hours in the multi-day hearing before the Maricopa County Superior Court. They are constantly working to improve and expand their knowledge and ability to relate these problematic areas to juries so that they can better defend their clients.

Although the problems in Scottsdale have been in the spotlight, this does not mean that other jurisdictions are problem-free. Mark regularly attends DUI and forensic science seminars to stay current on trends in legal defense and has also had the honor to speak at conferences to help educate fellow criminal defense attorneys in these areas. Mark has successfully taken this knowledge, transferred it, and applied it to forensic laboratories in various jurisdictions in the Phoenix area to investigate whether they are accredited, following internationally-mandated standards, and properly reporting errors.

ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is an organization with members from more than 150 countries that develops standards within various disciplines, including standard 17025, which governs scientific labs that conduct testing. The general requirements of ISO 17025 involve documentation, nonconforming testing work, corrective actions for the nonconforming work, control of records, equipment calibration, and measurement traceability. These are standards that the international scientific community has declared to be acceptable, and in seeking and receiving accreditation, a forensic crime lab indicates that it will comply with these accepted standards. ASCLD/LAB, which merged with ANAB, is a laboratory accrediting agency and requires that the labs it accredits comply with ISO 17025 standards.

ASCLD/LAB merged with ANAB in 2016 and is now ANAB, the most prominent “inspecting” and “accrediting” agency for testing laboratories. Under their accreditation program, ANAB examines the hiring practices and written procedures that a lab uses, then practically assesses the lab by reviewing five of the lab’s tests; however, the lab being examined handpicks the cases that ANAB will be reviewing. Following accreditation, a lab is then deemed to be producing scientifically reliable results and must only be reassessed once every five years. Once a lab has been accredited, it rarely, if ever, is put on probation or stripped of its accreditation.

The Scottsdale Crime Lab decision came about during a time when many other forensic testing laboratories around the nation were receiving increased scrutiny. A nationwide concern has developed because there are no requirements that a forensic testing lab be accredited or meet any particular standards; it is merely voluntary. The Department of Justice and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) had previously collaborated in order to create the National Commission on Forensic Science, a group of 37 scientists, lawyers, forensics practitioners and law-enforcement officials with the goal of providing advice on government policies such as training and standards for laboratory certification. However, in 2017, the Department of Justice terminated this commission and also suspended its internal efforts to review and develop a variety of forensic standards.

If you are facing a DUI charge in Phoenix, Scottsdale, or any other jurisdiction in Arizona, you should have a lawyer who regularly defends DUI cases. Your attorney will be able to review your case for factual and legal problems, prohibit certain evidence from being admitted at trial, expose scientific shortcomings, and consult with and obtain expert witnesses to testify at trial.
For more information about representation, click here.

Driving is a divided attention task, meaning that you are having to do multiple things at the same time, including maintaining alertness while on the road, staying cognizant of traffic laws, monitoring your speed in response to the limit, and correctly steering the vehicle. When impaired, people will have difficulty dividing their attention and will be less capable of properly managing all of these things. Common cues of impaired driving are:

• Making a “wide turn,” or turning into an improper lane
• “Weaving,” or repeated drifting to the left and right within the lane
• Speed more than 10mph below the limit
• Stopping or braking erratically or for no apparent reason
• Following too closely
• Responding slowly to traffic signals or accelerating or decelerating rapidly
• Driving with headlights off

Speeding is not considered to be a cue of DUI. Because faster judgment and reflexes are required when speeding, it may indicate sobriety. While at the police academy, officers are “trained” to note these cues of impaired driving. However, people who have not had anything to drink often make similar driving “mistakes.” A skilled DUI attorney can help you understand these issues and how they relate to your case.

You are not required to answer potentially incriminating questions like this one. A polite response such as “I would like to speak with a DUI attorney before I answer any questions” is appropriate.

Remember: you have a constitutional right to remain silent, even if you have not been arrested!

