DUI In Arizona and How to Put Things Back in Place

by Arja Shah Leading Criminal Defense and DUI/DWI Lawyer

STANDARD DUI: 0.08+

First Offence: Jail 10 Days
Fines: About $1,500 + Jail Costs and $80 monitoring fee
Screening and Counseling Required: Yes
MVD Suspension: 90 Days or 1-Year revocation

This is what you get in Arizona, if caught drunk while driving. We are talking about Arizona, a state that has zero tolerance for DUIs. In a way it is for the protection of their citizens, and such strict monitoring has always been appreciated by the natives and residents.

Getting a ticket for DUI not only cost you a lion share of finances but it rather it haunts you back and the results are usually daunting.

Source: A Portrait Exclaiming the Repercussions of a DUI ticket

The Statistics and Facts!

Source: WalletHub

The facts and figures say that Arizona has the highest DUI penalties, and getting a jail term will not be a matter of surprise. The study even tells us about the rankings, and Arizona tops the chart. With a score of 84.09%, it has got the highest number of tickets issued to the citizens and it ranks at the 2^nd place in order of efforts put towards DUI prevention. For any state, it’s an impressive job but its not good news for those who have been charged under DUI.

Imposition of DUI/ DWI:

Driving under Influence, formally referred to as Driving While Impaired (DWI) is imposed when you are caught driving your vehicle under a drunk state of mind. Now on what grounds you can be floored?

Operating a vehicle on a public street, highway or public vehicular highway having a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent or above.

Having alcohol, drugs or any other drug combination while driving even though the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) doesn’t rise to 0.8 percent.

Why you would need an Attorney

It might seem an open and shut case. Many people might think that it will be like a speeding ticket but it is not. The primary reason is you never know how much of fine can be imposed on you, and how the charges will be pressed on you. Remember you have been charged by a random cop, and every individual has their own set of principles. Plus it also depends on the amount of influence you in, and sometimes the prison trip becomes inevitable.

Sometimes these cases can drag you even over a year. To cut short the time of investment and to harness a better deal and lower punishment, attorneys get involved. They are even hired to clean the bad name that these cases bring to an individual. Arizona is known for its strict DUI penalties; they even claim to serve justified sentence to a convict as the law says, “not all the drunk drivers are treated equally.” Hence, the drunken driving penalties in Arizona are categorized into three levels, based on that the individual is convicted.

Source: A Portrait Exclaiming the Comparisons of a DUI ticket across US

Category 1-DUI:

If in any case you are stopped and arrested in Arizona for drunk driving along with a blood concentration of 0.8 to 0.14 then you will spending your next ten days in prison. As far as penalties are concerned:

Imposition of fine upto $1250.
Has to undergo alcohol education.
Has to install an ignition interlock in any of the vehicle that you operate.

Category 2-DUI:

The next level of drunken driving penalties will be imposed on you if you have been arrested with a BAC of 0.15 or higher.
That type of DUI is called an Extreme DUI and you’ll be imprisoned for thirty days and fined at least $2,500.
You’ll be asked to attend educational courses and install an ignition interlock in the vehicles that you drive.

Category 3-DUI:

In the highest bracket of drunken driving, the penalties are charged when you are arrested with a BAC of 0.20 and above.

You might end up serving prison time for more than a significant period.
A first offender charged with Super Extreme DUI will go to prison for a minimum of forty-five days.
Your time with your ignition interlock will be extended too, that can vary on the basis of your case for a period of eighteen months or more.

However, after being charged with DUI, you not just engage in the money outflows; a lot of privileges are revoked from your list of rights like:

The person might not be able to get a rental car facility.
There are high chances that the person is likely to miss on critical health insurance offers.
Having a criminal record imposes many restrictions and one of them is VISA denial.

If you will go through some case studies in the category of DUI, you will find some vast differences in equivalent charges. These differences vary upon the kind of attorney you have hired, and on the kind of possession your lawyer had on the charges that have been sentenced to you.