The post House Arrest Rules in Arizona appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>House arrest is an inexpensive alternative to incarceration in jail or prison for non-violent offenders. This program confines the offender to their primary residence and involves electronic monitoring to keep track of their movements.
Misdemeanor offenses often lead to house arrest. However, this policy varies from state to state. For example, you may be put under house arrest for DUI, bribery, or theft. House arrest may also apply if you are a juvenile and first-time offender.
Home detention rules vary by state. However, if you are under a house arrest program, you must abide by all the rules to complete your sentence regardless of being on home detention.
Here are some home detention rules in Arizona:
Home detention rules in Arizona aside, let’s now take a brief look at the state’s DUI law.
House arrest programs save the state thousands of dollars spent every year on keeping a non-violent offender in prison or jail. In Arizona, an eligible house arrest offender must finish 20 percent of their sentence in incarceration and the remaining sentence in house arrest. Once they enroll in such a program, they’ll be responsible for all the costs incurred, including paying for the electronic monitor and other services.
Critics of home detention laws argue that the program lets offenders off the hook quite easily. For example, while the electronic bracelet monitors the offender’s movements, it doesn’t indicate the use of drugs or alcohol. However, if the random drug tests reveal that an offender used drugs while in home detention, they may be required to serve the remaining sentence in jail.
Home detention eligibility in Arizona includes the following DUI offenders:
First-time DUI offenders must spend 24 consecutive hours in jail before enrolling in a detention program. However, second-time DUI offenders must spend at least 15 consecutive days in jail before applying for home detention in Arizona.
Generally, you are not eligible for a DUI house arrest program if you:
If you or your loved one has been arrested for a DUI, a DUI lawyer in Arizona can help you make informed decisions. This is because a DUI can have a lasting effect on your life if not handled correctly. You can trust the experience and legal knowledge of a DUI attorney to defend you when you’re innocent or propose a more lenient punishment if you’re guilty.
Contact The Nolan Law Firm
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]]>The post How to Dispose of Unused Medications appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>However, you cannot just throw the medication in the trash, either. Otherwise, it could fall into a drug abuser’s hands. There are certain recommended methods for the disposal of different types of medication.
It is possible to dispose of most prescription medications, as well as over-the-counter drugs, by throwing them in the trash. Start by removing them from their original packaging. You can dispose of this after first scratching out any personally identifying information listed on it.
To prevent the pharmaceuticals from falling into the hands of unauthorized users, whether intentionally or by accident, you should mix up the drugs with coffee grounds, cat litter, or dirt. This not only disguises the substance but also makes it unappealing.
Before throwing the mixture away, put it in a sealed container to prevent leaks or spills. You can apply this procedure to certain medications in the following forms:
Some drugs are so potentially dangerous to others that, even when following the above procedure, you cannot throw them away. For these substances, you have to flush them down the toilet to dispose of them. The packaging should provide instructions about how to do so safely.
Do not worry about contaminating the local water supply. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the risk to the environment is minimal.
An alternative to either throwing the drugs away or flushing them, as appropriate, is participating in a drug take-back program in your community. You can find information from your pharmacist or law enforcement. Once a year, the Drug Enforcement Administration sponsors National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day across the country.
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]]>The post What are Disorderly Conduct Defenses in Arizona? appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>According to ARS 13-2904, the state of Arizona defines disorderly conduct as the knowing engagement of specific types of disruptive behavior, with the intent of disturbing a person, family, or a quiet neighborhood. It is considered a Class 1 misdemeanor and is punishable by serving six months of jail time in many cases.
As mentioned above, the definition within the state of Arizona is broad. Therefore, this charge can include a variety of criminal acts such as:
Even with the above examples, understanding what could constitute a disorderly conduct charge in the state of Arizona in a real-world case might still not be clear. Consider the following examples for more clarity on the topic:
As briefly outlined above, the punishment for disorderly conduct in the state of Arizona is up to six months in jail. However, many charges either include a maximum fine of $2,500 or consist of no jail time and consist of the fine alone.
