According to serveral sources, including the Tucson Citizen, AZ DUI taskforces will be out in force this weekend through the 4th of July holiday. This is one of the last major taskforce events before the new Arizona DUI laws go into effect in September. Taskforces typically mean stepped up patrols and more stops, but sometimes no more arrests than usualy.

However, over Memorial Day Weekend in Scottsdale and the Phoenix area in general, the DUI roadblocks were extremely effective in bringing in a high volume of DUI arrests. The best piece of advice I can give as an Arizona DUI lawyer, especially this weekend, is have a designated driver or take a cab, stay safe and avoid facing the very strict potential penalties that an Arizona DUI carries, and avoid having to hire a attorney like me.  Have a good weekend, and a safe one.

Getting a DUI in Phoenix is expensive, and the last thing you want to do is waste money on a lawyer that will not help your case. That is why it is important to know how to hire a quality Phoenix DUI lawyer lawyer rather than just making your decision on the attorney fee alone.

The Phoenix DUI lawyer you choose should be able to justify his fee, and if the explaination does not makes sense, you should interview other Phoenix DUI attorneys until you find the right match. To help clairify your choices and options in regards to hiring a Phoenix DUI defense lawyer, see our primer on how to hire a DUI defense attorney.

Ads by DUI lawyers create confusion by saying "DUI and Criminal Defense." For the unaware, this makes it sound like DUI is not a crime, and the lawyer handles drunk driving cases as well as criminal cases. In reality, DUI is a crime. In Arizona, it can be a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances. See my explaination of Arizona DUI Law for more information on how drunk driving charges in AZ are classified.

I am often contacted by the press for comments on DUI related issues in Arizona. In the past, I have spoken with them. I suppose that if I trusted the reporter and he/she had an established body of work that exhibits objectivity, then I might comment on the laws in general. After all, I do so in this public forum. However, it is my opinion that it is NEVER a good idea to comment on an ongoing DUI case, especially with famous clients. In my opinion, there is no good press in Arizona for a DUI defendant.

I have noticed a new trend among Phoenix area DUI officers in testimony. They are starting to answer questions with a simple "that would overstep my area of expertise" to quantify (fill in what ever I happened to be asking about). An example is odor of alcohol on the person's body or breath. In the past, most officers in Arizona would quantify the odor of alcohol by saying either strong, medium or mild. For most officers, this would relate to the proxiimity to the arrestee before they could smell it. For example, 5 feet away and it is strong, but if the officer had to get right in the person's face, then it is mild.

The problem with this type of testimony is that alcohol is essentially odorless, and every officer who wanted to maintain any credibility on the witness stand would have to admit under cross examination that they can not not tell time of drinks, type of drinks, amount of drinks, strength of drinks or impairment from odor.

So the new trend, and maybe they are teaching this in continuing police officer education or something, is to say something like… "my job is not to decide subjectively how strong an odor is. Yes, it was there. But I would not want to give the impression that I can divine impairment or BAC from the smell. It is only my job to decide whether I think the person is impaired to the slightest degree (as is the law in Phoenix and throughout Arizona), and if they are, to arrest them for DUI and let the breath or blood test sort it out.

As a DUI defense attorney, I have a couple of problems with this answer. 1) It shows the cop is more honest, and the worse thing for my clients' cases are honest cops (I can almost always poke holes in the liars' stories). 2) It puts more emphasis on the chemical test, which, if damaging, is not what I want the judge or jury to focus on.

I'm all for officers being honest and straightforward. Heck, I usually make friens with them during cases. But they are being honest at the expense of DUI defendants throughout Arizona.

Now, if this trend of refreshingly honest officers continues, then all the state of Arizona would have to do is pass some DUI laws that make sense, AND start using chemical testing methods that are accurate and don't produce fales highs for alcohol levels, and I would have to find work elsewhere because a Arizona DUI case would be indefensible.

For now, however, I forsee a long future before the above happens, and therefore a fruitful present for me challenging what tries to pass for science in courtrooms in the Phoenix area.

According to an AP report today, it appears that the push to repeal the new law in Arizona DUI cases that would mandate that all first offense DUI convictions have an ignition interlock device regardless of alcohol level.  Currently the law in Arizona requires an interlock for all first offense extreme DUI convictions (.150 or higher alcohol level).

This new law is a major defeat for reason, and a major victory for the ignition interlock device companies. For them business will be good.

Here is the list of the new names for the Maricopa County Justice Courts that many people call us about every week. The links work and go directly the the Maricopa County website were I found them. These phone numbers should also be accurate. If you need information about your currenly pending DUI charge and we don't currently represent you, please address your questions to either the court where you case in being heard, or your attorney.

