What happens after you receive a DUI citation?
There are two separate tracks you must follow when you have received a DUI citation. One track is Court action, and the second track is Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) action.
First, Court action (all of this information applies to first DUI offenders only):
Your citation will normally include at least 3 charges: Driving while impaired to the slightest degree (ARS 28-1381A1); Driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle (or within 2 hours) while having a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher (ARS 28-1381A2); and, a charge that is the reason for the traffic stop (speed, red light, following too close, improper lane change, failure to drive in a single lane, etc.). In addition, if your BAC is .15 or greater (or within 2 hours), you can be charged with an Extreme DUI (ARS 28-1382A). And, if your BAC is .20 or greater (or within 2 hours), you can be charged with a Super Extreme DUI (ARS 28-1382B). The penalties for the Extreme DUI and the Super Extreme DUI are greater than for an A1 or an A2 DUI.
If you are released that night (no jail), you will be given a date/time for your first appearance in Court. This is call the Initial Appearance, and the Court merely reads the charges against you, takes your correct name and date of birth, enters a “Not Guilty” plea on your behalf, and schedules your matter for a Pre-trial Conference. DO NOT appear at your Pre-trial Conference without an attorney. This is the first meeting between your attorney and the prosecutor, and you need to be represented by counsel to assure that you do not say/do anything that will jeopardize your case. If you are placed in jail, your Initial Appearance will be that night or the next morning. The same procedure will occur in regard to the reading of the charges, name and date of birth and entry of a “not guilty” plea on your behalf. Again DO NOT appear at your Pre-trial Conference without an attorney to represent you.
At the first Pre-trial Conference, the prosecutor will provide your attorney with the State’s disclosure (everything the State will use at Trial to try to convict you of DUI, including the Police Report of your incident, and your breath, blood or urine analysis report (may not be available at first PTC). In addition, the prosecutor will provide your attorney with the State’s first plea offer. It is common for your attorney to file a Motion to Continue your PTC in order to allow him and you to review and discuss the Police Report, to discuss the State’s first plea offer, and to have your blood or urine sample analyzed by an independent analyst to determine if the State’s analysis and report are accurate. This costs $75, and is well worth the expense.
The State’s plea offer normally follows the mandatory statutory minimums for whichever level of DUI you have been cited for. The penalties for a violation of ARS 28-1381 include 1 day in jail (24 consecutive hours), a $250 fine plus an 84% surcharge ($460), a $500 assessment for the prison construction fund, a $500 assessment for the highway safety fund, approximately $200 for jail costs (varies per jurisdiction and jail), alcohol screening (from $65 to $125), alcohol education classes as determined by the screener (minimum of 16 hours up to immediate and ongoing participation in Alcoholics Anonymous), 1 year of unsupervised probation ($20 fee), and order to have ignition interlock device installed in your vehicle (approximately $500 installation fee, and $50 to $95 monthly monitoring fee for 1 year).
For an Extreme DUI (.15 BAC or higher) jail is increased to 30 days (some cities allow home detention for the back 15 days of the 30; work furlough is normally available; first 48 hours of jail must be served consecutively, and work furlough is normally only available for 5 work days per week), the fine is $250 + 84% surcharge ($460), there is an additional fee of $250, there is a $1,000 prison fund assessment, a $1,000 highway safety assessment, jail costs are increased accordingly at approximately $70 per day after the approximately $200 for the first day, and all of the additional requirements of screening, education, probation, and ignition interlock installation apply.
For a Super Extreme DUI (.20 BAC or higher) jail is increased to 45 days (again home detention is available in some City Courts, work furlough is available, and you must serve your first 48 hours in jail consecutively), pay a fine of $500 + 84% surcharge ($920), a fee of $250, and 2 $1,000 assessments. In addition, all of the additional requirements (screening, education, probation and ignition interlock) apply. In addition, ignition interlock may be imposed for longer than 12 months.
Jail days may be served in city jail (depends on size and space available) or in Maricopa County Jail (probably tent city). One day of jail is normally served in city jail. Longer jail sentences (30 days and 45 days) are normally served in tent city (which is located next to Towers Jail within the Maricopa County Jail complex between 27th Avenue and 35th Avenue, and between Durango Street and Lower Buckeye Road. Work furlough is for 12 hours per day to correspond to your work schedule. Home detention is allowed by certain cities that have adopted this program. You are required to have a land line telephone at your house in order to allow the home detention monitor to determine if you are at home when you are supposed to be there. You are allowed to go to work, school, medical care while on home detention. There is a fee for home detention which changes by city and/or the home detention monitoring company.
