Phoenix DUI arrests: The St. Patrick's Day Numbers

Posted on March 19, 2009 by Dan Jaffe
Approximately 150 DUI arrests in the Phoenix metro area were reported for the St. Patrick's day sweep. This was roughly one-half of the total for the state. According to the article quoted below, it took 300 Arizona DUI officers to arrest 276 people in Arizona for DUI.

148 arrested in St. Paddy's DUI sweep: "Valley officers made nearly 150 DUI arrests on St. Patrick's Day as part of a five-day task force sweep targeting drunk drivers. The 148 arrests on the holiday accounted for nearly half the arrests made during the entire sweep. The St. Patrick's Day Task Force involved over 300 officers and deputies from the Department of Public Safety, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, and at least eight police departments, and resulted in 276 total arrests on suspicion of driving under the influence."

Given that St. P's day was mid-week this year, these numbers are not surprising.
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When Arizona Police don't take no for an answer

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Dan Jaffe
DUI Lawyer Allen Trapp did a blog post that caught my attention because it involves the city where I live and work, Scottsdale, Arizona. While we don't discuss celebrity DUI cases on this blog unless there is some educational value, Mr. Trapp brings up an excellent point about Arizona DUI Law. Here's a quote from his post:

Charles Barkley - A Forced Blood Draw: Barkley declined to submit to a breath test but was given a blood test, which is common in Arizona where the police don’t just take ‘No’ for an answer. 

(Via Georgia DUI Blog.)

I agree with the statement "police don't just take "No" for an answer on many levels, but want to explain how the process works in Scottsdale DUI cases. Scottsdale defaults to blood, which means that they always request a blood test. The preliminary breath test (PBT) may be offered, but is not admissible into evidence, and the refusal to take it can't be held against a person. What I presume Barkley refused was the PBT. Now if a person refuses to take a blood test in Scottsdale, the police don't have to, and usually do not take no for an answer. Instead, they seek a search warrant and the forcibly draw blood if necessary.
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