Phoenix, AZ Defense Attorney for Aggravated and Felony DUIs

Whether a DUI is aggravated or not depends on factors other than blood alcohol content. It’s often reserved for people who are stopped while driving drunk and committing some other crime. Examples of additional activities that may cause a regular DUI to be charged as an aggravated DUI include:

• Having two or more previous DUIs within the past 7 years
• A child under the age of 15 is a passenger in the vehicle when you’re cited
• You receive any type of DUI while your license is suspended
• Being arrested for a DUI while traveling the wrong way on a highway or street

Charging a driver with an aggravated DUI does make the prosecution’s case more complicated, which also makes it more difficult for them to prove. They need to prove that you were intoxicated and back up aggravating factors, like the age of passengers, with evidence.

In many cases the same defenses hold for aggravated DUIs as other types of DUIs. For example, there may not have been reasonable suspicion to justify the stop. Or maybe you were parked in your car trying to sleep it off, in which case your DUI lawyer can argue you weren’t in physical control of your vehicle during the stop. There are also many potential issues with field sobriety tests (FSTs), especially when they’re administered to people who are:

• Senior citizens
• Suffer from joint or back injuries or ailments
• Have conditions or disabilities that impair their balance
• Are wearing certain types of footwear
• Are overweight
• Even when the suspect is in good health, the results of FSTs can be dubious.

The penalties for an aggravated DUI in Arizona can be steep, with minimums of at least four months in jail, even on a first offense. You will also need to undergo substance abuse screening at your own cost. You’ll need to have an ignition interlock device installed on your vehicle and you could also lose your license for up to three years.

There are five ways to be charged with Aggravated DUI or Felony DUI:

1. You get charged with DUI while your license is suspended, restricted, or revoked
2. You get charged with DUI while there is a child in the car under the age of 15
3. You get charged with your 3^rd DUI within 7 years
4. You get charged with a DUI while you currently have a court-mandated ignition interlock
5. You get charged with DUI while travelling the wrong way on a highway, meaning virtually any street

Each of the above DUIs are class 4 felony charges except the kid in the car version which is a class 6 felony. The minimum mandatory penalty for a first offense class 4 felony DUI is 4 months in prison, up to 10 years of probation, approximately $4,700 in fines and fees, license revocation for one year, 2 years of the ignition interlock after the revocation, and an alcohol screening/follow up counseling.

If you are charged with a felony DUI, you will need help from a Phoenix DUI lawyer immediately. Because the penalties are so harsh, you need an attorney to fight to try and beat the case on a technicality or at least help lessen your sentence and minimize the amount of incarceration you will be required to serve. Keep in mind that you can easily receive the maximum penalty by trying to represent yourself.