DUIDocument Actions
Arizona DUI Library
DUI Library: Arizona
Governor Vetoes Bill Clarifying Arizona DUI Penalties
Gov. Napolitano did not want to alter ignition interlock rule for drunk driving in Arizona.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed legislation that closed loopholes and clarified several conditions in current DUI laws. She disagreed with a statute that would have restored certain motorists’ driving privileges and allowed them to remove ignition interlock devices after 6-months.
A law enacted late last year requires motorists convicted of driving under the influence in Arizona to have an interlock device on any vehicle they drive for 12 months after driving privileges have been restored. The legislation Napolitano vetoed would have allowed a motorist to remove the device after 6 months only if they had completed a state approved drug and alcohol treatment program. The bill’s author hoped the incentive would cause a motorist found guilty of Arizona DUI to get behavior changing assistance and help them avoid becoming a repeat offender. Napolitano said it was too soon to alter the law passed last year.
Beyond the ignition interlock issue, lawmakers questioned the governor’s decision to veto the bill because they felt it offered several necessary fixes to Arizona DUI laws. For example, a motorist convicted of first offense drinking and driving in Arizona can have limited driving privileges restored after thirty days and full privileges restored 60 days after that. That is not available to someone who caused ‘serious physical injury’. However, the wording in the current law does not specify ‘death’ which means someone who kills another person while driving under the influence of alcohol can have their license partially reinstated after 30 days. The legislation vetoed by Napolitano would have corrected that situation.
The vetoed bill covered boating while intoxicated, making the penalties in line with a conviction for drunken driving in Arizona. It also clarified the license suspension process.
Lawmakers are uncertain whether there is enough time left in session for them to amend the legislation and resubmit it to the governor.
If you have been arrested for drunk driving in Arizona you will need to consult with DUI lawyer in Arizona.
Filed in Arizona DUI | DUI Laws | DUI News | Permalink | Comments (0)
Chandler Police to Continue Arizona DUI Task Force
Grant to fund fight against drunk driving in Phoenix suburb.
The Chandler, Arizona police department will continue to receive state money that allows them to fund supplemental patrols by a special Arizona DUI task force. The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has decided to continue issuing a grant that pays for extra patrols during the holidays and special events in a crackdown on drinking and driving in the Phoenix suburb.
During 2007 the grant paid for 107 extra police shifts that netted 152 Arizona drunk driving arrests. Special DUI patrols are scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, prom and graduation season, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day.
Are you looking for a Arizona DUI Lawyer?
Phoenix DUI News: Glen Campbell Sentenced to Jail for Arizona DUI
Glen Campbell DUI: Country singer to spend 10 nights in Phoenix jail for DUI charges.
Glen Campbell entered a guilty plea to drunk driving in Arizona and being in a hit-and-run accident. He was sentenced to 10 nights in jail and two years of probation. He is also required to perform 75 hours of community service and pay a $900 fine.
Campbell was involved in a minor accident on November 24 and he fled the scene. He was later arrested at his Phoenix home and charged with driving under the influence. His blood alcohol content registered 0.20%. The legal limit is 0.08 and Arizona DUI laws stipulate a BAC above 0.15% as Extreme DUI.
Campbell is permitted to leave the jail between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m on a work furlough. The country singer maintains a regular musical rehearsal and practice schedule. Campbell will begin serving his sentence in early July. He is prohibited from consuming alcohol during probation.
During the sentencing, Campbell told the judge, “Believe you me, I think that's the last you've seen of Glen Campbell putting alcohol in his veins.”
The 68-year old singer has lived in Arizona for more than 20 years. He is known for such hits as Rhinestone Cowboy, Galveston and By the Time I Get to Phoenix.
Are you looking for a Phoenix DUI Attorney?
Filed in Arizona DUI | Celebrity DUI | DUI News | Permalink | Comments (0)
Phoenix DUI News: Giants football player arrested for extreme Arizona DUI
Defensive end Adrian Awasom in Phoenix for Super Bowl arrested for Phoenix DUI.
Adrian Awasom was arrested by the Arizona State Police for suspicion of drunk driving after being stopped at 3:00 am Friday on Interstate 10 in Phoenix. Though the results of blood tests are still pending, the Arizona Department of Public Safety has said the NFL player has been charged with extreme DUI, which indicates an elevated blood alcohol content.
