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On December 22, 2016, in a divided 2-1 decision, in Ishak v. McClennen, No. 1 CA-SA 16-0134 (12/22/16) Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals held that for Medical Marijuana DUI cases in which the defendant wishes to have the jury instructed on the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) Cardholder affirmative defense, the…
Medical Marijuana DUI cases in Arizona have two fundamental differences from DUI Alcohol cases which help the Medical Marijuana DUI defense at trial. With Medical Marijuana DUI cases now going to trial and in some cases the State seeking to prove to the jury the Marijuana (THC) levels found in the defendant’s blood,…
Division Two of the Arizona Court of Appeals recently held that the trial court erred when it refused to suppress the use at trial of drugs and illegal weapons found in a search of an alleged shoplifter’s backpack. In the case, State v. Synder, No. 2 CA-CR 2015-0077, 10/7/16, the defendant was detained and…
The US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Phoenix field office director has identified DUI convictions as one of the biggest factors their office uses to determine priorities for arrest and deportation. Stuart Bailey, a Scottsdale restaurateur, is now fighting to remain in the country where the business he founded more than 20 years…
As of today, December 22, 2016, the state of the law with regard to medical marijuana defenses to DUIs in Arizona is rapidly changing because of two legal issues. In Arizona it is a violation of DUI laws to be driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while…
Certain sections of Arizona’s highways will soon be designated zero tolerance safety corridors, where the State intends to saturate traffic enforcement efforts in an attempt to curb traffic accidents, injuries and deaths in areas identified as high-risk. The new enforcement efforts have already gone into effect for two sections of I-10 in central…
Phoenix Police Department Chief Jeri Williams has reassigned about 170 officers to patrol duty in an attempt to beef up its police presence on the street and better police response time. Hiring has been essentially frozen since the economic crisis of 2008, leading to a decrease in law enforcement staff from about 3,400 in…
Those suffering from serious mental illness and/or developmental disabilities and charged with a criminal offense may be eligible to participate in mental-health court, an intensive mental health treatment program, in exchange for dismissal of those criminal charges. This allows for intervention and treatment to assist the mentally ill instead of a criminal record, jail time,…
Following legislation enacted this past May, and signed into law by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, the two new Arizona Supreme Court Justice positions created by that legislation have been filled by Governor Ducey, changing the five-seat panel to a seven-seat panel. Republicans Andrew Gould, currently an Arizona Court of Appeals Justice, and John…
The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety will hold press conferences in Phoenix and Tucson tomorrow to announce the start of the 2016 Holiday DUI Enforcement campaign. The current 2016 schedule with dates and locations is pictured above. Gordon Thompson For more information about Arizona dui and criminal law issues please contact Gordon…