“I think people are getting the message,” a spokesperson with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said recently. The message: if you are arrested for DUI in Arizona, you face harsh penalties.
Yes, people are undoubtedly getting that message. And yet mistakes still happen and lapses in judgment still occur. After you have been pulled over by Phoenix police and you have been placed in custody for drunken driving, sure, it’s easy to look back and say you shouldn’t have had that last beer or that you should have called a cab. Hindsight is always 20/20, as the saying goes.
So even though the Memorial Day DUI arrest numbers dropped from 509 last year to 424 this year, that still means more than 400 people are facing stiff sentences that could mean jail time, suspension of their driver’s license, mandated classes, fees and heavy fines.
Of those arrested this year, 139 face allegations of extreme DUI, which means the punishment they face is equally extreme. The state says for a first extreme DUI offense: “You will be jailed for not less than 30 consecutive days with no eligibility for probation or suspended sentence and fined not less than $2,500.”
For a second offense, the punishments get harsher and the reasons for finding an attorney experienced in DUI defense become more compelling. An experienced attorney will negotiate with prosecutors on your behalf to get charges dropped or reduced so that any allegations fit the circumstances.
Your attorney will also help you weigh your legal options, and if your best hope is to be found at trial, they will effectively present a detailed case to the court. We can’t promise specific results, but we are proud of our record of helping clients obtain favorable results.
Please see our Extreme DUI page for more information about how The Law Offices of John Phebus Glendale Criminal and Personal Injury Lawyer can help you.