If you or someone you love is facing a disorderly conduct charge, you have the right to contact an attorney to fight on your behalf. Generally, the most common defense associated with this charge includes proving that the crime that is said to have been committed wasn’t committed. Other defenses include addressing or challenging the all-important “intent” to disturb the peace or proving that law enforcement did not have probable cause before the arrest.
While these charges are not exactly the same, they do have some similarities. Disorderly conduct can serve as the basis for a domestic violence allegation. If a domestic violence charge is added to a disorderly conduct charge, then, of course, there are other penalties that are added, including potentially the loss of one’s constitutional right to bear arms.
Many Arizonans have found themselves facing a disorderly conduct charge. These charges are worth challenging because the law is subjective and vague. Therefore, determining whether you were disorderly or not can be a personal opinion, meaning a judge may feel differently than the arresting officer felt during the arresting innocent about your intent to disturb others. Thankfully, we are here for you and are ready to fight on your side. While you might have messed up, if your intent was not to initiate harm or cause disorder, it’s worth fighting against this charge.
Contact The Nolan Law Firm
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]]>The post Know How Alcohol Affects Your Body & Your Driving appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>Alcohol mainly affects the following body systems:
Let’s have a brief look at how it affects each of the above body systems:
Excretory System
Excessive alcohol use causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that hamper its functioning. It ends up with an inflammation called pancreatitis, a very serious problem that can destroy the pancreas and result in chronic pancreatitis. Excessive alcohol also affects the liver by resulting in chronic liver inflammation. This can lead to cirrhosis which destroys the body and results in toxic substances not being excreted. Liver disease is life-threatening and women are at a higher risk of suffering from alcoholic liver disease than men because their bodies absorb more alcohol.
Central Nervous System
Alcohol highly affects the central nervous system. Alcohol intake interferes with its functioning and the result is slurred speech in some people, poor coordination, lack of balance when walking, and more. Excessive alcohol intake can result in dire consequences such as inability to think clearly, inability to form memories, numbness, seizures, and delirium from withdrawal efforts, permanent brain damage, and dementia.
Digestive System
Alcohol abuse can damage the salivary glands, tongue, cause ulcers in the esophagus, acid reflux, heartburn, stomach ulcers, and inflammation of the stomach lining. Excessive alcohol literally damages all parts of the digestive system. And this damage can lead to abdominal fullness, diarrhea, and internal bleeding from ulcers, hemorrhoids, or esophageal varices caused by cirrhosis. Heavy drinkers also face a higher risk of malnutrition as well as mouth, throat, and esophagus cancers.
Circulatory system
At times, a single episode of heavy drinking can result in troubles for the heart, especially for chronic drinkers. Complications such as irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and poisoning of the heart muscle cells.
Sexual and Reproductive Health
Alcohol abuse often results in erectile dysfunctions among men. It also hampers hormone production, affects testicular functions, and causes infertility. In women, it can lead to infertility, miscarriages, premature delivery, stillbirths, and fatal problems on fetal development.
Skeletal and Muscle Systems
Too much alcohol makes it hard for the body to produce new bones. It also increases the risk of bone fractures and osteoporosis (thinning bones).
Immune system
Alcohol weakens the immune system and makes it hard to fight off illnesses such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is a measure of how much alcohol is in your bloodstream. This measurement is used to determine whether a person is over the legal limit, which can be determined by a chemical breath or blood test. While .08% is the legal limit, people begin to feel the effects of alcohol well before that.
.05% BAC
At this state, judgment is impaired, loss of muscle control, and decreased alertness will also be present. These effects obviously have an impact on one’s driving ability, including steering. The driver will also be less likely to respond appropriately to an unexpected emergency situation. Coordination is affected, as is visual tracking. Having problems with visual tracking objects is an indicator of inebriation, which is why horizontal gaze nystagmus testing is used during sobriety testing.
.08% BAC
Muscle coordination diminishes even further, as does reaction time, speech, hearing, and reasoning. A person’s ability to process information is negatively impacted, while perception is also impaired. This may affect distance judgment, as the driver may believe a vehicle or other object in the road is further away than it appears.
