First Offence DUI in Arizona....What to Expect?

[ProPerDoper]

Arizona

My 19 y/o daughter got a first offense DUI in AZ. Her first court appearance is Monday. She has no funds for an attorney.

What do we need to know about the first hearing? What consequences might we expect to her showing up without representation?

What should she plead and/or request?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Ohiogal]

Arizona

My 19 y/o daughter got a first offense DUI in AZ. Her first court appearance is Monday. She has no funds for an attorney.

What do we need to know about the first hearing? What consequences might we expect to her showing up without representation?

What should she plead and/or request?

Any advice is appreciated.

Well she is going to lose her license until she Is 21. She has more than just a DUI she could be facing. She should ask for an attorney. You will have no consequences. She needs to realize she screwed the pooch on this.

 

[ProPerDoper]

Well she is going to lose her license until she Is 21. She has more than just a DUI she could be facing. She should ask for an attorney. You will have no consequences. She needs to realize she screwed the pooch on this.

She realizes there will be consequences to her actions.

It appears that Arizona does not appoint a Public Defender for DUI's. That's what she's been advised. She's also been advised that jail time could run from 1 to 30 days with a suspended license from 90 days to one year. (Free consult from a local attorney)

So if there's no public defender available, and she has no funds for an attorney, how does one go about learning as much as possible about the right actions to take, the right questions to ask the judge, the right legal requests to make of the court, etc?

How can she best prepare in four short days?

 

[Ohiogal]

She realizes there will be consequences to her actions.

It appears that Arizona does not appoint a Public Defender for DUI's. That's what she's been advised. She's also been advised that jail time could run from 1 to 30 days with a suspended license from 90 days to one year. (Free consult from a local attorney)

So if there's no public defender available, and she has no funds for an attorney, how does one go about learning as much as possible about the right actions to take, the right questions to ask the judge, the right legal requests to make of the court, etc?

How can she best prepare in four short days?

Was the attorney aware she is also UNDERAGE and drinking? That is the big problem. Four days? Was she drinking and driving? If so, she is GUILTY. Unless she has time to learn about proper suppression motion practice, the rules of criminal procedure, the rules of evidence, or hire an attorney, she would be best served by pleading guilty if she committed the crime.

 

[betachains]

Geez.

She is not going to be thrown in jail (beyond the time she spent at the time of her arrest). She will spend a few days picking up garbage. She will pay a lot of money for fines and DUI classes. She will miss future job opportunities because of her record.

 

[Ohiogal]

Geez.

She is not going to be thrown in jail (beyond the time she spent at the time of her arrest). She will spend a few days picking up garbage. She will pay a lot of money for fines and DUI classes. She will miss future job opportunities because of her record.

That is not what an attorney in her area stated. some places will put you in jail for a definite 48 hours on your first offense. How much time has she spent so far? Just overnight or a couple hours? The law allows for it and local practice sometimes does result in people being incarcerated for a short amount of time if they are guilty of DUI.

 

[quincy]

Geez.

She is not going to be thrown in jail (beyond the time she spent at the time of her arrest). She will spend a few days picking up garbage. She will pay a lot of money for fines and DUI classes. She will miss future job opportunities because of her record.

It is my understanding that there is a 10 day minimum jail sentence that comes with a typical first offense DUI in Arizona, although a judge has some discretion in sentencing. He could potentially order as little as 24 hours in jail, but with conditions imposed on release (ie, alcohol education classes, community service hours, random drug testing).

Jail time is part of Arizona DUIs, though, so she probably cannot escape this - unless she has an attorney who can somehow some way find something wrong with the arrest or BAC testing, which will allow for the charges to be dismissed. And that sounds unlikely.

With a criminal record (a DUI conviction is a Class 1 misdemeanor), she can find it harder to obtain employment, personal loans, credit and financial aid, and out-of-country travel can be restricted, and costs to insure a vehicle (when she is allowed to drive again) can be extremely high. She can look to expunge her record eventually, but the arrest and conviction will continue to have to be reported on some applications (for jobs in medicine, education, law, government).

On brief review, I found no diversion program offered for DUI first offenses for minors which can allow minors to escape having a criminal record, although if someone knows better on this, I'd appreciate the correction.

 

[Ohiogal]

It is my understanding that there is a 10 day minimum jail sentence that comes with a typical first offense DUI in Arizona, although a judge has some discretion in sentencing. He could potentially order as little as 24 hours in jail, but with conditions imposed on release (ie, alcohol education classes, community service hours, random drug testing).

Jail time is part of Arizona DUIs, though, so she probably cannot escape this - unless she has an attorney who can somehow some way find something wrong with the arrest or BAC testing, which will allow for the charges to be dismissed. And that sounds unlikely.

With a criminal record (a DUI conviction is a Class 1 misdemeanor), she can find it harder to obtain employment, personal loans, credit and financial aid, and out-of-country travel can be restricted, and costs to insure a vehicle (when she is allowed to drive again) can be extremely high. She can look to expunge her record eventually, but the arrest and conviction will continue to have to be reported on some applications (for jobs in medicine, education, law, government).

On brief review, I found no diversion program offered for DUI first offenses for minors which can allow minors to escape having a criminal record, although if someone knows better on this, I'd appreciate the correction.

*cough* Q, man, she is not a minor. She is underage but not a minor as she is 19.

 

[quincy]

*cough* Q, man, she is not a minor. She is underage but not a minor as she is 19.

Ah. I guess I made a minor mistake, huh?

All facts I supplied for a first offense DUI still apply, though, to a 19-year-old.

Arizona at this point in time does not offer a diversion program for first offense DUIs (it is available for some select other offenses) but, as I mentioned earlier, the judge is allowed some discretion in sentencing.

Thanks for the correction, OG.