Honors and Awards:

• In 2012 Aaron Back was named in AZ Magazine as Top Young Attorney, Top Young Attorneys, AZ Magazine, 2012
• In 2012 Aaron Black was nominated by his peers and received Martindale-Hubbell "Preeminent" AZ rating., Martindale-Hubbell, AV Peer Review Rating, 2012
• In 2012 Aaron Black was selected to Arizona's Top Rated Lawyers: Wall Street Journal and Arizona Republic., Arizona Top rated Lawyers: Criminal Defense, Arizona's Top Rated Lawyers: Wall Street Journal and Arizona Republic, 2012
• North Valley Magazine is a full-color, full-gloss bi-monthly publication providing content that celebrates the lifestyles of various communities within the North Valley. Our editorial focuses on living life to the fullest, showcasing the best of North Valley areas communicating important content to our readers. Each issue caters to our audience—our readers include active families, sophisticated young professionals, and active seniors who enjoy travel, home improvement, dining, fashion, and outdoor activities. In the October/November 2012 issue Aaron Black was listed as one of the Valley's top DUI and Criminal Defense Lawyers., The Valley's Top Rated Lawyers, North Valley Magazine, 2012

Bar/Professional Activity:

• 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2013
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), 2013
• Board of Governors, Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice (AACJ), 2013
• Aaron Black was eleceted to the Board of Governors of the AACJ (Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice), 2012
• U.S. District Court of Arizona, 2011
• State Bar of South Dakota, 2007
• State Bar of Arizona, 2006

Scholarly Lectures and Writings:

• What to do if pulled over for DUI By: Aaron M. Black Criminal & DUI Defense Attorney   Whenever I am at a restaurant in our lovely neighborhood I sit around and look at all the moms, dads, and professionals having a cocktail with their dinner. Most of these people drive home thinking they are just fine after one or two drinks. That is not the case in Arizona…   On your way home an officer watches you make a wide left turn onto Indian School, or the officer thinks you swerved into the bike lane for a split second. The officer turns his red and blue light on. You pull over. The officer slowly struts to your window. He smells alcohol on your breath and asks, “Have you been drinking?” What do you do now?   Immediately ask for a lawyer and respectfully refuse to answer any questions. Of course this is going to make the officer suspicious, but he is probably going to arrest you anyway. Why help him? You are not going to talk your way out of this. Do not try it. However, you must always give the officer your identification information and step out of the car when asked.   The officer will then tell you he wants to conduct some tests. These are called Field Sobriety Tests. They are actually agility tests designed to test your ability to multitask. These tests consist of walking a straight line and balancing on one leg. Always politely request a lawyer and refuse these tests. {HINT} Sober people fail the tests, so do not think you can beat them after one drink. Just think how nervous you got when the officer pulled you over. Now try to balance.   The officer will ask to look at your eyes. He will want you to follow a pen. The officer is looking for involuntary jerking of the eye. This is called Horizontal Gaze and Nystagmus (HGN). Respectfully ask for a lawyer and refuse the test. {HINT} Alcohol is one of the fifty plus causes of Nystagmus. Eye doctors do not train the officers on how to perform the test. The officers assume alcohol is the only cause of Nystagmus.   Never blow into the PBT (Preliminary Breath Test). The PBT is the little breath machine the officer will pull out of his car and ask you to blow into while on the side of the road. He will also tell you he will release you if you are under a .08. This test is not admissible in court and only used as a tool to arrest you. Refuse this test. Contrary to popular belief, if you refuse this test your license will not be suspended. (Your license will be suspended for one year if you refuse the blood test or breath test after the admin per se/implied consent affidavit has been read to you).   The officer is most likely going to arrest you if you refuse or comply with the tests. He will write in his report there was an odor of alcohol, bloodshot watery eyes, and a slight sway. Doing the tests will not help your case. Agreeing to the tests only helps the police and prosecutors build a case against you. {HINT} The officer, if he suspects DUI, is going to arrest you no matter what you do or say.   Remember, you have a constitutional right to remain silent and a right not to incriminate yourself. Do not do the field sobriety tests. These tips by no means guarantee you will beat your DUI if charged. But, these tips make it more difficult for a prosecutor to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and much easier for your attorney to mount a viable defense. The best DUI defense is to not drive after having any amount of alcohol. Ride a bicycle. {HINT} You cannot get a DUI on a bicycle in Arizona.   Next month we will discuss what to do once you are in the police station. Aaron Black can be reached at: 480-729-1683 or aaron@aaronblacklaw.com    , Author, What to do if pulled over for DUI, Mainstream Magazine, 2013
• Aaron Black spoke to a group of approximately 500 DUI defense lawyers about the new Arizona laws and how the Phoenix Municipal court is applying the law to the new DUI cases., Lecturer, SB1200 and a lot of other legislation for 2012: A lot of changes? Depends on what courtroom you are in: Phoenix, 25th Annual Aggressive Defense of the Impaired Driver, Arizona Attorneys For Criminal Justice (AACJ), 2012
• Aaron Black spoke to a large group of DUI lawyers about felony DUI charges and how to attack the prosecution's argument as to if the defendant knew or should have known his license was suspended., Lecturer, Felony DUI: Challenging Notice, ASU DUI Seminar XXVI, ASU Alumni Association, 2012
• Aaron Black was asked to speak to a new group of Arizona Public Defenders and teach the basics of defending DUI cases in Arizona., Lecturer, DUI 101, 2012 APDA Conference, Arizona Public Defender's Association, 2012

Verdicts and Settlements:

