Arizona Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

If you are facing felony charges in Arizona, you may assume you are entitled to a 12-person jury under the Sixth Amendment. In some cases, however, state law provides for a smaller jury. Whether that decision is up to you depends on the type of offense and the potential sentence. A recent appeals court ruling…

If you’re facing serious felony charges in Phoenix and think certain statements made during a police interview might have tainted your trial, a recent Arizona Court of Appeals decision shows how difficult it is to overturn a conviction on those grounds. In State v. Narayan, decided in April 2025, the court upheld a sexual assault…

On November 20, 2015, the Supreme Court of Arizona decided Dobson v. McClennen (P.3d, 2015 WL 7353847, Arizona Supreme Court 2015). The decision has important implications for individuals that use medical marijuana and might have THC or its metabolite in their system but drive at a time when they are not impaired. Jokingly called the “Driving While a…

The jury instructions that are given at a defendant’s criminal trial can make a big difference to the outcome of the case. In State v. Almeida, the appellate court considered the trial court’s failure to give a jury instruction about A.R.S. § 13-411, the “crime prevention justification.” Among other things, A.R.S. § 13-411 allows someone…

Criminal jury trials for serious offenses in Arizona are complex and high-stakes proceedings, where the fairness and impartiality of the jury are paramount. Arizona law requires that jurors remain unbiased and free from outside influences that could cloud their judgment. However, achieving this ideal can be challenging, as jurors are human beings who bring their…

Under Arizona law, courts must assume that any juvenile suspect’s confession to a crime is involuntary, unless there is reason to think otherwise. This means that if a young individual is accused of a crime, and if that individual confesses to the crime, the individual can later argue that his confession was involuntary. At that…

As you may know, hearsay is a statement made out of court that a litigant tries to use in court. The second element of hearsay that you may not know, however, is that the statement must be offered “for the truth of the matter” it asserts. If this element is not present, the court will…

In Arizona, a police officer cannot keep a driver in a traffic stop against his or her will without a legal basis to do so. Arizona case law specifically says that the appropriate duration for a traffic stop depends on the stop’s “mission” and on how long it takes the officer to address any safety…

In a recent opinion published by the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, the court vacated a trial court’s dismissal of an assault indictment. On appeal, the State had argued that the trial court should not have dismissed the defendant’s indictment, which was based on the defendant’s status as a minor at the time of…

In Arizona, if a defendant with prior convictions is found guilty of a crime, that defendant will face a harsher sentence than if he or she had no prior convictions. A recent case before the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, highlights this reality, which can be difficult for defendants trying to argue for lighter…