Politely decline to take the field sobriety tests. Do not agree to take the eye test (Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus) or other balancing and agility tests. There are no consequences for refusing to take the tests.

A: The Field Sobriety Test (FSTs) are three tests certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that police administer at the scene to determine if a driver is intoxicated. There are other tests that can be performed, but they have not been certified for use in DUI investigation.

The three tests are: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN, the eye test), Walk and Turn test, and One Leg Stand test. HGN examines the eyes to check for signs of impairment. The Walk and Turn and One Leg Stand test examine a driver’s ability to divide his or her attention and complete a balancing task.

For in-depth information about these tests, click here.

Do not agree to take a blood, breath, or urine test without first consulting with a DUI attorney. If you are unable to contact an attorney, it is a good idea to consent to the test. Because Arizona law requires you to consent to a post-arrest breath or blood test, if you do not, your driver’s license can be revoked for one year, regardless of whether your BAC is over the limit or there are any illegal or prescription drugs in your blood. Additionally, if you do not consent, the police officer will request a search warrant from an on-call judge to take a blood sample from you.

The breath test is a testing option used by law enforcement to determine if there is alcohol in your system and to measure your Breath Alcohol Concentration. These machines measure the alcohol concentration in the air that is exhaled from a person’s lungs.

A breath test can come up in two different contexts. The first occurs prior to arrest, and the police will request a preliminary breath test using a hand-held device in order to obtain more evidence to determine whether you are impaired. If you refuse this preliminary breath test, there are no consequences for refusal.

The second time the breath test can occur is after an arrest, and under Arizona law, there are consequences for refusing this test, such as a year-long suspension of your driver’s license. If required to do a post-arrest breath test, you will be asked by a police officer to blow into a calibrated breathalyzer or intoxilyzer at a police station, which will then provide the operator with an allegedly correct reading.

For a closer look at the breath test, click here.

Blood testing is a method of measuring the amount of alcohol in your blood at a given time by conducting a chemical analysis of the blood sample. Although this is often considered to be the most accurate and reliable method of testing, errors can occur. A DUI attorney will collect and review this scientific evidence in preparation of a thorough defense.
For more information about blood testing, click here.

Arizona has the harshest DUI laws in the country, and the Arizona State legislature wanted to make it easier for the prosecutor to prove a DUI case. Because of this, the State can separately charge you with:

• Driving while Under the Influence—here, the State has to prove that your ability to drive was impaired “to the slightest degree.”
• Driving Under the Influence, BAC .08 or greater—here, the State has to prove that your blood alcohol concentration was .08 or greater within two hours of driving.
• Driving Under the Influence, BAC .15 or greater—this is considered an “Extreme DUI,” and the State has to prove that your blood alcohol concentration was .15 or greater within two hours of driving. This charge carries much harsher penalties than a regular DUI.
• Driving Under the Influence, BAC .20 or great—this is considered a “Super Extreme DUI,” and the State has to prove that your blood alcohol concentration was .20 or greater within two hours of driving. This charge carries stricter penalties than the Extreme or regular DUI.

The Extreme DUI and Super Extreme DUI charges are based off of your alleged blood alcohol concentration. In allowing for these distinct DUI charges, the Arizona State legislature created enhanced mandatory, minimum sentencing penalties. If convicted for an Extreme DUI (BAC .15 or greater), there is a mandatory, minimum 30-day jail sentence along with increased fines and fees. If convicted of a Super Extreme DUI (BAC .20 or greater), there is a mandatory, minimum 45-day jail sentence and even higher fines and fees. Despite the harsh penalties, these are both still categorized as misdemeanor offenses.