.10% BAC
Reaction time deteriorates. Slurring is common at this stage, and a person may experience slowed-down thinking. Many people driving with a .10% BAC have difficulty staying within lanes, which makes their inebriation apparent to law enforcement.
.15% BAC
Virtually all driving abilities are affected when a person has a BAC of .15%. Vomiting is likely, muscle control is well below normal, and balance is seriously compromised. Information processing, both visual and auditory, is also diminished.
If you have already been charged with a DUI or DWI in Phoenix, contact the Nolan Law Firm for a free legal consultation at (480) 613-4309.
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]]>The post Roadside Drug Tests Are Unreliable appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>In addition to the new mouth swabs that officers are using to test for marijuana in states like Arizona, some officers also use field kits to test substances. In theory, if the substance is illegal, it will turn a particular color.
In Nevada, subsequent laboratory tests of a substance that was previously believed to be cocaine turned out not to be illegal. This resulted in five convictions being overturned. These defendants had pled guilty to drug charges to avoid potentially harsher sentences if they lost at trial.
Nevada was not the only state to throw out wrongful convictions. Five convictions in Oregon were also overturned, and over 250 convictions were thrown out in Texas.
The roadside drug tests are appealing to cops because they are convenient and affordable at only $2 per test. Not surprisingly, these cheap tests often show false positives when legal substances turn the wrong color. Another problem is that officers often misinterpret the tests. Some courts have barred these tests as evidence because of their inaccuracy, but many district attorneys nonetheless use the tests to obtain guilty pleas from defendants.
Studies have found that the roadside drug tests are good enough to give an officer probable cause to make an arrest but not enough to prove a person guilty at trial. Unfortunately, many individuals think that the cops have them dead to rights if a drug test is positive for an illegal substance and they enter plea deals prematurely. If you are arrested on suspicion of drug possession, do not say anything to the police. Instead, speak with a criminal law attorney as soon as possible.
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]]>The post What is the Difference Between Probable Cause and Reasonable Suspicion? appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>Probable cause is the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. It reads:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
As stated by the Constitution, probable cause guarantees every American citizen freedom from illegal or unmerited searches and seizures. It protects citizens by ensuring that a legal search warrant is obtained before any such measures are taken. Probable cause allows law enforcement professionals to gain the right through a warrant to either make an arrest or to search property or a person.
Reasonable suspicion is defined by the United States Supreme Court as:
The sort of common-sense conclusion about human behavior upon which practical people…are entitled to rely.
After 1968 when the U.S. The Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement officials can detain someone (briefly) if they have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has either been committed, is currently being committed, or is about to be committed, the term reasonable suspicion became part of the mainstream lexicon. In most cases, reasonable suspicion is left up to officers’ own judgment. As such, it is much broader in nature than probable cause. Of course, it still must be based on fact, and not merely on feelings or even an officer’s intuition.
A good example of reasonable suspicion in action is a patrol officer noticing a driver swerving, this gives them reasonable suspicion that the driver might be intoxicated and is enough reason to pull them over and check it out. The reasonable suspicion of the officer comes from their personal experience and knowledge of the subject or crime in question. In other words, they understand what to look for because they know the signs a crime is being committed.
These two legal terms are very similar in definition but legally speaking provide a different set of rules for arresting officers. While officers can act on a suspicion-based or experienced-based thought-process, they are unable to arrest someone unless they also have probable cause. Probable cause is also defined by Black Law’s Dictionary as “amounting to more than mere suspicion but less than evidence that would justify a conviction.”
If you find yourself facing criminal charges due to either a probable cause or reasonable suspicion-based arrest, contact us today. We will help you by evaluating all the arresting officers’ suspicions and assertions, and we will ensure there was probable cause against you and that you weren’t treated unlawfully. If we find there were missteps by the arresting party, in some cases, we can have charges either dropped or minimized.
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]]>The post The 3 Classifications of Assault in Arizona appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>You may not understand why you face criminal charges when you did not actually hurt somebody. Understanding the different classifications of assault is the first step in building a defense.
