James E. Novak
Published on:

By

It is estimated that nearly 10,000 people die, 200,000 people are injured, due to DUI involved collisions every year. To combat the problem, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently announced 19 recommendations to reduce DUI fatalities across the country.

A recommendation that has gained much attention is lowering the legal limit of 0.08% Blood Alcohol Limit (BAC) in all states to 0.05 percent. Currently all states have a 0.08% legal limit. At least 100 countries in the world have a 0.05% limit. A spokesperson for the NTSB reported studies that clearly show motorists with a 0.05% BAC or will experience driving impairments that include a decline in cognitive and vision functions.  This increases their risk of causing or being involved in motor vehicle collisions resulting in fatality or serious injuries.

Some studies show on average a person weighing 120 pounds or under, may reach .05% BAC after just one drink of intoxicating liquor, and a person weighing 160 pounds or under may reach the 0.05% limit after only two drinks. However, this can vary by gender; metabolism rate; alcohol tolerance; food or absent food; medications; and other factors that exist.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

On April 17, 2013, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Missouri v. McNeely, siding with the lower courts’ decisions in a 5-4 ruling to suppress DUI evidence from being used against the defendant.

The case involved a DUI stop, following a moving traffic violation. After questioning, the driver was arrested for suspicion of DUI, after he refused to submit to a DUI breath and blood test.

Following the arrest he was transported to a nearby hospital where a DUI blood test was taken by a lab technician, at the direction of the police officer. The blood test was conducted without the driver’s consent, and in absence of a warrant. The police officer made no attempt to obtain a warrant to collect the blood for the DUI investigation.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Police may soon be able to conduct roadside testing for impaired driving due to Marijuana and numerous other drugs.

Currently, drug and Marijuana DUI can only be detected in a driver’s blood stream through chemical testing such as DUI blood or urine tests. These methods are intrusive, and sometimes take weeks for the results to be processed.

The new hand-held drug DUI detection device was designed by scientists in Sweden and known as “SensAbues”. It works much like an alcohol breath test which requires the subject to breath into a mouthpiece to enable the filtration and entrapment of certain particles to be examined by police.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

In 2012, Tempe Police made 2,479 arrests or issued citations for illegal consumption by minors. The legal drinking age in Arizona is 21.

Students make a large portion of the Tempe population. Spring semester brings with it graduations, celebrations, prom, sporting events and other festivities. The ASU and Tempe Police brace themselves and prepare diligently to arrest offenders for violations of curfew, fake IDs, minor consumption, disorderly conduct, and other crimes that often surround festivities.

But other charges such as DUI, Underage 21 DUI, assault, and aggravated assault charges also surround parties, and other spring-time festivities. These are more serious crimes, and severe penalties, including jail or even prison terms, large fines, fees, probation, loss of driver’s license, and more, especially when they are classified as felonies.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Some studies show that an estimated 15 to 33 percent of fatal crashes may involve drowsy driving.

In a recent survey reported by the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Institute of Medicine on average, an alarming 5% of respondents reported falling asleep at the wheel, 30 days prior to the survey.

Drowsy Driving is often mistaken for alcohol or drug related DUI resulting in arrest. This is due to the fact that signs of alcohol or drug impaired driving, and drowsy driving share similar characteristics. These signs include but are not limited to slower reaction time; reduced attentiveness behind the wheel; and impaired decision making skills. All of these can lead to serious and fatal accidents or mistaken alcohol or drug impairments.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Arizona is known for having some of the toughest laws and harshest penalties in the country. Most DUI convictions call for jail terms, and in some cases prison. If you plant to visit, reside, or drive through Arizona, you should be familiar with these laws.

Driving under the Influence A.R.S 28-1381: In Arizona it is unlawful for a person to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or intoxicating liquor, while:

  • They are under the influence of intoxicating liquor, any drug, or substance if impaired to the slightest degree;
Continue reading →
Published on:

By

An Arizona Legislator introduced HB2574 last month, intending to protect 4th Amendment Constitutional Rights from unreasonable searches.

Passing of this Bill would have outlawed police drone use to collect evidence in criminal offenses. Arizona is one of at least 24 states considering passage of bills designed to address constitutionality of evidence obtained by police surveillance drones. Most of the legislation focuses on respecting a person’s privacy and constitutional rights by requiring police to obtain a lawful warrant before collecting information on a suspect.

But after the bill was met with heavy opposition by Law Enforcement Agencies, the bill was disbanded last week. In the alternative, the committee will review privacy and constitutional issues; economic factors; new technology; and business and government interests related to drone use.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

The question before the US Supreme Court is “When is a DNA search lawful?”

US Supreme Court Justice Alito called it “Perhaps the most important criminal procedure case that this Court has heard in decades.”

The state argued that DNA testing at the time of arrest would help solve cold cases and serious violent crimes. In response, one Justice Scalia pointed out that the fact that a DNA test may be useful does not make it constitutional.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

In 2012, Mesa Police reported 3,112 DUI arrests. Of those, 41.6 percent involved some type of drugs. This represented a slight increase over 2011 which was 41.2 percent. Many of these involved synthetic drugs, spice, bath salts, Marijuana, and prescription drugs.

To help address the rising drug DUI arrests, Mesa AZ Prosecutor’s Office was awarded a grant for $59,550 earlier this month by the DUI Abatement Council of the AZ GOHS, designed to improve drug DUI prosecution.

Approximately 80% of the grant will be used to design and post an official website which will include materials, arrest logs, and certifications involving DUI field tests for use by criminal defense attorneys in the discovery phase of a DUI case. This is designed to increase efficiency and save on expenses for police to comply with discovery requests by criminal defense attorneys. Currently, it takes police funding and time to produce information on each and every discovery request on paper and via mail.

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

A recent ruling could mean that a motorist who last smoked Marijuana in a legal state a month prior to traveling to Arizona, may be arrested and prosecuted for Marijuana DUI.

An Arizona Court of Appeals marijuana DUI dismissal was overturned recently in favor of the prosecution, and returned the case to the Superior Court for continued prosecution proceedings.

The issue in question was whether or not a motorist could be prosecuted for driving under the influence of Marijuana, even if the only evidence was blood test results that revealed a chemical compound that does not cause impairment; but can remain in the blood stream for a month.

Continue reading →
Contact Information
Law Office of James Novak, PLLC
4500 S Lakeshore Dr #352
Tempe, AZ 85282
Phone: (480) 413-1499Text: (602) 908-8123

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2017 – 2025, The Law Office of James E. Novak
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design