The backup defensive end for the New York Giants is in Phoenix for the Super Bowl XLII. He arrived Thursday with the team, though he has been on injured reserve since September. In his third pro season Awasom has played a limited role on the team, including practice squad and special teams duty. He injured his neck in the second game of the 2007 season against the Green Bay Packers.
A spokesman for the Giants has said the team is aware of the situation and that Awasom has been sent home.
Are you looking for a Phoenix DUI Lawyer?
Filed in Arizona DUI | Celebrity DUI | DUI News | Permalink | Comments (0)
Arizona Sheriff Forms DUI Chain Gang Dressed in Pink
Notorious Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio starts new policy for inmates convicted of driving drunk.
Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is adding to his reputation for being a no-nonsense law enforcement agent. He has started a chain gang for men convicted of drunk driving, and he will dress the inmates in bright pink shirts.
The shirts are emblazoned with ‘Sheriff DUI Chain Gang’ on the front and ‘Clean (ing) and Sober’ on the back. The fifteen member chain gang will be responsible for cleaning streets and helping with burials of those who died of alcohol abuse.
According to a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department spokesman, the chain gang is the first comprised of people who have committed one type of crime. Chain gangs in the US were largely abandoned in the 1950’s after claims of prisoner abuse. Sheriff Joe Arpaio returned to the use of chain gangs in 1994 and he added a female chain gang eleven years ago. The Arizona sheriff is also known for creating a tent city with few creature comforts for those found guilty of crime and for issuing pink underwear to inmates.
Arizona Attorney to Put Photos of DUI Offenders on Billboards
Maricopa County Prosecutor Andrew Thomas hopes shame will keep drunk drivers off the road with Billboards.
Maricopa County, Arizona Attorney Andrew Thomas has announced a campaign aimed at reducing drunk driving in the Phoenix area. He is going to put photographs of motorists arrested for Arizona DUI on billboards and a website.
The campaign will feature faces of those convicted of Arizona DUI. The billboards will be erected in time for the upcoming holidays and remain in place through New Year’s Day. A related website will outline details of the drunk driving arrest and indicate whether there were any injuries.
Thomas, lead prosecutor in Maricopa County, wants drivers to think twice about drinking and driving by seeing the consequences of their decisions. In addition to the threat of jail time and loss of license, Thomas wants shame to be a DUI deterrent.
The campaign costs approximately three-quarters of a million dollars, and it has been paid for by an Arizona DUI-fighting grant and from a state fund containing assets seized from RICO criminal offenders.
Phoenix Moving to Blood Test for DUI Suspects
Phoenix sets 2010 as date to use blood tests for Arizona DUI arrests.
Phoenix has joined other Arizona cities in the movement to rely on blood tests to identify drunk driving suspects. Advocates say that blood tests are more accurate than breath tests for determining blood alcohol content. The Phoenix Police Department has set a date of 2010 to accept only blood based evidence in DUI court cases.
Arizona DUI defense attorneys have long argued the problems associated with breath samples for determining a legal threshold in drunk driving cases. Aside from equipment calibration and maintenance issues, discrepancies in readings can occur through incorrect administration of the test. As recently as the year 2000, nearly 1,400 Arizona DUI cases were dismissed in Phoenix and Glendale alone due to legal challenges to the machine results. To complicate the issue, a new Arizona law requires the installation of an ignition interlock device for everyone convicted of DUI, even first time offenders. With the consequences so high, the need for accuracy becomes even more important.
While both blood and breath tests can gauge a motorist’s blood-alcohol concentration, breath testing equipment has been the norm for identifying drunk drivers because of portability and immediate results.
Mesa has been using blood evidence for almost ten years. Scottsdale, Chandler and Peoria police departments also collect blood samples in DUI cases. Phoenix became able to process large numbers of blood samples after the opening of its new crime lab earlier this year. About 40 percent of the Phoenix police precincts have transitioned from breath to blood tests since last March.
Blood evidence will be collected at the precinct or by an officer in the field. Though officers must complete training in blood drawing, defense attorneys say it is not the same as a hospital environment with health professionals. Subsequently, the results can be compromised depending on how and when the samples are collected and how they are handled.
In addition, the actual blood is not tested to determine blood alcohol content. A machine reads the alcohol molecules in the air above the blood, leading to another potentially subjective interpretation.
Maricopa Police Target Arizona DUI
New Maricopa Police Department set to crack down on drunk driving.