If you are not represented and are looking for an Arizona DUI lawyer, then please feel free to give us a call.

Quoted from http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/justiceCourts/locations/justiceloc.asp:

Justice Court Locations

Agua Fria (Tolleson) 9550 W. Van Buren, #6 Tolleson, AZ 85353 623-936-1449 Fax: 623-936-4859	Arcadia Biltmore (East Phoenix #2) 620 West Jackson Street Phoenix, AZ 85003 602-372-6300 Fax: 602-372-6412	Downtown (East Phoenix #1) 620 West Jackson Street Phoenix, AZ 85003 602-372-6300 Fax: 602-372-6406
Dreamy Draw (Northeast Phoenix) 18380 N. 40th Street Phoenix, AZ 85032 602-372-7000 Fax: 602-372-7910	East Mesa 4811 E. Julep, Suite 128 Mesa, AZ 85205 480-985-0188 Fax: 480-396-6327	Encanto (Central Phoenix) 620 West Jackson Street Phoenix, AZ 85003 602-372-6300 Fax: 602-372-6414
Estrella Mountain (Buckeye Precinct) 100 N. Apache Rd., Suite C Buckeye, AZ 85326 623-386-4822 Fax: 623-386-5796	Hassayampa (Wickenburg) 14264 W. Tierra Buena Lane Surprise, AZ 85374 602-372-2000 Fax: 602-372-2620	Ironwood (Gila Bend) 209 E. Pima Street Gila Bend, AZ 85337 928-683-2651 Fax: 928-683-6412
Kyrene (West Tempe) 201 E. Chicago Street Suite #104 Chandler, AZ 85225 602-372-3400 Fax: 602-372-3494	Lake Pleasant (Peoria) 14264 W. Tierra Buena Lane Surprise, AZ 85374 602-372-2000 Fax: 602-372-2620	Manistee (Glendale) 14264 W. Tierra Buena Lane Surprise, AZ 85374 602-372-2000 Fax: 602-372-2620
Maryvale 4622 W. Indian School Road Suite D10 Phoenix, AZ 85031 623-245-0432 Fax: 623-245-1216	McDowell Mountain (Scottsdale) 18380 N. 40th Street Phoenix, AZ 85032 602-372-7000 Fax: 602-372-7910	Moon Valley (Northwest Phoenix) 18380 N. 40th Street Phoenix, AZ 85032 602-372-7000 Fax: 602-372-7910
North Mesa 1837 South Mesa Drive Suite B103 Mesa, AZ 85210 480-926-9731 Fax: 480-926-7763	North Valley 14264 W. Tierra Buena Lane Surprise, AZ 85374 602-372-2000 Fax: 602-372-2620	San Marcos (Chandler) 201 E. Chicago Street Suite #103 Chandler, AZ 85225 602-372-3400 Fax: 602-372-3468
San Tan (South Mesa/Gilbert) 201 E. Chicago Street Suite #102 Chandler, AZ 85225 602-372-3400 Fax: 602-372-3441	South Mountain (South Phoenix) 620 West Jackson Street Phoenix, AZ 85003 602-372-6300 Fax: 602-372-6410	University Lakes (East Tempe) 201 E. Chicago Street Suite #101 Chandler, AZ 85225 602-372-3400 Fax: 602-372-3414

West McDowell 620 West Jackson Street Phoenix, AZ 85003 602-372-6300 Fax: 602-372-6408

West Mesa 2050 W. University Drive Mesa, AZ 85201 480-964-2958 Fax: 480-969-1098

I appears that the new potential ignition interlock device law in Arizona was enacted based on guesses and bad information. This is how much of the DUI law in Arizona is made… by gut reaction and guesswork.

Quoted from http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/opinion/55181.php:

DUI interlock bill casts too wide a net | www.tucsoncitizen.com ®

Last month, the Arizona House of Representatives committed the offense of "legislating under the Influence" - not under the influence of alcohol or drugs but of incomplete and erroneous information. We hastily adopted a new policy requiring first time non-extreme DUI offenders to drive with an ignition interlock (alcohol tester) on their car for a year. The research evidence did not support this change. It is a mistake we are trying to correct. We did not enact this major policy change using our usual process of committee hearings, staff reports, public input and media scrutiny. Instead, it was tacked onto another bill at the last minute. Its well-meaning sponsor said that research from New Mexico supported its effectiveness. Many of us, myself included, reluctantly accepted his research and voted for the change. Afterward, to relieve my uneasiness, I began to look into the interlock on my own. I first read a newspaper article in which the interlock's sponsor admitted, "other factors could have attributed to the decrease in DUI arrests (in New Mexico)." The evidence that it worked in New Mexico suddenly became, in the sponsor's own words, "an educated guess." I became more concerned.