Arizona Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

The Arizona Appeal Court noted that that in order for an offense that occurred out of state to be counted as a “prior” the laws of the two states must be identical. Or alternatively, the offense must be such that if it had been committed in Arizona, instead of California in this case, it would have been in violation of Arizona’s impaired driving laws.

A Tragic Video Confession You might remember the viral video of an Arizona man, 22 year old Matthew Cordle, who caused a fatal drunk driving accident. He provided a confession in a four-minute online video that went viral with 2.3 million views last September. Cordle began his chilling confession with “My name is Matthew Cordle…

“The best way to deal with a DUI checkpoint is to be prepared for it. Lack of preparation or knowledge of your rights can lead to a false arrest, and violations of your rights.” A Case of False Arrest at a DUI Checkpoint One spring evening, 61 year old, Michael Wilhelm found himself in a…

Determining who will prosecute; Differences between Arizona, Federal laws and penalties. A Phoenix AZ man was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison for charges of methamphetamine possession with intent to distribute; and prohibited possession of a firearm. The suspected was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction on his record.…

“DUI arrests for “probable cause” doesn’t mandate that the police officer show a driver was actually under the influence, only that it is probable that he was”.A police officer need only have a reasonable suspicion that you have violated a traffic law (like the speed limit) or engaged in criminal activity to stop you. “Reasonable…

How to avoid additional charges, and make sure your DUI stop does not turn deadly Recently a Mesa AZ police officer approached a vehicle and asked the driver if he had any weapons. The driver responded, affirmatively that he did in fact, have weapons in the vehicle. At that point he reached to the other…

Robberies need not be as epic as Bonnie and Clyde’s to be some of the most serious crimes under law.When I heard this story on the local news about “Bonnie and Clyde” style robbery suspects being arrested in Arizona, I stopped to reflect upon an image of “Bonnie and Clyde’s” get-away car I had seen…

Burglary of firearms of any value is a felony in Arizona; depending on the value and other aggravated circumstances, convictions can result in lifetime prison sentences..Like something out of the Hollywood movies like “Ocean’s 13” or “Gone in 60 Seconds”, recently three thieves stole 13 military style rifles from C-3 Arms, a gun shop in…

Appeals Court overturns conviction holding that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant knew or should have known of the suspension. There are several ways to get an aggravated DUI conviction in Arizona. Among the ways is driving while impaired by alcohol, drugs, medication, or illegal substances while having a suspended,…

Drug, and Liquor Law Violations Top the List Arizona State University recently released its crime statistics for 2012. The university has four campuses: Tempe, West campus, Polytechnic Campus, downtown Phoenix and ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City. The report shows crime statistics for 2010, 2011, and 2012. According to the ASU report, the Tempe campus…