Arizona DUI defense attorney with a former judge and prosecutor

You get pulled over late at night, the officer asks you to step out, and the stop can turn into field sobriety tests, a breath, blood, or urine request, and a stack of papers you did not expect. That first hour matters because Arizona’s implied consent law under ARS 28-1321 already treats the request for chemical testing as part of the arrest process.

After the stop, the officer may serve an Admin Per Se affidavit if your BAC is 0.08% or above. That paper starts a 90-day administrative license suspension, separate from the criminal case, and gives you a temporary driving permit. If you do not act fast, the clock keeps running while you are still trying to understand what just happened.

This is where a DUI defense attorney can step in early. A DUI defense lawyer Arizona driver trust will look at the stop, the testing request, the affidavit, and the 15 day window to request an Arizona MVD hearing. If you wait, the suspension can take effect automatically on day 16, which is why the first call matters so much.

Arizona DUI cases also split into two tracks right away. One track is the MVD action against your license. The other is the criminal case in court, and both need attention at the same time if you want to protect yourself from license suspension, jail time, and the long reach of a conviction.

You are sitting at home the day after the arrest, staring at paperwork, and the next question is simple: where does this case go now? In Arizona, the answer depends on whether the charge is a misdemeanor DUI or an aggravated DUI felony.

Misdemeanor DUI cases, including standard DUI, extreme DUI, and super extreme DUI, are heard in municipal courts or justice courts depending on the arrest location. If the charge is aggravated DUI under ARS 28-1383, the case goes to county superior court. In Maricopa County, felony DUI cases are heard at Maricopa County Superior Court at 201 W Jefferson St in Phoenix.

That split matters because the courtroom changes the pace, the players, and the pressure. A DUI defense attorney arizona locals can call needs to know the local judges, the filing process, and the difference between a city court case and a felony case in superior court. Oliverson Law appears regularly in Maricopa County and Mohave County, including Mohave County Superior Court at 415 E Spring St in Kingman for felony matters.

If your arrest happened in Mesa, Surprise, or North Phoenix, the case may begin in a local court or justice court while the MVD process continues on its own. The county where the arrest happened decides a lot, but it does not change the need to respond quickly and carefully.

You drive home from work, then learn the officer has already started a license case against you. In Arizona, that can happen fast because the state uses implied consent under ARS 28-1321 and the MVD timeline starts almost right away.

If you refuse the chemical test, the consequences are severe. A first refusal brings an automatic 12 month license suspension. A second refusal within 84 months brings a 2 year suspension. If your BAC is 0.08% or above and the officer serves the Admin Per Se affidavit, you face a separate 90 day administrative suspension even before the criminal court decides anything.

That is why license suspension is often the first emergency after a DUI arrest. You have 15 days to request an MVD hearing, and if you do that on time, your driving privileges continue until the hearing decision. If you miss the deadline, the suspension starts automatically on day 16.

A DUI defense lawyer can help you understand what the MVD is doing and what the court case is doing. The two systems do not wait for each other, so the smartest move is to answer both at once.

You remember the stop, but not every detail, and now the report says the evidence is against you. A DUI defense attorney does not start with a guess. The case starts with the traffic stop, the test, the paperwork, and the exact sequence the officer followed.

Arizona DUI defense often focuses on the Fourth Amendment stop, the Intoxilyzer 8000, the 15 minute observation period, and blood draw chain of custody. If the officer needed reasonable suspicion but acted on a hunch, that can matter. If the breath machine was not properly calibrated or maintained, BAC results can be challenged. If the officer did not observe you for 15 continuous minutes, that can also matter.

Blood cases need their own review. From the draw site to the lab, the sample has to be handled correctly. Delays, bad storage, or breaks in the chain of custody can change how the evidence is viewed. A DUI defense attorney arizona clients hire will often look at both the criminal file and the MVD file because one weakness can affect both tracks.

People often ask what a DUI lawyer costs, but the better question is what the defense can save. A case that starts with strong facts and careful review can affect jail time, license suspension, and how long a DUI stays on your record if the charge is not handled well.

You wake up worried, your phone is full of missed calls, and the arrest paperwork is still on the table. The first 48 hours are about protecting the two things the arrest threatens most: your license and your court case.

First, look at the date the Admin Per Se affidavit was served. That date controls the 15 day MVD hearing window. Second, collect every paper you got from the officer or jail. Third, write down what happened while it is still fresh, because details like the stop location, the testing request, and the officer’s timing can matter later.

This is also the right time to call a DUI defense lawyer Arizona families can reach before the deadline passes. The earlier a DUI defense attorney gets the file, the easier it is to review the stop, the test, and whether the state followed ARS 28-1321 and the testing rules tied to the case.

If you are worried about jail time or aggravated DUI, do not wait for the first court date to get answers. The first 48 hours are about action, not panic. That includes figuring out whether the case is misdemeanor or felony, whether the MVD is already moving, and whether the evidence can be challenged.

You are standing in a courtroom and every face looks serious. In that moment, it helps to know your lawyer has already sat on the bench, handled prosecutions, and worked in law enforcement. That is the kind of perspective Derek Oliverson brings to Arizona DUI defense.

Derek Oliverson founded Oliverson Law in 2009. He served as a police officer in Henderson, Nevada, worked as a criminal prosecutor in Mohave County, Arizona, and later presided as a judge at Page Magistrate Court and Glendale City Court. That background means he has seen how reports are written, how offers are made, and how cases are decided from the inside.

David Tangren adds prosecutorial experience of his own. Before joining Oliverson Law, he 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. Together, they bring criminal defense experience that is grounded in how Arizona cases actually move.

That matters in DUI defense because the state is not just asking whether you drove after drinking. It is asking for a conviction that can affect your license, your record, and your future. A team that knows the system from both sides can look harder at the stop, the evidence, and the pressure points in court.