Criminal Traffic Lawyer in Scottsdale, AZ

For a ticket with nothing but civil violations, Scottsdale City Court lists three paths: pay it, take the Defensive Driving Class if you qualify, or ask for a hearing, and the court cautions that asking for a hearing may cost you the class. A civil ticket left unanswered can end in a default with added fees, a possible license suspension and a hold on vehicle registration, and unpaid balances can go to collections. Criminal counts are handled another way entirely. According to the court's civil traffic page, any citation that includes a criminal charge means appearing on the date and at the time set for arraignment, and the defendant is the one responsible for confirming that every charge was resolved.

The agency on the ticket picks the prosecutor. A criminal driving charge written by Scottsdale Police is prosecuted by the City Attorney's Prosecution Division, which includes traffic violations among the misdemeanors it handles, at the courthouse on 75th Street. Under the justice courts' own rule, tickets from state or county officers and some tribal police go to justice court, so a trooper's Loop 101 ticket may be heard at McDowell Mountain Justice Court. Felony driving charges, such as unlawful flight or DUI on a suspended license, belong to the County Attorney, or to the Arizona Attorney General in certain cases, and are heard in Superior Court downtown.

With a suspended license charge, the case often turns on why MVD suspended you. Under A.R.S. § 28-3473, a person whose privilege is suspended, revoked, canceled or refused commits a class 1 misdemeanor by driving on a public highway. The exception sits in § 28-3482: if the § 28-3308 suspension, imposed after a missed court appearance on a criminal traffic complaint or for fines left unpaid after appearing, is the only one in place, § 28-3482 classifies the driving as a civil traffic matter, and the judge may dismiss the charge on proof that your unrestricted privilege has been restored. Since the court's civil page says a civil default may also lead to a suspension, and the notice may not say which law applies, the MVD record is the first document we pull.

A tow starts its own timeline at the city's Vehicle Impound Unit, which lists a revoked license among its mandatory impound reasons; the FAQ below covers the hold, the contest window and the McKellips Station hearings. Under § 28-3482, a suspension resting only on a failure to appear is not grounds for impound, and the impound hearing is separate from the court case.

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). At Scottsdale City Court, the request for a public defender can be made at arraignment or at the pretrial conference, and the court looks at both the case (a prosecutor seeking jail, for example) and your finances.

Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. A criminal traffic conviction goes on your record, can start or lengthen a suspension, can push back a reinstatement date, and is visible to employers who rely on your driving. If you hold a commercial or professional license, or you are not a U.S. citizen, get advice before entering any plea.