The most severe form of assault is injuring someone in a way that was intentional, reckless or known to cause harm. Assault of this nature is a class 1 misdemeanor, which is the highest class. Penalties in Arizona include up to a $2,500 fine and six months in jail. If this is your first offense, you likely will not receive the harshest punishment.
Maybe you did not hurt the person directly but put him or her in fear of being in danger. This is a class 2 misdemeanor, and the penalties are a maximum of $750 in fines and four months in jail.
Again, maybe the other person did not suffer any injury, but if you even so much as touch someone with the purpose to injure, insult or provoke, then your actions still count as assault. However, it is only a class 3 misdemeanor, the lowest category, and comes with no more than $500 fines and 30 days in jail. As a repeat offender, you may face the next level of penalties even if the crime falls under a lower class.
Most of the time, assault is a misdemeanor charge. However, assault enters the felony territory under the following circumstances:
Convictions of aggravated assault result in mandatory prison time.
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]]>The post What is Criminal Damage & What are the Penalties? appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>Criminal damage is a charge that means you have been accused of damaging or defacing property that belongs to another person. Types of criminal damage can include tampering with another person’s property that led to the devaluing or impairment of said property. Graffiti is another common example of this charge. Graffiti, of course, is the act of drawing or inscribing anything on a structure, building, or surface that you do now own, without getting the permission of the lawful owner.
The penalties for a criminal damage charge depend on the value of the property that was damaged and other factors. For example, the following is a general breakdown of how the law punishes each severity of the crime:
Aggravated criminal damage differs from a standard criminal damage charge as it indicates the property damage took place at a place of worship, a school, in a cemetery, on a construction site, agricultural site, or site that holds significance to certain communities. If you intentionally damage one of these places, you can expect to garner a more severe punishment from the court. The penalties for aggravated criminal damage are outlined below:
There are several methods for defending against criminal damage allegations. The following are all applicable defenses to consider:
A skilled and experienced defense attorney will know about all these defenses against criminal damage to property allegations. Contact us to learn more about how we can defend your criminal defense charge in Phoenix and Mesa.
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]]>The post Aggravated Circumstances Can Elevate Sentencing of Rape Charges appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>Sexual assault in Arizona is generally defined as sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with a person without their consent. The facts of a sexual assault case will play a major role in how a court will decide regarding the potential responsibility of the criminal defendant. A sexual assault conviction results in felony sentencing and the prospect of many years behind bars for the defendant.
A sexual assault charge may become an aggravated sexual assault charge if certain conditions are present during the alleged crime.
All sexual assault and rape charges carry with them the potential to derail a person’s life and set them up to struggle to move their life forward. No person facing these and other serious violent crime charges should do so alone. Criminal defendants have the right to work with criminal defense attorneys so that they have the support they need to face their accusers and fight for their freedoms.
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]]>The post 3 Behaviors That Give Police Reason to Pull Motorists Over appeared first on Mesa Criminal Defense Attorneys.
]]>Even if individuals only have one alcoholic drink, they can still become impaired to the point where police can arrest them. Police can arrest someone for DUI if it seems as though he or she is a danger on the roadways. This is evident by certain behaviors. While the police need a reason to pull someone over, the following actions are more than enough to justify a traffic stop.
Going over the speed limit is a common traffic offense. The police will pull a vehicle over, and the driver may receive a ticket even if there is no evidence he or she consumed alcohol. However, the cops can also use a vehicle going well below the speed limit as an excuse to pull someone over. Depending on the flow of traffic, going 10 miles under the speed limit can be just as dangerous as speeding.
Police pay attention to whether a car stays in its lane. Many impaired drivers tend to swerve haphazardly in and out of different lanes, trying to maintain control of the car. Even if a driver uses a turn signal to change lanes, doing it too often can be cause for concern.
Some behaviors are not necessarily illegal, but they can be reason enough for an officer to stop a vehicle. The problem with this is that the officer’s rationale may be entirely subjective, but a judge may not see it that way. This is why it is critical to have eyewitness testimony as part of a case. When someone can attest to how well a person was driving, it may cause the judge to throw out the case because there was no valid reason for the stop.
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