An aggravated DUI attorney in Arizona defends clients accused under Arizona Revised Statutes 28-1383 of a felony-level DUI. Oliverson Law DUI & Criminal Defense combines judicial, prosecutorial, and law enforcement experience across Maricopa and Mohave counties. Call (480) 582-3637 for a free case evaluation.
Aggravated DUI in Arizona is charged under Arizona Revised Statutes 28-1383. A DUI becomes aggravated — a felony rather than a misdemeanor — when specific statutory circumstances apply. Those include, among others, a DUI committed while the defendant’s driver license is suspended, canceled, revoked, or refused; a DUI that is the defendant’s third or subsequent DUI within 84 months; a DUI committed while a person under fifteen is in the vehicle; or a DUI committed while an ignition interlock is required.
Aggravated DUI is a felony, and the specific class and sentencing range depend on which subsection of ARS 28-1383 applies. Sentencing is governed by ARS 13-702 (first-offense felony sentencing) and ARS 13-703 (category one or two repetitive offenders). Because each of those variables — prior-conviction counts, the 84-month lookback under ARS 28-1381, license status at the time of the stop, and others — is independently contestable, the State’s case is rarely as straightforward as the charging document suggests.
Aggravated DUI cases also have parallel MVD consequences under Arizona’s implied consent framework (ARS 28-1321) and an administrative 15-day window to request a hearing. The criminal and administrative tracks run at the same time and require coordinated defense.
Arizona’s criminal process moves quickly, and the decisions made in the first 48 to 72 hours after an arrest shape the rest of the case. The exact timeline depends on the charge and the court, but most Arizona cases follow the same four stages.
If you are arrested, Rule 4.1 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure requires that you be brought before a judge for an Initial Appearance within 24 hours. That is when release conditions — bond, own-recognizance release, or pretrial detention — are set. Having counsel in place before the Initial Appearance can directly affect the conditions the court orders.
Felony arraignments in Superior Court and misdemeanor arraignments in city or justice court are where the charges are formally read and a plea is entered. A not-guilty plea at arraignment preserves every defense and triggers the State’s disclosure obligations under Rule 15.
This is the stage where most criminal cases are decided. Motions to suppress evidence, motions challenging the charging instrument, and review of police reports, body camera video, and witness statements all happen here. A successful suppression motion can end a case before trial.
Most Arizona criminal cases resolve through a negotiated plea, a diversion program, or dismissal after a successful defense motion. When trial is the right path, Rule 8 sets time limits the State must meet. Our approach is to prepare every case as if it is going to trial, because that preparation is what produces better plea offers.
An effective Arizona criminal defense is built around four questions: Was the State’s evidence lawfully obtained? Can the State prove every element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt? Are there affirmative defenses or justifications that apply? And what resolution produces the best long-term outcome for the client? Every case we take is worked through this framework.
Fourth Amendment issues are where many Arizona criminal cases break down. Traffic stops without reasonable suspicion, searches beyond the scope of consent, and warrantless home entries without exigent circumstances all create suppression arguments under ARS 13-3925 and the Fourth Amendment.
Chain of custody, lab testing protocols, officer credibility, body-camera gaps, and witness reliability are all challengeable. The State must prove every element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt — breaking any single element ends the prosecution.
Arizona recognizes self-defense under ARS 13-404, defense of a third person under ARS 13-406, defense of premises and property, necessity, duress, and mistake of fact. When the facts support it, we raise these defenses early and present them to the jury.
Our preferred resolution is always dismissal or diversion. When a plea is the right outcome, we negotiate from the leverage created by trial preparation. Prosecutors move their offers when they see a defense that is ready to go.
Oliverson Law was founded in 2009 by Derek Oliverson, who brings a career spanning law enforcement, prosecution, and the judiciary. He earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice (magna cum laude) from Southern Utah University and his J.D. with a concentration in litigation from Creighton University School of Law. He was admitted to the Arizona Bar in October 2009.
Before founding the firm, Derek served as a police officer in Henderson, Nevada, worked as a criminal prosecutor in Mohave County, Arizona, and presided as a judge at both Page Magistrate Court (overseeing adjudication of 3,000+ cases annually) and Glendale City Court (starting in 2012, overseeing 40,000+ cases annually). He left the bench in 2014 to focus on criminal defense.
Attorney David Tangren is a graduate of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law where he served as Note and Comment Editor on the International and Comparative Law Journal. Before joining Oliverson Law, David was a prosecutor at the Pima County Attorney’s Office, handling cases from misdemeanors through the felony trial team in the Property and Narcotics Bureau.
Oliverson Law handles aggravated DUI cases throughout Arizona from our main office at 60 E Rio Salado Pkwy, Suite 900, Tempe, AZ 85281. We appear regularly in Superior Court across Maricopa County and Mohave County.
Maricopa County Superior Court at 201 W Jefferson St, Phoenix handles all felony cases. Misdemeanor cases are heard in the 26 justice court precincts and municipal courts located throughout the county, including regional facilities in Mesa (222 E Javelina Ave), Surprise (14264 W Tierra Buena Ln), and North Phoenix (18380 N 40th St).
Mohave County Superior Court at 415 E Spring St in Kingman handles felony cases. Our founder Derek Oliverson began his legal career as a prosecutor in Mohave County and maintains direct familiarity with the local courts and procedures.
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Under ARS 28-1383, a DUI becomes aggravated when specific statutory circumstances apply, including a DUI committed while the defendant’s license is suspended, canceled, revoked, or refused; a third or subsequent DUI within 84 months; a DUI with a person under fifteen in the vehicle; or a DUI while an ignition interlock is required. Which subsection applies determines the felony class.
Yes. ARS 28-1383 is a felony statute. The specific class depends on which subsection applies. Sentencing is governed by ARS 13-702 (first offense) and ARS 13-703 (repetitive offenders). Unlike a standard first-offense DUI, aggravated DUI exposes the defendant to prison rather than jail.
ARS 28-1381 uses an 84-month (7-year) lookback to determine whether a DUI is a first or subsequent offense. The lookback runs from the date the prior offense was committed, not the date of conviction. A defense lawyer can sometimes challenge how the State calculates priors, which directly affects whether a case is charged as aggravated.
The administrative track runs under the implied consent framework in ARS 28-1321 and Arizona’s Admin Per Se statutes. You have 15 days from the date the Admin Per Se affidavit is served to request an MVD hearing. Missing that window results in automatic administrative suspension separate from the criminal case.
Sometimes, yes. Arizona prosecutors do negotiate reductions where the defense can disprove the aggravating element, challenge the stop or testing evidence, or identify other weaknesses. Reduction from felony aggravated DUI (28-1383) to standard or extreme misdemeanor DUI (28-1381 or 28-1382) significantly changes the sentencing exposure.
Oliverson Law’s team includes a former judge (Glendale City Court), former prosecutors (Mohave County and Pima County), and a former police officer. That combined experience on the charging, prosecuting, and judicial sides of Arizona DUI cases is what informs our defense strategy. We have been defending Arizona DUI and criminal charges since the firm was founded in 2009.
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Derek Oliverson has presided over thousands of cases from the bench, prosecuted criminal cases in Mohave County, and patrolled streets as a police officer. Now he uses that experience to defend you.
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