Smith & Green, Attorneys at Law, P.L.L.C.

If you’re considering going that route, or leaning towards going that route, what I would recommend that you do is gather up all your financial information, all of your records. Get your banking records, your bank statements from your checking account, from your savings account. Find out what’s in your retirement account. Find out what’s in his or her retirement account. Find out all the information you can about your investments, any properties that you rent out, the current balance of your home, and whether you have equity in your home. Gather up all those statements and then come and see an experienced attorney to help you determine what course of action you should take.

Most of our clients have contacted us immediately following the accident. We get called right away. Some of them have called us while they’re still standing by their car right after the accident occurred asking us what they should do. That’s not always the case. If you’re ever seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident, maybe you’re unconscious, maybe you’re transported to the hospital. My recommendation to you would be to call an attorney as soon as you’re able to. You want to make sure that you call an attorney right away so that they can make sure that you don’t do something that could harm your case. Insurance companies, immediately following an accident, are going to call you. They’re going to try to get statements. That can hurt your case, but then also after the accident, there are certain things that you can use as evidence that can help preserve your case like for example, taking pictures of the vehicles, where the cars are positioned, and pictures of the damage.

One of the things that the law prohibits us on in criminal matter, DUI and other ones, is we as lawyers in Arizona are restricted by the rules for accepting criminal matters on a contingency basis. We can’t take the case now and have you pay us later if we are successful. The law restricts us from that in criminal cases and family law cases. We can’t take them on contingency, so oftentimes what you will see in a DUI matter is an hourly rate based on that attorney or a flat fee upfront. Flat fees can range anywhere from $3,500 on the very low end for small DUIs that are not heavily based in fact up to $6,000 for the more complicated DUI that involves a few things, and those are basic, run-of-the-mill DUIs.Those that are fact-heavy that are going to trial and involve accidents will be more expensive. Again, that’s just attorney’s fees. That doesn’t count the fines that are mandatory in some instances, 2,000 to 4,000 dollars’ worth of fines, and you have the interlock device, which are somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 dollars, depending on where you get it from. The number of fines for DUI and attorney’s fees can rack up pretty quickly.

Arizona, the 48th state of the United States of America, is a very fast-growing state, particularly here in the Phoenix metro area. There’s a lot of internal immigration from other states here. People migrate to Arizona because of the cost of living, and they have various concepts as it relates to DUI and what the acceptable blood alcohol limit is.What people find when they get here is that Arizona, in a lot of ways, is standard with the rest of the country. The BAC level 0.08 is the standard when you’re starting to charge folks with DUI. It’s the same in California and a lot of our neighboring states. That 0.08 blood alcohol content is the legal limit once you start charging people with DUI under specific statutes. Here, the statute is 28-1381(A). I would caution everyone that some impairment is still impairment, and just because you don’t reach the 0.08 limit does not mean that you’re not impaired and that you can’t be charged with impaired driving. It may not be under 28-1381(A), but you can be charged with impaired driving, and so the rule of thumb is, don’t gamble. Don’t negotiate. If you’ve been drinking, don’t drive.

Always cooperate with all the lawful orders and requests of police officers. A police officers’ number one priority is officer safety. Police officers do have a body of laws that they must follow as it relates to search and seizure, use of force, and questions they can lawfully ask. In the process of being pulled over specifically for suspicion of driving under the influence. There could be a series of things that the officer asks you to do, such as take a field sobriety test, a breathalyzer test, and you must know your rights under those laws.If the traffic stop specifically was for suspicion of driving under the influence, the officer would need to detail in his report and explain to you, to some degree, the reason why he pulled you over and how he established reasonable suspicion that you could possibly be driving under the influence. Were you speeding, driving too slowly, or swerving outside of the lines? He would need to explain to you, within reason, why he stopped you, and what you did that caused him to believe that you were driving under the influence.

In Arizona, it’s a no-fault state. Two people that have entered a marriage can go your separate ways. That’s the benefit of living in a no-fault state. While all those things will be, and could be, necessary in dealing with matters as it relates to the divorce, like custody, alimony, fitness to be a parent, and decision-making responsibility with the children, all of those things could weigh in at some other time. Broadly, to get a divorce, you don’t have to prove that a person cheated on you or that they mismanaged the money or that they abused you because it is a no-fault state. There’s a very fine line for covenant marriages but most people don’t fit into that category. After speaking with one of our lawyers regarding it, we’d clear up that pathway, so that you understand that just like it was your right to enter a marriage, it’s your right to get out of it.

Even first time DWI/DUIs can be serious. Here’s what you could face: First-time with BAC of at least .08% and less than .15%. This is considered a Class 1 misdemeanor. You could be sentenced up to six months in jail. You are required to serve one day in jail. You’re also required to complete a drug and alcohol screening as well as get involved in specialized counseling. The outcome of your screening will affect how long you must remain in counseling. You’ll be fined at least $250 and be charged an additional $500 penalty. You could also be placed on probation for up to five years. Your license will be suspended for 90 days, but you can get a work permit after 30 days. You’ll also be required to have an interlock device installed in your vehicle.