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Arizona Drunk Driving Articles
DUI Library: Arizona
Arizona DUI Arrest Increase in 2009
Total number of AZ drunk driving arrests up.
The Governor's Office has released figures indicating that number of arrests for driving under the influence in Arizona was higher in 2009 than the previous year. Sixteen AZ DUI task forces initiated more than 14,000 arrests, compared to 10,500 arrests during 2008. Nearly 4,500 of the total drunk driving arrests during 2009 were made between Thanksgiving to New Year’s.
The totals for the year included 960 drunk driving arrests where the motorist had an blood alcohol reading of .15% or higher, considered extreme DUI under state law.
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McCain Staffer Pleads Guilty to Arizona DUI
Staff assistant charged with extreme DUI during second drunk driving arrest this year.
A staff assistant to Sen. John McCain entered a guilty plea to charges of extreme DUI in Phoenix Arizona. Carlos Sierra was arrested May 2 after reportedly speeding, driving on a sidewalk and making illegal turns. He was unable to provide proof of insurance and his blood alcohol content was reportedly .20%, well above the legal limit for intoxication.
It is the second time this year that Sierra has been arrested for driving under the influence in Arizona. He was charged with AZ DUI on March 28 after speeding, running a red light and registering a BAC above .08%. He is still waiting to go to court on those charges.
Sierra, 27, works in McCain’s Tempe office. According to a McCain spokesperson, Sierra is still employed at the office but is on suspension pending the outcome of charges against him.
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309 Arrests for Arizona DUI Over Holiday Weekend
Statewide task force targeted drunk drivers in AZ.
The Governor's Office of Highway Traffic Safety has reported that 309 motorists were charged with driving under the influence in Arizona over the Fourth of July weekend. 106 of those arrests were made on the Fourth itself. The statistics reflect 50 fewer DUI arrests than last year.
More than 300 officers and deputies joined a statewide task force targeting drunk driving. Of the total AZ DUI arrests, 99 were for extreme DUI, which is usually charged when the driver has a blood-alcohol content in excess of .15%. Law enforcement agencies made a total of 3,471 traffic stops during the extended holiday weekend.
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WNBA Star Receives Arizona DUI in Phoenix
Diana Taurasi arrested for drunk driving early Thursday morning.
Diana Taurasi, basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, was charged with driving under the influence in Phoenix, Arizona last Thursday. Taurasi was stopped by Phoenix Police for speeding around 2:30 in the morning. Alcohol was suspected and a blood sample was tested at a mobile DUI unit. She was cited for AZ DUI and released. Her blood alcohol content has not been revealed.
Taurasi is one of the more well known players in the Women's National Basketball Association, and the top vote getter for the July 25 WNBA All-Star game. Taurasi said that she is embarrassed by the event and felt it was "unfortunate for my family and the organization."
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Appeals Court Overturns Arizona DUI Ruling
Court of Appeals overturns ruling involving AZ DUI attorney access to breathalyzer code.
The Court of Appeals overturned a Superior Court ruling that gave Arizona DUI lawyers access to breath-testing equipment software. The panel said it found no evidence to support the claim of the lower court judge that prosecutors have 'better access' to the software code for the Intoxilyzer 8000 than defense attorneys.
The Intoxilyzer 8000 has come under repeated attack from lawyers handling cases of suspected driving under the influence. Defense attorneys across the country say that access to the code would enable them to independently verify accuracy and reliability of the equipment. The legal argument is that defendants have a constitutional right to challenge their accusers. The manufacturer of the Intoxilyzer 8000 has countered that the code is a trade secret. The issue of access to the code, as well as incidents of unauthorized changes to state approved equipment and software, have led to court battles in Minnesota, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts and New Jersey. After the equipment failed to meet accuracy testing, it was prohibited from use in Tennessee.
In its ruling, the Arizona Court only clarified that prosecutors do not have an advantage over DUI criminal defense attorneys. The underlying issue of 'substantial need' for access to the equipment's software code remains, and state prosecutors believe it will ultimately end up before the Court of Appeals.
The recent ruling means that the Superior Court judge has three options; suppress the breath test evidence in the 23 cases of driving under the influence in Arizona currently before her; permit the prosecutors to enter the breath test results into evidence; or dismiss the AZ DUI charges. It is almost assured that whatever decision is made it will be appealed.
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Former University of Arizona QB Charged with Extreme DUI
Willie Tuitama arrested for drunk driving in Tucson AZ.
Former University of Arizona starting quarterback Will Tuitama was arrested for extreme AZ DUI last weekend. A Phoenix Police Department officer was flagged down by a McDonald’s employee around 2:30 am regarding a suspected drunk driver in the drive thru. The officer spotted the Dodge Magnum in question pull out of the restaurant and then stop at a red light. The vehicle was then observed initiating a right turn, straightening the wheel and running through the red light.
As the result of a DUI investigation during the traffic stop, Tuitama was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Arizona and extreme DUI. The latter is usually charged when blood alcohol content is very high. Tuitama’s vehicle was impounded and he was booked and released. His passenger was not charged.
