Arizona law with regard to drunk driving implements an escalating scale of severity for repeat offenses. While a single DUI can result in significant penalties, including mandatory jail time, fines, community service and suspension of driving privileges, being convicted of repeat violations or drunk driving under certain special circumstances enhances the severity of the punishments.
Last November, as she was driving through a tribal community, an Arizona State University student was pulled over by the tribal police. When asked whether she was carrying drugs or weapons in her car, she admitted to having marijuana. The authorities arrested the girl and charged her with drug possession and DUI.
As with many states, Arizona increases the severity of sanctions against drivers who are convicted of DWI offenses more than once within a specified time frame. In a blog post in mid-August this year we covered the possible penalties you could be subject to for a first time DUI conviction in Arizona.
We have all seen it in movies or on television where the police officer pulls a swerving car to the side of the road. The driver is asked to step out of his car and the officer begins to ask the driver a series of questions or instructs the driver to perform certain actions in an effort to determine if the driver is drunk.
In the second round of a high-profile DUI case, the attorneys defending the founder of the International Polo Club is challenging the blood alcohol evidence the prosecution is trying to have admitted in the trial. The challenge is an excellent example of how the scientific technical aspects of a DUI charge can be the difference between a verdict of guilty or not guilty.