The town of Maricopa, Arizona has a new police department and even though it isn’t fully staffed it has made drunk driving a target. Funded by a grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, the fast growing suburb of Phoenix has created a DUI task force aimed at arresting motorists driving under the influence.
The efforts will include sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and use undercover officers. While there are no official DUI statistics for the new department Maricopa Police Chief Patrick Melvin says that drunk drivers are out there and that the area’s citizens want police to deal with them.
Before the creation of the Maricopa Police Department last July, law enforcement was provided by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. The county will continue to assist the town through July 2008 as Maricopa develops its own services.
Tough New Arizona DUI Law 'Super Extreme' Goes Into Effect
Arizona will have one of the most punitive DUI laws in the country for first time offenders. Lawmakers are trying to decrease the alcohol-related fatalities with the 'Super Extreme' DUI law. Last year Arizona ranked sixth in the nation for alcohol-related traffic fatalities.
Starting Wednesday, being arrested for DUI in Arizona will result in additional penalties and conditions. Recently lawmakers passed a tough new law that requires ignition interlock devices for first time offenders and created a new ‘super extreme’ classification of drunk driver.
The ignition interlock penalty is modeled after New Mexico law, where officials cite a reduction in alcohol related fatalities since the car disabling device was made mandatory for everyone convicted of drunk driving.
‘Super extreme’ DUI offenders are those who have a blood alcohol content of 0.20% or higher. The legal limit is 0.08%. The new penalties for drivers who reach this threshold include higher fines and a minimum of 45 days in jail. Previously, a judge could suspend part of a jail sentence if the defendant completed a court-sponsored drug or alcohol program.
The lawmaker’s intent was to provide a strong deterrent to drunk driving, though Arizona DUI defense attorneys say the strict new laws will clog the court system with those challenging their drunk driving arrests. They also cite many hardships, especially for those charged with their first DUI. The Arizona Motor Vehicle Division anticipates 17,000 motorists will be charged with a first-time drunk driving offense in the coming year. The new DUI law will require every one of them to pass a breath test each time they want to start their vehicles. The cost of installation of an interlock device is about $100 and it costs $80 per month to maintain it. Most offenders are required to have the device in their vehicles for 12 months, and the cost of the interlock is in addition to court fines that can be $1,000 or more.
Statistics show that the majority of those arrested for DUI will not be repeat offenders, leading critics to say the penalties cast a wide net while failing to offer long-term solutions for chronic, repeat drunk drivers.
The new Arizona DUI legislation was signed into law by Governor Janet Napolitano in May of 2007. Since then Illinois and Louisiana have enacted similar ignition-interlock requirements for first-time DUI offenders.
Arizona Motor Vehicle Division - http://www.dot.state.az.us/mvd/index.asp
Arizona Lawmakers Consider Repeal of DUI Law
Effort to amend recently signed legislation that requires ignition interlock devices for drunk driving
Arizona state legislators are pushing a new bill that would repeal a recently approved anti-DUI measure. Just last month Governor Janet Napolitano signed into law legislation requiring that all motorists convicted of Arizona DUI install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles. Now legislators are claiming they had incomplete and even erroneous facts surrounding the impact of interlock devices on drunk driving accident statistics.
Ignition interlock devices prohibit a car from being started until the motorist provides a virtually alcohol free breath sample. They also require periodic tests while the car is in operation to ensure the driver is sober. Arizona law previously required interlock devices after someone had been convicted of multiple DUI offenses or had registered a blood alcohol content in excess of 0.15, also termed extreme drunk driving. The recently passed legislation extended the interlock requirement to everyone convicted of drunk driving, even first time DUI offenders.
During discussion on last month’s bill, statistics citing accident reductions from the installation of interlock devices after a first time DUI were provided by the state of New Mexico. New Mexico is the only other state in the country that requires ignition interlock devices for all DUI offenders. It has since come to light that the statistics on the impact of ignition interlocks covered all DUI arrests as well as other traffic enforcement measures. That dilutes the perceived benefit of mandatory interlock devices for first time offenders.
Opponents also cite reports of mixed results on the ineffectiveness of interlock devices. Others are concerned about motorists who rely solely on the use of a motorcycle. As interlock devices cannot be installed on them, the result would be no form of personal transportation. The high cost of installing and renting an ignition interlock device has also been discussed, with a concern on family budgets.
Gov. Napolitano has said she would veto any measure that relaxes the new DUI law.
In the News
