That depends on the laws of the state where they received a DUI in and how those courts and defense lawyers handle that type of charge. Being an Arizona attorney, I have no knowledge of how other states handle their cases; the only time I look at an out-of-state prior is if there was a conviction, to see if a conviction in that other state correlates to an Arizona conviction on a DUI offense.
What Should I Do If I am Arrested Charged and Detained Out-of-state?
It depends on what happened after the arrest, such as if they were actually booked into custody or if they were released. If they were released, they will be given a citation and a court date and told how important it is to contact an attorney as soon as possible; hopefully while they are still in Arizona. If they don’t have an order telling them to remain in the state, they can go home, but as soon as they get home, they should contact a local Arizona attorney to assist them. Depending on the court, most of the time when people from outside the state contact me, I can handle most, if not all, court dates without them; I can show up on their behalf, they can stay home and they can continue working.
Those from out-of-state who are booked into jail will see a judge, who will give them their release conditions, which may be pretrial services, or they may have to post a bond, or thy may be released on their own recognizance. Sometimes, their release conditions include not being allowed to leave the state without permission of the court. People have to acknowledge and review their release conditions because they don’t want to violate the terms of their release; that’s why it’s so important to contact a local attorney to assist them with their pending charges to make sure that they are doing everything necessary to make sure that a warrant is not issued and to make sure things go smoothly in the court system.
If someone from California got a DUI in Arizona and went back home to California, they shouldn’t hire a California lawyer; that won’t help them; they need to get in touch with an Arizona attorney and I would recommend that they do the research and find an Arizona attorney who focuses on DUI defense. They may ultimately have to contact a lawyer from their home state, but usually not; lawyers don’t usually cross state lines; when they are admitted to practice law, it will usually be in one state. If you are from California and got a DUI in Arizona, you’ll probably spend a lot of money on a private lawyer in California, who will then probably just act as a middleman, take their cut and contact an Arizona lawyer to represent you; there is no reason for someone to spend all that money for what is basically a referral.
DUI lawyers tend to represent people only in their state. There are some states that are so close to each other that sometimes attorneys will go over those state lines if they are permitted to practice in that other state, but we’re talking about Maricopa County, Arizona, which is where I practice and we’re pretty much right in the middle of the state, so I don’t practice in any states other than Arizona.
Do Out-of-state DUIs Mostly Happen to People Driving on Business or Leisure?
Some people are out here on business trips, but this being more of a destination place, especially in the winter, a lot of people are here for golf. Last year, people came out here for the Phoenix Open and Super Bowl, but we’re also a business destination; people come out here to talk with clients and go out for drinks. The reasoning isn’t necessarily relevant, it’s just a matter of whether someone was charged and what the facts of their case are, not necessarily the reasons for being here, but we do get quite a lot of people that were just here visiting.
There’s a saying in Arizona that’s used in quite a few places around the United States; “Come for vacation, leave on probation.” Unfortunately, it does happen quite a bit but if you have the right lawyers, things can go a lot smoother with as few hiccups and problems as possible.
Do Out-of-state DUIs happen with Rental Cars As Well?
They do. We get a lot of rental car DUIs, unfortunately sometimes including accidents involving rental cars; there can be issues with that but usually it all works out. Sometimes the rental car company will pick up their vehicle; once someone is arrested, because their physical Arizona license is taken away, they will have a problem getting a rental car. However, if a person comes from another state and they rent a car here, Arizona officers on occasion improperly take away someone’s out-of-state driver’s license. In theory, if they are arrested for a DUI, their out-of-state license is handed back to them, which means they can then take their out-of-state license and rent another rental car and the rental car company probably would not know they had just been arrested for a DUI or has a pending DUI case.
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