I HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH DUI. NOW WHAT?
We aggressively represent you in all stages of your DUI case. Many times you will never have to appear in court.
WHAT IS THE MOTOR VEHICLE HEARING IN ARIZONA?
When charged with a DUI, the accused is usually facing two separate proceedings. The first is the MVD hearing. The second is the DUI Criminal proceeding. These are two separate and distinct proceedings. You have a very limited time from the date of your arrest to request a MVD hearing. At the hearing, the MVD must prove that they have the right to suspend your license. However, you must first request the hearing, if you want them to have to prove their case.
WHAT IS THE CRIMINAL PART OF A DUI IN ARIZONA?
The criminal portion of the DUI may be either a misdemeanor or in some cases a felony or aggravated DUI depending on the individual case. Most DUI's are charged as misdemeanors. In that event, we can usually appear for you at most of the appearances.
The DUI charge is usually two charges, the first is that you were driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and the second being that you had a blood alcohol percentage over .08%. The first charge can be brought even if your BAC was under .08%.
WHAT IS THE ARRAIGNMENT?
At the first appearance, called the arraignment, we will obtain the complaint and the initial police report. It is then that we will enter your plea. NOT GUILTY. From there, we will review the police report and other discovery we obtain. From our years of experience, we will note both what is in the report, and more importantly, what is missing.
HOW DO WE FIGHT THE DUI CHARGE IN ARIZONA?
Remember that the police only put in the bad stuff. We will focus on the reason for the stop, the pre-interview process, the report of your appearance, the performance of the FST's, the preliminary alcohol screening test, and the actual blood, breath or urine test taken at the station. We will then schedule time to review the report with you, and have a preliminary discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of your case. However, this is only the beginning. We have to work to get the exculpatory things, the things that may sway a jury to your side. But remember that the mere fact that the police claim you were driving under the influence does not make you guilty.
The process is an evolutionary one, where we must go out and get the evidence necessary to successfully defend your case. Many times we will have the blood retested, make sure that the proper preservative was put in, or that the BAC% is consistent with what was reported. We will investigate the breath machine, its maintenance and calibration, and the training of the police officer for that machine. The government certainly won't do that.
Many times we will argue to suppress the evidence based upon 4th amendment constitutional violations. They occur much more frequently that they should.
During this entire process we are negotiating with the government on your case, to obtain either a dismissal or reduced charges.
WHAT IS A DUI TRIAL IN ARIZONA?
Eventually, we either obtain a settlement acceptable to you, or we announce ready for trial. This is the point where your choice of lawyer becomes critical. We are always eager to go to trial. The choice is yours. When we prepare your case for trial, it is with an eye for a winning verdict.
The trial can last several days. It is a stressful situation, but the simple fact is that good things come from trials. The point is that we fight throughout the entire process.
The first thing we will do at the trial is to swear in a jury panel. The judge brings in 30 or 40 people from whom we will pick the jury. Eventually, they will be brought in and we will perform voir dire. The law says that we are not allowed to "indoctrinate" the jury, but we will try to get their feelings and share ours, and try to get rid of those we do not like.
We will make various motions, whether that is to try to get in the preliminary breath test, or keep it out, and to argue evidentiary matters.
WHAT IS A OPENING STATEMENT, DIRECT EXAMINATION, AND CROSS-EXAMINATION IN A DUI TRIAL?
Each side gives an opening statement to the jury, telling them their summary of the case. Then the prosecutor puts on their side of the case. They will usually call the police officer, any witnesses, the lab technician, a forensic analyst. Our job is to cross exam each of their witnesses, and to get to the truth. For example the police officer will say that you smelled of alcohol, and did not walk a line straight. But he will fail to tell the jury that you were cooperative, did not fumble with your wallet, did not stumble getting out of the car, did not lean on anything as you were talking to him, answered his questions clearly, and followed directions well. Our job is to demonstrate all of those things to the jury.
Eventually, the prosecution will rest, and we may call some witnesses. Sometimes we will have our own experts or investigators.
Finally, we will argue some more motions, and then present our closing arguments to the jury. The judge will tell the jury what the law is, including what we have argued in our motions that the law really is. They will go off and deliberate, and if everything goes well, come back with a NOT GUILTY verdict!
CAN I FIGHT MY DUI CASE IN ARIZONA? HOW?
Yes, you can fight it!
Fight it by contacting Vladimir Gagic at 602-955-1985
