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On November 30, 2020 Arizona Elections Proposition 207 (Prop 207), which legalizes the personal possession of Marijuana, took effect. Prop 207 significantly changes the DUI laws for defendants who have Marijuana in their bodies. Arizona’s basic DUI law, 28 A.R.S. § 1381.A.1, makes it illegal to drive or be in actual physical control, “While under…
The Arizona Department of Public Safety has approved a breath testing device known as an Intoxilyzer 8000 for use to test the alcohol levels of persons arrested for DUI. The State Legislature has made it very easy for a prosecutor to have Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test results admitted into evidence in a DUI trial without…
Arizona law authorizes the Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) to take action against a driver’s license or privilege to drive if they have frequent traffic violations (28 A.R.S. § 3306.A.3). Various traffic violations lead to the assessment of points, for example, DUI is an 8-point assessment and Speeding a 3-point assessment (17…
Each Holiday Season weekend in 2020, police departments in Maricopa County will conduct DUI saturation patrol programs for DUI enforcement. The 2020 program will start on Wednesday November 25, 2020 and will run each weekend through December 31, 2020. Officers from several police departments around the Valley will conduct coordinated patrols in certain areas, which…
As a requirement of MVD and many courts following an Arizona DUI alcohol conviction, or to be eligible for a Special Ignition Interlock Restricted Driver License (SIRDL), a person must install an Arizona MVD-approved Certified Ignition Interlock Device (IID). Arizona MVD publishes a list of approved IID providers to choose from, but consumers should research…
In mid-April 2020, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) launched a new online website, called AZ MVD Now. AZ MVD NOW is a portal where all Arizona licensed drivers, and non-licensed Arizona drivers or out-of-state licensed drivers who have received traffic citations in Arizona, can access important information about…
Detention instead of jail is authorized by law after the defendant serves 20% of the jail sentence in jail. Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel spoke in favor of a proposal to implement home detention for DUI cases in the Justice Courts and said, “…important thing for me is it reduces recidivism because it allows mainly…
The Scottsdale Police Department has reopened its jail to allow DUI defendants to serve one or two day sentences in their jail. The Jail will accept sentences imposed by most courts and not just the Scottsdale Municipal Court. The current jail capacity is limited to 8 defendants per day. The current cost is $250 plus…
On July 22, 2020, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved a home detention program for defendants who are sentenced to jail on cases prosecuted in the Maricopa County Justice Courts. Under Arizona law a defendant may serve a misdemeanor DUI sentence on home detention or with continuous alcohol monitoring instead of jail if the…
UPDATE: Passed 7/22/20, see my blog post. Arizona law allows permits municipalities and counties to establish home detention programs for defendants convicted in their courts of DUI and other misdemeanor criminal offenses. The laws require defendants to serve the first 20% of the sentence in jail, and the balance on home detention or on what…