Unfortunately, home detention will not be immediately available for DUIs in Scottsdale.  This is because the Scottsdale City Court must now secure a vendor/provider for the Home detention Program.  In other words, they will need time to properly set it up.  Consequently, the actual date that Home Detention will become available to people ordered to serve jail sentences remains uncertain.  However, a decent guess would be mid to late summer.

As an Arizona DUI Attorney, I feel obligated to continue posting breaking news on the Scottsdale Home detention program as it becomes available.  So, subscribe to our news feed or bookmark our web site and check it for updates.

It was a pleasure today to get my client’s DUI case resolved with a simple speeding ticket and unsafe lane change.  My client was happy.  However, he became more happy when the Judge told him he had never seen anything like this.  Specifically, that in addition to the DUI Charges being dismissed, the original criminal speed charge (a criminal offense) had even been reduced to civil speed.  (A civil violation).

One key to this result was working the case to its full potential.  I knew my client would have been happy if I got him a Reckless Driving.  However, I continued working on this case until we finally obtained the best result for my client.  This took a lot of time.  So, when you are looking for a DUI Attorney, make sure you find one that is committed to getting the best result for you not the one that will charge you the lowest price.

So, in addition to avoiding a month in jail and a criminal conviction, my client saved more than double my fee in money. This is why you do not go to court and plead guilty. This why you should hire a lawyer. Now, not every client gets all their charges dismissed but more often than not, I believe the client gets a better result with a properly experienced DUI lawyer.

Today, April 14, 2010, I will be calling another client to convey an offer I received from a prosecutor that will guarantee my client to get her extreme DUI dismissed and to serve only one day in jail. So my client saved 29 days in jail and close to twice what she paid to hire me.

The other day, April 10, 2010, I received an offer to dismiss all DUI Charges including a Super Extreme DUI (minimum sentence 45 consecutive days) in return for a reckless driving plea. My client accepted that offer happily. Again, my client saved more than double my fee and eliminated a substantial jail sentence.

I hope this information helps people when they are asking themselves should they hire a DUI Lawyer to defend them. DUI offenses are not hopeless situations. Be smart, at least consult with a lawyer about your case.

My opinion, as an Arizona DUI Attorney, is that Andrew Thomas’s resignation can only have a positive effect on Maricopa County and Citizen’s accused of crimes and DUIs in Maricopa County. I believe this because it appears Andrew Thomas was more interested in using the powers entrusted in him for political gain as opposed to gaining constitutional justice for all citizens.

Andrew Thomas’ chief ally is Sheriff Joe. In my opinion, any plotted acts between these two simply amounted to manipulative acts for personal and political gain. Andrew Thomas resigned so he could run for the office of Arizona Attorney General. Now, Sherriff Joe has announced he is considering leaving his office so he can run for Arizona Governor.

Andrew Thomas and Sherriff Joe have gone after county supervisors and judges. They appear to have very little reservations about their use of power when it came to county officials. You can only imagine the affect of their power on regular citizen’s accused of crimes. The elimination of Andrew Thomas as the head prosecutor in Maricopa County is one of the better things that happened in our county government this year. It will not make up for the recession, but it makes it easier to bear.

The ultimate affect on Arizona DUI cases and criminal cases is that hopefully, Maricopa County prosecutors in the trenches will be able to use their own discretion and apply justice as they see appropriate as opposed to being stuck to Andrew Thomas’ policies of what Justice is. This should ultimately result in better case resolutions as opposed to some punitive campaign driven by Andrew Thomas’ version of Justice likely driven by political gain. His version has allegedly resulted in the FBI stepping in to investigate him due to his prosecution of Maricopa County officials, i.e, abuse of power.

A member of the panel recommending a replacement to the County Board of Supervisors indicated they hope to get somebody that is able to better deal with the large diverse county. According to the Maricopa County Attorney web site, it is responsible for handling crime in the third largest county in the U.S. It looks like it is time for The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to step into the 21st Century. The only way this can go bad is if Andrew Thomas actually wins the election for Arizona Attorney General.

The Scottsdale City Council may approve Home Detention on April 27, 2010. This would allow some people convicted of DUI in Scottsdale to serve a portion of their jail sentence in a Home Detention Program. If approved, a Home Detention Program in Scottsdale could be available this summer.

This is great news for people charged with Extreme DUI sentences or second offense DUI in the Scottsdale City Court. If the Home Detention Program becomes available this summer, this means some people serving jail sentences longer than 15 days will not have to sweat out the remaining portions of their sentences in Sherriff Joe’s Tent City.

Arizona Law Permits Home Detention After The First 15 Days Of A Jail Sentence

Currently, Arizona Law requires people serve 15 days of their sentence in jail prior to being eligible to serve the remaining portion of their sentence in a home detention program. The minimum Jail sentence for a First Offense Extreme DUI is 30 consecutive days in jail and 180 days for a second offense Super Extreme DUI. So, people facing these types of jail sentences can take advantage of the home detention program because the sentences require more than 15 days in jail.

Other Home Detention Benefits For Arizona DUIs

Aside from not having to serve the remaining portion of your sentence in jail, there are other benefits to Home Detention. For example, most people serving a second offense DUI sentence may have their driver’s license revoked during the time they are serving their jail sentence. So, obtaining a ride to and from work will likely be much easier if you are asking for a ride from your home than from the County Jail, which is located in vicinity of Durango and 32^nd Street.

Another benefit of home detention is the amount of money people will save on paying jail costs. Arizona DUI Law requires people convicted of DUI to pay their jail costs. The Maricopa County jail charges Scottsdale $192.00 for the first day of jail and $72.00 for every subsequent day. Under this formula, a 30 day jail sentence would cost $2,280.00 and $13,080.00 for a 180 day sentence. I have had some clients pay less than $18.00 a day for home detention. Obviously, the savings could be tremendous.

Additional Requirements For Home Detention In Arizona

Other requirements for home detention are that the person cannot have a history of violence or domestic violence nor pose a danger to the community. A hard phone line is also required. The person must also have a job in Maricopa County. It is estimated that over half of the people convicted of DUI in Scottsdale would be eligible for home detention.