• State v. B.C., Client found Not Guilty of Selling Alcohol without a Vendor's License.  Client found not guilty of selling alcohol without a vendor’s license. Providing Alcohol to a Minor was dismissed pretrial. Client was thrilled. Case actually dismissed at the Rule 20 on a Corpus Motion because the state did not have enough evidence due to properly timed hearsay, foundation, and speculation objections., 2013
• State v. M.W. Client arrested for giving false information to the police. Police contacted cleint. Police were investigating a robbery. Client told police she did not know anything. Police found the suspects in her house. She was charged with false reporting. Judge granted a directed verdict., 2012
• State v. S.S. Client charges with assault on another cab driver. Client was spit on by alleged victim. Client slapped alleged victim. Alleged victim sent client to the hospital. Client found not guilty of assault. He acted in self defense., 2012
• State v. M.D., Defendant accused of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. When arrested he admitted to poilce that the three pipes found in the house were his and that they were used to smoke marijuana. Defendant found not guilty., 2012
• State v. L.G., Client accused of attempted theft of a computer. Computer store owners testified. Police testified that the Defendant called them for assistance. Defendant found Not Guilty after jury deliberated for only 10 minutes, 2012
• State v. R.L. - DUI BAC was a .186 and defendant was found not guilty of being inpaired to the slightest degree. The jury hung on the blood level due to maintenance records of the gas chromatograph being entered at trial which raised doubt as to its reliaility., 2012
• State v. A.C. Practice Area: Criminal Defense Date: Jan 12, 2012 Outcome: Dismissed at Trial Description: Assault, Domestic Violence - Dismissed day of trial., 2012
• State v. A.T. Practice Area: DUI / DWI Date: Feb 15, 2012 Outcome: Scottsdale DUI Dismissed! Description: Scottsdale DUI Dismissed. Client seen in his truck drinking. Stereo was on. Keys in the ignition., 2012
• DUI Trial. State v. M.F. This was a split verdict on a .102 BAC. Defendant found not guilty of being impaired to the slightest degree but guilty of being over a .08. Pretrial argument was made regarding the stop and "impeding traffic." The case will be appealed. Client was sentenced to the mandatory minimums. Judge advised counsel that he has presided over 700 jury trials and enjoyed counsel's trial skills. The judge also told counsel that his reputation proceeded him regarding how prepared and thorough he was during trial.
• State v. M.T. Client charged with Threatening and Intimidating officers. Officers were in the process of arresting client. He could not move and was completely incapacitated by police. He told the police he would kill them. Judge found cops' actions to be unreasonable and there was no way he could kill them since he was incapacitated. Not Guilty
• State v. E.H. Cleint charged with Assaly and Domestic Violence for shoving his girlfriend out of a vehicle, hitting her and ripping her hair off her scalp. Client's son testified that the female hit client first while he was driving. Client had to hit back to defend himself and protect the passengers in a moving vehicle. Client found not guilty.
• State v. A.B., D charged with DUI. Jury trial that resulted in a split verdict. Not Guilty of being impaired to the slightest degree. Guilty of being over a .08 BAC.
• State v. M.B., Defendanr stiped for DUI. Her BAC was a .081. It was shown BAC could be under a .08. Also, field sobriety tests were improperly administered. Case reduced to a civil traffic violation.
• State v. P.M., This was a DUI case. Defendant was elderly with many documented medicl conditions. Case reduced to a civil traffic violation.
• State v. E.N, Client accused of False Reporting to An Officer. Armed robbers were found in her apeartment after she told the police she did not know of anyone in the apartment. The apartment was surrounded and search warrants were obtained. The Court dismissed the case pursuant to Rule 20 after the State rested.
• State v. N.S, Client was accused of assault when he slapped another man because of offensive language. The fight was on video. Defense was able to call witneses to show that the alleged victim actually spit on the defendant firts, and the defendant slapped the alleged victim in retaliation.   Judge found Defendant Not Guilty.
• Practice Area: Criminal Defense Date: Nov 04, 2011 Outcome: Manslaughter - Probation. No Jail. Description: Client charged with Manslaughter a class 2 Dangerous Felony, and 2 counts of Endangerment class 6 Dangerous Felonies. Client facing 27 years in prison. This case involved a motor vehicle accident and excessive speed that caused the death of another individual when the vehicles collided in an intersection.
• State v. C.B Practice Area: Criminal Defense Date: Dec 02, 2011 Outcome: Shoplifting Dismissed at Trial Description: Client accused of shoplifting at Wal-mart by placing a price code sticker for a lesser amount on item. Client proceeded through checkout and purchased the item (even bought the warranty). Wal-mart security persistent she intentionally lowered the price. Pushed case to trial and prosecution realized they were in trouble when I gave them a taste of my closing argument. Case dismissed!
• State v. S.R. Practice Area: White Collar Crime Date: Dec 08, 2011 Outcome: Mistrial granted due to prosecution introducing improper evidence Description: Money laundering and fraud schemes trial that was dismissed due to the prosecution trying to admit improper evidence. Aaron Black was able to quickly object and persuaded the judge to grant a mistrial.
• Practice Area: DUI / DWI Date: Jan 10, 2012 Outcome: Extreme DUI Case Dismissed on Defense Motion Description: Client's blood alcohol concentration over a .15 BAC. Police coerced him to submit to blood test. Defense Motion to Submit was filed and the State dismissed the case.
• Practice Area: Criminal Defense Date: Jan 10, 2012 Outcome: Driving on Suspended License Dismissed Description: During a complete investigation it was leaned that client was improperly suspended in Arizona. We were able to have MVD reverse the suspension based on evidence obtained during the investigation, client's MVD record was restored, and the criminal case was dismissed.
• State v. A.M. Practice Area: Criminal Defense Date: Feb 14, 2012 Outcome: Trial - Not Guilty! Description: Assault and Domestic Violence. The alleged victim jumped on the defendant's vehicle. Defendant hit the brakes and alleged victim flew off car injuring herself.