In Arizona, the police can impound your car up to 30 days in some DUI cases. This applies even if the owner of the car was not present when the driver was cited for the DUI. Arizona Revised Statute §28-3511 is the law that allows the police to take your car. The law allows the police to impound the car if the driver:

1.     Did not possess a valid driver license;

2.     Had a revoked, suspended or canceled driver license;

Arizona has harsh DUI penalties, even for first offenders. Arizona was also one of the first states to require a driver convicted of a DUI to install an ignition interlock device. If convicted with a DUI, a driver will be required to install and maintain an ignition interlock device at his or her own expense, in addition to paying fines and undergoing mandatory driving education and counseling. If you are facing a DUI charge, you should be aware of how Arizona’s ignition interlock devices may apply to you.

Determining Whether Interlocks Apply.  Ignition interlock devices only apply if the driver was convicted of an alcohol-related DUI, and do not apply if the driver was under the influence of another substance, such as marijuana or prescription drugs.

How the Device Works.  An interlock device requires a driver to blow into the device before the vehicle can start. If the device detects a prohibited level of alcohol, usually .02 or higher, the device registers a failure, and .the car will not start.

It may seem like there’s no hope for your DUI case:  the police officers have a breath test result and its over the legal limit.  However, the reality of both preliminary breath test devices and other breathalyzers is that they are often inaccurate, improperly calibrated, and, in certain circumstances,  cannot be used in Court against you. This Q&A gives a quick guide on preliminary breath tests, where officers will obtain a single breath sample using a handheld breath testing device.

What is a PBT Test? In Arizona, officers can capture a sample of your breath for measurement using a handheld device, commonly called a preliminary or portable breath testing device.  During the DUI investigation, officers may ask you to blow into the PBT. The device analyzes your breath for alcohol and returns an estimating number of that person’s blood-alcohol content (BAC).

When can officers ask me to submit to a PBT test? Only when officers have reason to believe that you are driving under the influence can they ask you to take a PBT test. Both the 4th Amendment and the case of Verberg v. Jones states that officers can administer the PBT test only if they have reasonable suspicion that the driver is DUI. 121 P.3d 1283, 211 Ari. 413 (App., Div. 1, 2005). In other words, an officer needs an articulable basis that you are driving impaired to request a breath test.

            State of Arizona ex rel. Hamilton v. City Court of Mesa, and Real Party in Interest Lopresti, 799 P.2d 855, 165 Ariz. 514 (1990) – How the State Gets it Wrong and What Happens When the Courts Believe Them

Michelle L. Behan

            In 1990, the Supreme Court of Arizona took up a case to determine if it was lawful for the State of Arizona to use field sobriety test results as proof a citizen had an alcohol concentration over the legal limit.  A few years earlier, the Supreme Court had decided a case[1] called Blake, where they held it was not permissible for the State to use Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test results as direct evidence of a driver’s alcohol concentration.  In the Lopresti decision, the Court reaffirmed its prior holding, and then provided direct guidance limiting the testimony of a police officer regarding HGN test results:

1.     Is it illegal to drive with marijuana in my system?

See Answer

2.      Do I need a lawyer if I am arrested for DUI marijuana?

See Answer

3.      What if I have a medical marijuana card?

See Answer

4.      Do I have to be high in order to be guilty of Marijuana DUI?