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Arizona is a “zero tolerance” state when it comes to drinking and driving while under the age of 21. If you are under the age of 21 and are driving or in actual physical control of a car with alcohol in your system, you can be arrested, charged and convicted of a DUI in Arizona, regardless of how low your BAC was or whether you were actually impaired. An underage drinking and driving defense lawyer in Payson can help you explore your legal options and protect your rights.
A.R.S. § 4-244(34) states that it is unlawful “for a person under twenty-one years of age to drive or be in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while there is any spirituous liquor in the person’s body.” Because of this “zero tolerance” law, it is imperative that you have a DUI attorney that understands the ins and outs of DUI defense. Underage DUI cases take a comprehensive approach to find weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case and ensure that your rights are protected.
If you are convicted of an underage DUI in Arizona, the penalties may include:
When people hear that Arizona is a zero-tolerance state for underage drinking and driving, they understandably get a sinking feeling—especially when they find out what the potential consequences are. However, if you or your child has been charged with an Underage DUI, do not simply accept the punishment and move on. These cases are very fact specific. With the right defense-oriented investigation, you may be able to have your charges reduced or even dismissed.
One of the biggest concerns for people is their loss of a driver’s license for up to two years. At a young age, this can cause many far-reaching consequences like an inability to find employment or commute to school. Trying to find a ride for the next two years of your life is clearly an inconvenience but it can also become costly if you have to rely on alternatives like Uber and Lyft to get around.
At the Rosenstein Law Group, we can handle all aspects of you DUI arrest and case. We deal with the MVD and ADOT so that we can fight any potential license suspension. At the same time, we challenge the prosecutor’s evidence so that we can obtain the best possible result for your case. An experienced DUI attorney will investigate every aspect of your case. We look at the reason that the police stopped you, your initial interaction with the police, field sobriety tests and BAC testing from the time of sample collection to lab analysis. Our attorneys are trained in every aspect of DUI investigations and defense. We analyze forensic toxicology results to look for errors and human variables in the testing methods used by police and their crime labs so that we can challenge toxicology results.
Defending your case based on the science is only one part of our comprehensive defense approach. We know that facing zero-tolerance underage DUI laws is an uphill battle, so we also conduct our investigation to discover legal issues such as a violation of your right to counsel or improper coercive tactics used to get you to consent to blood or breath testing. These legal issues may lead to suppression of evidence or dismissal of charges altogether.
If you are facing underage DUI charges, you cannot afford any missteps in building your defense. With the right approach and circumstances it is possible to avoid the worst consequences of a DUI arrest or even avoid a conviction altogether. Contact the experienced Payson DUI attorneys at Rosenstein Law Group at 480-248-7666 or online for a free consultation and case evaluation.