Arizona DUI Lawyer & Attorney : Koplow & Patane Law Firm : Arizona DUI Defense

It is commonly believed that “drunk driving” is the reason for a DUI charge. However, DUI stands for “driving under the influence” of alcohol or drugs. Under Arizona law, you do not have to be “drunk” to be convicted of DUI. Rather, the law requires only that your driving be impaired by alcohol; Arizona law provides that you cannot drive if your ability to do so is impaired to any degree.

When you are arrested for DUI, you generally receive two types of charges. The first alleges that you were driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs to at least “the slightest degree.” Thus, to violate the statute, you do not have to be falling-down drunk. Rather, a slight impairment of your ability to drive, due to alcohol, violates the law.

The second type of charge you receive when arrested for DUI relates to your blood-alcohol concentration (BAC). For a basic DUI allegation, you’re charged with having a BAC greater than .08 percent within two hours of driving. If your BAC is greater than .150, you may receive an additional charge of Extreme DUI (or if above .200 a "super-extreme DUI.")  These are sometimes referred to as “per se” charges, meaning that if the State can prove your BAC is above a certain limit, that alone proves a violation of the DUI statute.

Many “per se” violations are defended on the grounds that the means used to determine one’s BAC have a large range of accuracy. That is, even if the device used to test your breath or blood was working perfectly, your BAC may actually be lower than indicated. The State concedes that this range of accuracy exists. However, the real debate is over the extent of this range.

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In almost all DUI cases the police officer will make an arrest without an arrest warrant.  To make a lawful arrest the police officer must have "probable cause" to believe the person was driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).  Arizona has codified this probable cause requirement in Arizona Revised Statute §13-3883. 

Arizona courts have defined probable cause as "such a state of facts as would lead a reasonable man of ordinary caution or prudence to believe and consciously entertain a strong suspicion of guilty." State v. Emery, 131 Ariz. 493, 642 P.2d 838 (1982).  When the constitutional validity of an arrest is challenged, the court must decide if the facts available to the officer at the moment of arrest “warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief” that an offense has been committed. Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925).  In DUI cases, the determination to arrest is based on the what the officer has observed at the time of arrest.  At that time, was it reasonable for him to believe the person was driving under the influence of alcohol?

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