Is It Possible to Reduce Your DUI Charge to a Lesser Offense?

Interviewer: How often do you get asked by people, “Can you get this DUI knocked down to reckless driving? Can you just get my case dismissed?” How often do you get asked that? Is that realistic at all?

Brian: Honestly, I think every client wants his or her case to be dismissed. They do not want to deal with the DUI. They don’t want to deal with the social ramifications of a DUI, and the punishment it entails. Potentially, people can face a very harsh punishment for any DUI conviction. It is possible.

Dismissing Your DUI Charge

Dismissal is less likely, but if you have the right attorney, if you have someone with experience who knows what they’re doing, it becomes more likely that a dismissal is a potential outcome in the case. It’s also possible to get evidence suppressed, which may ultimately result in a de facto dismissal. If the attorney is able to get all the evidence suppressed, there’s nothing for the prosecutor to go forward on, and all of a sudden the case goes away.

Reducing the DUI Charge Is More Likely If It Is a Misdemeanor Charge

Reducing it down to reckless driving, in a misdemeanor case, is definitely much more viable than with a felony case. The problem is that Arizona law says that a DUI is not supposed to be dismissed unless it is factually insufficient.

There are certain city courts that read that very strictly, and they will not give a reckless driving in lieu of a DUI in any situation. Phoenix is one of those courts. They will not give you a reckless driving. They would rather dismiss a case than plead out a reckless driving. In other cities, it is possible.

How Your Defense Attorney Works to Reduce the DUI Charge

There are a lot of factors to consider. Those include if there are any good legal issues in the case, any good factual issues in the case, depending on what the blood alcohol content is, occasionally, rarely, depending on the person himself. I’ve had situations representing police officers. Sometimes that can be a factor. This also applies for college students. One time I represented a man who had a very rare blood type and if he were to spend any time in custody, he would not be available to the scientific community to test his blood. There’s some medical issue where he was a rare asset to the scientific community and he would not be able to partake in that if he were incarcerated. So we were able to make sure that he was not incarcerated.

Interviewer: That’s an interesting defense. That’s very unusual.

Brian: There are different things that come up with each different client. Every case is unique. Every DUI is different. I’ve done probably 2,100 of them at this point. I’ve seen 2,100 police reports, and rarely are any of them exactly the same. You need someone who knows what they’re looking for and that focuses on DUI and can consider everything that’s in the police report, including the hidden details that other attorneys might miss.

Different Cities in Arizona Are Less or Not at All Likely to Reduce Your DUI Charge

Interviewer: So we talked about possibly reducing to reckless driving or getting the case dismissed, and I don’t want ask you which cities that’s most likely to happen, but how about which cities it’s least likely to happen? Can you say that? Have you seen that it’s rare? Like you said, Phoenix will never reduce a DUI to reckless. Are there any other cities that will never dismiss a case or never reduce?

Brian: Phoenix will never do it. The city of Phoenix, which is the largest city court, they refuse to do it. They read the law very strictly and will not reduce down a DUI to a reckless driving. All the other cities are open to it under the right legal and factual scenarios.

By Brian Douglas Sloan

Call me today for an
‘In Depth’ Free Consultation

Brian Douglas Sloan

DUI ATTORNEY


Why Attorney Brian Douglas Sloan?
Phoenix DUI Lawyer

Why Attorney Brian Douglas Sloan?

18+

18+ Years SOLELY Focused on DUI Defense

4,100+

4,100+ DUIs Successfully Defended

Top Accolades

  • Only DUI "Power Lawyer" in the Nation Featured in USA Today, 2022

  • Top 10 in Arizona

Top 1%

Top One Percent in the Nation

Superb 10/10

AVVO.com

Preeminent
4.9 / 5.0

Martindale-hubble

“I am one of only a handful of Phoenix DUI Lawyers that focuses solely on DUI Defense representation.”

I have spent my entire career focused on DUI Defense representation, having personally defended more than 4,100+ DUI clients in the past 18+ years.

If you’re looking for a divorce attorney, tax attorney, or civil attorney, then I can comfortably say: "I’m not the one for you".

Coming up with traditional, as well as outside-the-box motions and defenses for my clients, often with good results, is the hallmark of my practice.

Lawyers that say they are "aggressive", or "will fight for you", are a dime a dozen. They use these phrases because that is what they think people want to hear. The truth of the matter is, being "aggressive" rarely gets the client anywhere in these court systems. Being "aggressive" isn’t the same as being good, and is often used to put on a show for a client to hide the fact that they aren’t doing anything meaningful for the client.

The same is true for the lawyers that claim to do DUI Defense... and Criminal Cases..., and Accident cases..., and Divorces. A Jack-of-all-Trades is a master of none. By handling all different sorts of cases, they take away from their ability to truly focus on DUIs, and keep up to date on the latest changes in DUI Defense Representation.

What I offer is intelligent, quality DUI Defense, at an exceptional price.

I am one of only a handful of Arizona DUI Lawyers that focuses solely on DUI Defense representation.

I have not only taught other lawyers how to do DUI Defense Representation at statewide seminars, but I produce DUI Legal Guides used by defense lawyers across Arizona.

I am one of the most award-winning DUI Defense Lawyers in Arizona; have been recognized nationally, including in a 2022 issue of USA Today; and there are only a few lawyers in Arizona who have personally defended more DUI cases than I have. I am also one of the most reasonably-priced DUI Lawyers, as I pride myself on charging a Flat Rate only for the legal services you need, and not for the legal services you don’t.

I am also the lawyer who people call once they realize that their original lawyer screwed something up, gave them false hope or false promises, or simply just took their money and didn’t do much on the case. You would be surprised at how often this happens.

Save yourself the trouble of hiring the wrong lawyer, and hire the right DUI Defense Lawyer from the start.

You can reach me on my personal cell phone: 480-720-7839.

Let me know if you have any questions!


Brian Douglas Sloan

DUI Attorney

Free Initial
Consultation

Email address:
Sloan@ArizDUI.com
2 N. Central Ave Suite 1929
Phoenix, AZ 85004