Arizona law increases penalties for an individual convicted of a second DUI offense (regardless of which state in the US you were convicted in) in the past 7 years. Penalties for a second DUI can range from a minimum, mandatory 30-day jail sentence up to a 180-day jail sentence. The time difference depends on the blood alcohol concentration result from the current or previous DUI. Additionally, a second DUI conviction within 7 years could lead to a 12-18 month driver’s license suspension upon conviction and up to two years of ignition interlock use. A second DUI conviction within seven years is still considered a misdemeanor offense, but it is a serious offense. It is a good idea to request to speak with a DUI attorney if you have a previous DUI conviction and have been arrested a second time, especially before consenting to a post-arrest breath or blood test.

The Arizona legislature created a felony DUI charge, the Aggravated DUI, to punish:

• 3 or more instances of DUI within 7 years (date of violation to date of violation)
• DUI offenders with Motor Vehicle Department restrictions such as a suspended or revoked driver’s license or a required ignition interlock device
• DUI with a passenger under 15 years of age in the vehicle
• DUI while driving the wrong way on a highway

The possible punishment for an Aggravated DUI ranges anywhere from supervised probation with a minimum, mandatory 4-month prison sentence to 3.75 years in the Department of Corrections. If a person has multiple, prior felony convictions, the State can seek to punish them with up to 15 years in prison. Additionally, the individual faces a mandatory license revocation, and when eligible to reinstate the driver’s license, the use of an ignition interlock device.

Arizona law also has increased penalties for those under 21 driving with alcohol or drugs in their system. It is illegal for minors to have any alcohol in their system and drive, and in addition to the regular DUI charges, there is a special “baby DUI” charge, A.R.S. §4-244.34. If convicted of any of these types of DUI charges, MVD can order a license suspension for up to two years, even if the person is one day away from turning 21. For a driver under age 18, his or her license will be suspended for at least two years and possibly longer, depending on the circumstances.

Because a driver’s license is more than just a privilege, it cannot be suspended or revoked without Due Process. When faced with the suspension of your driver’s license because of DUI charges, Due Process consists of an administrative hearing conducted by MVD. The purpose of the administrative hearing is to confirm whether grounds for a suspension exist. These hearings differ greatly from court proceedings, and it is important to have an attorney that understands the difference.

If you consented to the breath or blood test and your blood alcohol concentration results are a .080 or greater or you have a prohibited drug in your blood without a valid prescription, MVD may suspend your driver’s license for 90 days. If eligible, once you have completed the first 30 days of suspension, MVD can issue you a restricted license for work purposes. This license suspension may occur regardless of whether or not you have been convicted of DUI.

If you refused to take the blood, breath, or urine test that the police officer requested, your driver’s license may be revoked for one year. This can also happen regardless of whether or not you have been convicted of DUI, and even regardless of whether you had prohibited drugs or more than the legal limit of alcohol in your system.

Remember that you are entitled to a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge at MVD in order to challenge a proposed suspension.

If you are convicted of a DUI in Arizona, you will be required to install and use an ignition interlock device in your vehicle in order to keep your driver’s license, even if you live in another state. Depending on your blood alcohol level and whether you have any prior DUI convictions, you may be ordered to use the interlock device for a year or more.

For more information about your driver’s license, click here.

If your blood-alcohol reading is above .08, Motor Vehicle may suspend your license for 90 days. If eligible, after the first 30 days of suspension, a restricted license for work purposes may be issued. The license suspension may occur regardless of whether or not you have been convicted of a D.U.I.

If you refuse to comply with a police officer's request to take a blood, breath, or urine test, your driver's license may be revoked for one year. This may also happen regardless of whether or not you have been convicted of D.U.I.

You are entitled to a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge at the MVD. Mark Dubiel, Phoenix DUI Attorney, can represent you at this hearing.

Because a driver’s license is more than just a privilege, it cannot be suspended or revoked without Due Process. When faced with the suspension of your driver’s license because of a DUI arrest or conviction, Due Process consists of an administrative hearing conducted by MVD. The purpose of the administrative hearing is to confirm whether grounds for a suspension exist. These hearings differ greatly from court proceedings, and it is important to have an attorney that understands the difference.