Tuitama, 21, is planning on competing before NFL scouts at the university on Saturday in an effort to improve his chances of being drafted into the pros. The 6’3”, 220-pounder trained for but failed to be invited to the NFL Combine. Tuitama threw for a record 9,216 yards and 67 touchdowns during his four years as starting quarterback for the Arizona Wildcats. During his sophomore year he was charged with underage possession of alcohol. Though he admitted to campus police that he had been drinking and driving, he completed a diversion program and no charges were filed and the football program took no disciplinary action.
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Police Form Special Arizona DUI Patrol for NBA All Star Game
Several agencies form task force to combat drunk driving in Tempe around NBA game.
Five local police agencies and the Department of Public Safety have formed an Arizona DUI Task Force aimed at reducing the number of alcohol related accidents during the NBA All-Star weekend. Tempe police are in charge of the operation, with support from police departments from Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa.
The NBA All-Star game will be held Sunday, February 15 at the US Airways Center, home of the NBA Phoenix Suns. The drunk driving task force will be conducting traffic stops Friday through Sunday.
The penalties for driving under the influence in Arizona can include loss of driver’s license, jail, thousands of dollars in fines and court fees, vehicle impoundment and mandatory installation of an ignition interlock device.
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Close to 2300 Arizona DUI Arrests Made During the Holidays
Statewide total for drunk driving in Arizona covers Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve window.
Law enforcement agencies across the state arrested nearly 2,300 motorists for driving under the influence in Arizona. The annual sweep began Thanksgiving Day and ended New Year’s Eve.
Officers made 26,917 traffic stops resulting in 2,262 DUI arrests. A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said the total number of arrests were down from the previous year, though that was partly influenced by the fact that the enforcement window was a week less due to a late Thanksgiving. Of the arrests, 175 drivers were charged with extreme DUI which is applied when the blood alcohol content is .15% of greater. The legal limit for intoxication in Arizona is .08%. The average BAC of all the arrested drivers was .148%.
The arrest total includes 143 charges of underage Arizona DUI.
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Phoenix Police Create New Arizona DUI Task Force
Effort centers on arresting AZ drunk driving suspects with outstanding warrants.
The Phoenix police department announced a new task force charged with the responsibility of locating and arresting Arizona DUI suspects with outstanding warrants. The targeted offenders are considered ‘high risk’ warrants because the motorist has been charged with repeat offenses for driving under the influence in Arizona, extreme DUI or aggravated DUI. The latter two charges are applied when the motorist had a very high blood alcohol content or caused an accident with injury.
There are reportedly 10,000 outstanding warrants in Arizona that stem from a DUI arrest. The Phoenix campaign is called ‘Operation MADD About It’ and it signals a new effort to execute the court ordered warrants. On the first day of implementation the operation netted 14 arrests. Phoenix police Cmdr. Frank Milstead said that the task force should be of concern to those with outstanding DUI warrants, stating, “If we find you, you’ll go to jail”. He went on to say that those who turn themselves in will be required to pay a fine but will avoid jail time beyond the normal penalty for DUI.
Additional task forces in the Valley are planning similar DUI enforcement task forces, and the Phoenix police has offered assistance.
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Thousands of Arizona DUI Cases May Be Dismissed Because of the Intoxilyzer 8000
Breath testing equipment used (Intoxilyzer 8000) in cases of DUI in Tucson may be ruled unreliable.
CMI, the manufacturer of the Intoxilyzer 8000, is facing a challenge over the reliability of its equipment that could impact thousands of cases of drunk driving in the Tucson area. The breath test equipment is one of the alcohol detectors used by law enforcement agencies in the state. Arizona DUI defense attorneys have asked for the equipment's source code on behalf over a number of defendants with cases pending before the Pima County Superior Court.
Twelve years ago a similar challenge to another breath testing machine lead to the dismissal of approximately 5,000 cases of drunk driving in Tucson over several months. The Intoxilyzer 8000 offers a portable piece of equipment to test blood alcohol content of motorists suspected of drunk driving. The Intoxilyzer 8000 is used by most law enforcement agencies in Arizona, as well as seven other states and three government agencies.
The source code used in the Intoxilyzer 8000 has come under challenge from several states. The code is changed for each state to reflect local liquor laws and equipment specifications. Since being implemented in Arizona, the approved version of the equipment's code has been changed multiple times. It is feared that errors and code-based assumptions made by the computer could lead to inaccurate BAC readings and thus false charges of DUI. Even CMI has testified that that there are problems with the latest software version. CMI has been ordered buy several courts across the United States to provide the source code of its equipment, but has refused. The company has accumulated more than $1 million in fines in Florida alone for refusing to cooperate with a court order.
Prosecutors defend the equipment, with one Pima County official stating that the software has been tested by the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the federal government “a bazillion times.” Still, many cases of drunk driving have been dismissed because of judges and justices have refused to enter the results of a breath test into evidence. If the Intoxilyzer 8000 is found unreliable in Tucson it could lead to the dismissal of many thousands of DUI cases. The Intoxilyzer 8000 was placed in service in Tucson on December 1, 2006. In all of 2007 and so far this year, Tucson police have charged 5,963 motorists with suspicion of driving under the influence in Arizona.
A county judge has given CMI until November 10 to provide the source code in electronic format.
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