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dui in Arizona

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mistereaz

Junior Member
a few days ago i was driving with a friend of mine to his house, after a couple drinks at a bar. we were not speeding, swerving or driving erratic. we pulled into a gas station, and immediatly saw a cop pull in behind us and turn its red and blue lights on. the officer then said, "why were you speeding, you were going 60", which i was NOT. my friend and i were NOT impaired enough to ignore the spedometer, and in the 45 mph street we were on, we never exceeded 45. the officer did not clock me with radar, it was an "estimate", that he of course had no proof of. he then asked for my license, which regrettably i've never had. i'd taken the written portion of the driving test before, but i had failed, and embarassingly, i never attempted to get a license again. being nervous/niave and unfamiliar with being arrested, i agreed to the field tests, and told him i had drank a couple beers. when he went to search my pockets, he found a small amount of marijuana, and a pipe. at the police station, i agreed to taking a breath test for alchohol, in which i blew .09. the legal limit in arizona is .08.


i understand and accept that i have stepped into legal hell by not having a license, driving drunk, and carrying marijuana on me. but sitting here accepting impending doom, not educating myself, and pleaing guilty without any kind of fight, is not going to help. im a married, stay at home dad, i am NOT a criminal.




if you or a friend has had a similar situation, please feel free to tell me any experiances you've had, along with any advice you have




thanks in advance!
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
You definitely need a lawyer, one in the county you were charged in familiar with both traffic (DUI) and drug charges. While you might not consider yourself a criminal, you intentially violated three (at least) criminal statutes.

AZ has some of the more aggressive DUI penalties around. Expect to spend at least a day in the pokey if you are convicted.

Forutnately you never had a license (as opposed to having been suspended).

Arizona doesn't have very lenient pot laws either. But expect probation with the requirement of taking a drug class and drug testing.

A lawyer will try contesting the validity of the stop, can help try to get charges reduced and sanctions mitigated. This is too involved (and you haven't indicated exactly what you were charged here) to get much useful info here.
 

mistereaz

Junior Member
right

sorry about the lack of info, i was trying to emphasize the events leading up to the arrest, considering the officer did not have probable cause to warrent a traffic stop.


i'm being charged with:



DUI, class 6 felony
possession of drug paraphernalia, class 6 felony
speeding, misdemeanor



and i believe thats it. but as you know, i was also driving without a liscence, and i had marijuana on me on top of the paraphernalia charge. i am not sure whether i will be charged with driving without a license, or possession of marijuana
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
Ouch, you definitely need a lawyer NOW.
The possession and failure to license charges are minor compared to the felonies. However there's probably negotiation room and your lawyer will address the PC issues.
 

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