Prescott Valley Criminal Law Blog

Being accused of driving under the influence is a situation no driver in Arizona wants to be in. After all, even a sober person might have trouble performing a field sobriety test. Or, there may have been a good reason for a person to driver erratically, for example, to avoid hitting an animal or running over debris on the road. Unfortunately, it is entirely possible for a person to be wrongfully accused of DUI. DUI charges can lead to significant penalties, so it is important that anyone accused of this crime develop a solid defense strategy.

A previous post on this blog discussed the penalties associated with a DUI and extreme DUI. Another type of DUI charge a person could face is an aggravated DUI. A person could be charged with aggravated DUI if they have committed a DUI and there was a youth under 15 in the car, if it is a person's third DUI in seven years, or if the person refused to take a breath test or blood test as required through an ignition interlock device on their vehicle.

Many people in Arizona highly value their Second Amendment right to bear arms. However, this right is not always absolute. There are reasons why police might seize a person's firearms, at least temporarily. Such is the case when police are sent to investigate a report of domestic violence.

Under Arizona law, police are permitted to question those at the scene of the alleged domestic violence to determine if a firearm is within the premises. If an officer learns a firearm is present or sees a firearm present, police are permitted to seize the firearm temporarily. However, this can only be done if the firearm is in plain sight or if the parties consented to the search and if the police had a reason to believe that someone in the household could be seriously injured or killed with the firearm. Also, if the firearm is the property of the alleged victim, it cannot be subject to seizure unless the police have probable cause to think that both parties independently engaged in acts of domestic violence.

These days, more and more people are alleging they have been the victim of sexual misconduct in the workplace. Such allegations are very serious, as they can majorly affect the life of the accused even if the allegations are eventually found to be unsubstantiated or even false. Nevertheless, the issue of sexual misconduct has not gone unnoticed by the Arizona House of Representatives, which acted on this issue last month.

A bill has been passed by the Arizona House of Representatives that would affect those who claim they have been victims of criminal sexual misconduct. Under House Bill 2020, even if a person alleging sexual misconduct signed a non-disclosure agreement with regard to a civil settlement, that person would still be permitted to discuss the situation with police or give testimony should the incident be criminally prosecuted. The Arizona House passed the legislation unanimously.

When one is accused of felony charges, it is important that their right to a fair trial is not impeded. A former assistant coach for the University of Arizona track and field team has been accused of assault and stalking of a player. However, a court recently approved the severance of the charges he faces. This essentially means that the prosecution cannot use evidence of the reported assault in the trial for the stalking charges.

The player at issue reported that in April 2015, the coach placed a box cutter against her throat and choked her. She then claims he stalked her and tried to physically remove her from a classroom filled with other people. Court documents state that phone records indicate that the man texted and emailed the player 57 times between April 26, 2015, and May 1, 2015, and that some of these texts and messages were threatening.