ILLEGAL DRUG DUI

Unlike Prescription Medication and Medical Marijuana DUI cases, the primary legal issue in illegal drugs DUI cases is usually not impairment – but rather prior use. 

Your doctor can’t give you a prescription to take to the pharmacy to get a bottle of Cocaine, Bath Salts, Ecstacy, Black Tar Heroine, or Spice. These drugs are considered per se illegal. That is, proof them in your blood is in-and-of-itself proof of guilt.

Here is the kicker: If these drugs are found in your system the considers this a DUI violation – even if you are not impaired. That’s right, Arizona makes per se use of an illegal drug the basis for a sober DUI. However, the good news is…that is not the end of the story.

The fundamental premise of prosecuting a person for a per se violation of having an recreational drug in your system while driving is – the government will be able to detect a measurable amount of the drug in your blood. However, easier said by them then done.

Understand this: Measuring the amount of a drug, in blood, requires the ability to distinguish between signal versus noise. Here, the signal is the data you desire to obtain. However, the instrument produces other information that can be difficult to different from the signal, but has not value. That is noise.

Arizona DUI law is extremely complicated and has severe consequences. DUI law is commonly referred to as a minefield. An attorney must be competent in the Arizona Rules of “Criminal” Procedure, the Arizona Rules of Evidence, the United States and Arizona Constitutions, and the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles Rules and Regulations.

An attorney cannot do anything for you unless he or she has extensive experience in these areas.  Police officers are only human and do commit legal errors.  However, only an experienced DUI attorney will be able to find these errors and use them to help his or her client.

You should choose an experienced DUI attorney for the same reason you should choose a qualified doctor. If you break your wrist, you go to a doctor that specializes in wrist injuries. When you are charged with a DUI, you should hire a qualified DUI attorney.

An experienced Arizona DUI attorney can analyze your case for legal errors and defenses. He or she can have blood samples independently analyzed, look for suppression issues, review calibration / COBRA records of breath machines, find the right expert witnesses for your trial, and assist you with your driver’s license issues.