Are There Any Defenses For DUI In Arizona?

Yes. Drivers can often challenge the legality of the traffic stop or arrest, whether any of their constitutional rights were violated, and/or the accuracy of the alcohol testing. An experienced DUI attorney can analyze your situation and advise you on what defenses may be available to you.

General Guidance For Drivers In DUI Traffic Stops

If you want to avoid a DUI charge, the best advice is to steer clear of driving if you might be impaired. However, if you have just been pulled over on suspicion of drunk or drugged driving, I strongly recommend invoking your rights.

1. Remain silent and don’t answer questions (except to identify yourself and provide the required documents)
2. Ask for an attorney immediately
3. Refuse to participate in field sobriety tests or roadside portable breathalyzer tests

Invoking your rights can minimize the chance of mistakes being used against you.

Understanding Breath-Alcohol Tests And Refusal In Arizona

Most people don’t realize that there are actually two separate types of breath tests involved in most DUI arrests. The first one is performed by the officer on the scene using a portable breathalyzer kept in their patrol car. This test is merely preliminary and isn’t even admissible in court. You are not obligated to take it – although refusing it may be used to justify arresting you.

The second breath test is an official Intoxilyzer test at the police station (or, depending on the jurisdiction, in a roving van). All drivers are expected to consent to this test. If you refuse, your driver’s license will generally be suspended for a year on a first offense. It is possible to fight that suspension, however.

Field sobriety tests and portable breathalyzer tests aren’t very accurate. They can give the impression of impairment even when you haven’t been drinking. For that reason, I encourage people not to engage in these roadside tests. Politely tell the officer that you refuse to participate and that you want to speak to a lawyer. Again, do not answer any questions.

Even if you refuse the field sobriety and roadside breathalyzer tests, however, the officer may still arrest you. If they do, they will generally require you to take the official Intoxilyzer test at the police station. The results of the Intoxilyzer test are admissible in court.

However, even the official Intoxilyzer test can also be inaccurate, so it may be in your interest to refuse it, too. Be aware of the consequences, however. If you do refuse, the officer may get a warrant for a blood test anyway, so the state could still get the evidence needed to charge you. Furthermore, your refusal could be used as evidence against you in your DUI case.

You Need To Contact A Defense Attorney ASAP To Fight For Your License

Another thing many people don’t realize is that you can challenge your driver’s license suspension after a DUI arrest or for refusing to take an Intoxilyzer test. However, you only have about two weeks to do so.

Challenging your driver’s license suspension is a separate process from the criminal case against you. It is a case before the MVD instead of before a criminal court. Many defense attorneys (including me) handle both processes, but only if the deadline to challenge has not passed.

In some cases, it is possible to get your license suspension overturned. If it is not possible, it may still be possible to get you a hardship license that would give you limited driving privileges while your license is suspended.

Possible Defenses In Your Criminal DUI Case

There may be defenses available to you in your criminal DUI case, depending on exactly what happened.

If the officer initially pulled you over for no good reason, the traffic stop may have been unlawful. If your lawyer can show that it was, any evidence the officer garnered from the unlawful stop would be inadmissible in court.

The same is true if the officer had no good reason to arrest you after the initial investigation. In general, if the officer violated your constitutional rights, the state cannot use any evidence tainted by the violation against you. An unlawful stop, arrest or another constitutional violation could mean an outright dismissal of your case.

Beyond that, you may also be able to defend yourself by challenging the accuracy of the chemical test.

Many people are surprised to learn how inaccurate breath testing can be. In the best scenario, a breathalyzer or Intoxilyzer takes about 50 milliliters of breath (about a shot glass’s worth) and tries to extrapolate the contents to estimate how many grams of ethanol would be found in 100 liters of air. If there are any errors in measurement, this extrapolation will magnify them.

In other scenarios, the Intoxilyzer might not have been calibrated properly, or the officer may not have performed the test correctly. Furthermore, the Intoxilyzer is testing your breath-alcohol level at the police station, not when you were actually driving. It takes further extrapolation to estimate what your alcohol level might have been at that time.

Even if the officer ordered a blood test, you can still challenge the result. The test result may be inadmissible if there were issues with the blood draw or how the lab test was performed. Every chemical test is an estimate and is subject to errors and inaccuracies. Blood tests are no exception.

Conclusion

If you have been arrested for DUI in Arizona, the time to act is now. Reach out to an attorney who will fight both your license suspension and your criminal case and who will leave no stone unturned in your defense.