Assault Lawyer in Tempe, AZ

Start with the badge on the report. Inside city limits most calls go to Tempe Police, and a misdemeanor assault from that department is prosecuted by the Criminal Division of the Tempe City Attorney's Office, which the city also calls the Prosecutor's Office. Its charges come from state law or the city code, as long as the conduct happened in Tempe, and the case is heard in Tempe Municipal Court at 140 E. Fifth Street.

Two other badges change the route. A fight on an Interstate 10 or Loop 202 ramp can bring a DPS trooper, and a Sheriff's deputy can answer some calls, and a misdemeanor either one investigates can be assigned to a Maricopa County justice court rather than Tempe's. Arizona State University also runs its own police department, whose officers hold state peace officer certification and whose dispatchers cover every campus, so the officer at a campus incident may wear an ASU patch. In every version, the court named on your citation or summons is the one that counts.

If the report alleges more than a simple assault, the city drops out. Aggravated assault is a felony because the State has alleged one of the circumstances listed in A.R.S. 13-1204, and felonies are charged by the County Attorney and heard in Superior Court. That track has its own page (see Tempe aggravated assault).

Booked after the fight? Tempe Police list a Detention Facility in their directory. On a felony booking into the county jail, the first judge sits at the county's 24-hour Intake, Transfer and Release facility on 28th Drive. Under Rule 4.1, no more than 24 hours may pass between arrest and that hearing without release. That first hearing sets release terms, and they can include an order to stay away from the other person and the place where it happened.

Many Tempe assault cases never involve handcuffs. An officer can hand over a citation and let you leave, and Tempe's court guidance makes the date on that ticket your arraignment. Or the officer can send a report up for a charging decision, and a complaint arrives later by mail. A few silent weeks after a police contact can mean the decision is still pending.

The person across the table at the courthouse works for the city, not for you. The prosecutor's job is to prove the State's case. Pointing out which part of the report is thin, or how a guilty plea to assault could surface in a student conduct review or a fingerprint clearance application years later, is your lawyer's work.

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 misdemeanor assault on your record can reappear when an employer screens applicants, when a licensing board or a university reviews conduct, when you try to buy a firearm or during an immigration review, depending on the charge and your status. And the same report that produced a city citation can later be reviewed for a felony, which makes the first weeks of a Tempe assault case worth taking seriously.

When the city case turns into a felony. A county prosecutor can review the same report, and a serious injury claim or an object described as a weapon can move the case to Superior Court downtown. Confirm the building on your current notice. Felony cases can carry a dangerousness allegation under A.R.S. 13-704, and if it is found, prison is mandatory.