Reckless Driving Lawyer in Tempe, AZ

Inside the city limits, a reckless driving or racing citation usually comes from Tempe Police. The department's Traffic Section enforces state and local traffic laws, and its Night Traffic Squad focuses on nighttime safety, with addressing street racing named among its duties. That squad works the hours when many of these stops happen, which means darkness, lighting and distance can matter to what an officer could actually see.

A Tempe Police misdemeanor is prosecuted by the Criminal Division of the Tempe City Attorney's Office and heard at Tempe Municipal Court, 140 E. Fifth Street, which handles misdemeanor and criminal traffic cases from inside the city. A state trooper on a freeway works under a different agency, and that case can be assigned to a county justice court instead. Look at the court printed on your citation before planning anything.

The car can be towed before the case starts. Tempe's Vehicle Impound Unit lists reckless driving and racing on highways among the violations covered by the state's 20-day tow law, alongside revoked licenses and the felony DUI tiers. The unit's page gives a Post Storage Hearing Message Line, 480-350-8465, for owners who want a hearing on the impound. That hearing concerns the vehicle, not guilt, and the criminal charge goes on separately.

Your ticket may mix civil and criminal counts. Tempe Municipal Court lists three ways to handle a civil traffic ticket: the defensive driving program, a plea of responsible, or a plea of not responsible. Reckless driving, racing and criminal speeding are not civil. A criminal count has an arraignment on the date printed on the citation, and paying it the way you would pay a civil fine means pleading to a crime. The court also notes that when one ticket lists several charges, defensive driving can address only one eligible charge.

Two charges in this family are felonies. Unlawful flight from a pursuing police vehicle is a class 5 felony. Racing again inside the 24 months that follow a first racing conviction is a class 6 felony. Those cases generally go to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, where the Vehicular Crimes Bureau's caseload includes reckless drivers, and they are heard in Superior Court downtown. Someone booked into the county jail on one of them sees a judge first at Intake, Transfer and Release, 2670 S. 28th Dr., Phoenix, within the 24 hours Rule 4.1 allows.

Do not assume the court will appoint you a lawyer. Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 6.1(b) entitles an indigent defendant to appointed counsel in a proceeding that may result in punishment by loss of liberty. In misdemeanor court, the prosecutor can avow that no jail will be requested and the judge can rule that no jail will be imposed, and once that happens, there is no right to appointed counsel at all. Arizona's Court of Appeals upheld exactly that in Campa v. Fleming, 134 Ariz. 330 (App. 1982), on a class 1 misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail, for a defendant who was on probation and facing immigration consequences.

Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. A reckless driving or racing conviction is reported to MVD and can bring a suspension. It can also act as a prior that raises the next driving charge, and it can cost a job that requires a clean driving record. If you are not a U.S. citizen, get immigration advice before any plea.