Although Arizona DUI penalties are strict, second time DUI penalties can be astonishing. Under Arizona law, if a person receives a second DUI within a seven year period, they could be facing as much as 180 days in jail. The seven year period begins from the date of the first arrest, not the conviction. It does not matter what type of DUI the first one was. The penalties for the second DUI all depend on the type of DUI the second DUI is. For example, even if you were a .08 on your first DUI, if you were over a .20 on your second DUI, you will be charged with a second Super Extreme DUI and face the maximum penalty.
Real Life Example of DUI Laws
I recently had a DUI case at the Mesa Municipal Court where my client was being charged with a first time super extreme DUI. When I went to court, I was expecting to negotiate either a dismissal or reduction of his sentence. To my dismay, the prosecutor presented my client with a 170 day jail sentence. The prosecutor told me he was upset that my client had a prior DUI and was on felony probation. When client had his initial meeting with me, we thoroughly went over his criminal history. I pride my office on our attention to detail. We make it a point to conduct a background check for all our criminal defense clients. When we conducted a background check for this particular client, I noticed he did have a prior DUI but it was seven days too old for the state to use it against him.
How we Fight Mesa Prosecutors
I had a lengthy meeting with prosecutor about the application of the seven year legal period to allege prior DUI convictions. In this meeting I also went over the facts of my client’s felony conviction and pointed out the actual facts were a lot less severe than what the charges reflected. Based on my arguments, the prosecutor decided to significantly reduce my client’s jail sentence.
Hiring a Mesa DUI Lawyer is a Smart Investment
If my client did not have a lawyer, there is no way he would be able to meet with the prosecutor on his own to discuss the details of his prior DUI and felony probation. Not only do the attorneys at my firm take the time to present effective legal arguments, we calmly and collectively present our client’s individual backgrounds in an effort for the prosecutors to sympathize with our clients and offer them a more favorable case outcome.
Don’t be fooled into thinking you can achieve the same outcome of your DUI case by not hiring a lawyer. We have years of training that we will use to your benefit. I am confident that if you hire my office to represent you for your Mesa DUI, you will be more than happy with the level of legal service you will receive.