There are more complications when dealing with someone who lives in another state and especially someone who has a license in another state that is not able to or not willing to trade in that out of state license for an Arizona license. Regardless of what their home state would require, if the person has been convicted of a DUI out of Arizona, they are required to follow the punishments and requirements out of Arizona. A lot of times it means ignition interlock devices. A lot of other states do not necessarily require ignition interlock devices, there are some states that allow for diversion on a DUI, there are some states that allow for deferred prosecution on a DUI. Arizona is not one of them.
Regardless of what the other state would require if a person is convicted of a DUI out of Arizona, they have to follow the requirements of their sentence out of Arizona and if they ignore it, at some point it will catch up to them. People have called me to say that, “I was convicted of a DUI ten years ago and all of a sudden my home state is saying that I can’t reinstate my license”. It is because eventually it caught up to them, that at some point they will have to reinstate their home driver’s license and at that point, the home state is going to check to see if there are any issues in any other states with that driver and if they see, “Oh, yes, this person was supposed to have an ignition interlock device out of Arizona and they never did it!”
Now the home state is not going to issue them a license until they satisfy all the other states. A lot of problems come about when someone is arrested for being suspected of DUI because Arizona will notify the person’s home state wherever they have their driver’s license out of to tell the person that one of theirs was arrested under suspicion of DUI in Arizona. Sometimes there is something lost in translation and the home state will interpret it that the person was convicted of a DUI in Arizona even though Arizona told them that it was simply a suspicion of DUI or simply an arrest for DUI. The home state may take actions to suspend a person’s license for the wrong reasons and sometimes that does require that the person hire an attorney in their home state to talk to the Motor Vehicle Division to show them that this was not a conviction out of Arizona, this was simply a suspicion of driving under the influence that the license in the home state should not be suspended.
Something else that we see quite often when dealing with out of state people is that once the person has been arrested in Arizona, Arizona contacts their home state and tells the home state, “One of your people was arrested for DUI out here. Maybe you want to suspend their license”. If the Motor Vehicle Division or Department of Motor Vehicles in the other state decides to suspend the person’s home license, there comes a point where everything has been satisfied for Arizona, everything has been satisfied for the home state but Arizona will point to the home state and say, “The home state has to reinstate your license before we are willing to reinstate your privilege and then the home state will point to Arizona and say, “Arizona has to reinstate your privilege first before we are willing to reinstate your license”. So it becomes two states pointing fingers at each other saying, “No, you have to go first” and it can be a big headache.
What If Someone Cannot Afford An Ignition Interlock Device?
If they cannot afford to get the ignition interlock device installed, then they cannot afford to drive. It is a requirement that is not something that can be waited out. There used to be certain exceptions to the ignition interlock device requirement. It used to be possible to have an ankle monitor for one year instead of an ignition interlock device for one year. Very rare, I am not sure if anyone really jumped on board that, the whole idea of let us wear an ankle monitor for an entire year rather than using an ignition interlock device every time they decide to drive. It was an option for about two years and then the legislature decided to write it out of law. Literally, there is no way to get around that ignition interlock device requirement unless you never drive again.
For more information on Out Of State Driver Issues, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling 480-900-0384 today.
