Arizona DUI Law - A Very Low Standard

In Arizona DUI cases it is not unusual to see many separate counts of driving under the influence or with a proscribed body alcohol concentration. At the heart of Arizona DUI law is the "impairment" count. Arizona DUI law essentially provides that it is not legal to operate or be in physical control of a motor vehicle if the person is impaired to the slightest degree by alcohol.

The legal definition of impairment to the slightest degree is the lessening of a persons ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. It takes more than just drinking alcohol to get to this level. This is because it is not illegal to have a drink or drinks or alcohol and then get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle in Arizona.

Prosecutors often try to argue that alcohol impairs a person's judgment. There is no good argument against this because it is a well established fact. However, they go a step beyond this argument and claim that getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after having consumed alcohol indicates bad judgment. In this way they attempt to use the fact or drinking and then driving alone to show impairment, where the combination of these two factors is not illegal.

Most jurors are very confused by the slightest degree standard. They often times hear the words "slightest degree," and think that there is no way that any drinking driver is not impaired at least a little bit. It is up to the DUI defense lawyer to point out the fact that the state must prove this by their own evidence. Such evidence may include DUI officer observations such as bloodshot watery eyes, flushed face, slurred speech, poor performance on physical field sobriety tests, and a chemical test.

If a chemical test is used to attempt to prove impairment, a prosecutor can request that the jury be instructed that an alcohol content of .080 percent or greater in a person's body can lead to the presumption that he is impaired at least to the slightest degree. A jury is then free to apply or ignore the presumption.

The bottom line, in my opinion after practicing DUI defense for nearly a decade, is that the only way to avoid an Arizona DUI charge all together is to never get behind the wheel of a vehicle after having any alcohol to drink. In other words, to protect yourself from a charge of criminal conduct, it may be necessary to refrain from doing something (driving after drinking) that the law in Arizona expressly allows.