DUI Case Law

Case law is judge made. Statutes need to be interpreted, and the way the legislature authors statutes, it is not always easy to discern a clear meaning. That is where Judges come in.

The body of DUI case law is vast, and there are hundreds of cases in Arizona, and thousands of cases nationally that can impact a local court's decision in your drunk driving case.

For instance, the law says that it is illegal to be in "actual physical control" of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. But what does actual physical control (APC) mean? There are over ten cases in Arizona alone which attempt to define the meaning of APC, and reduce it down to an essence that can be placed into a jury instruction.

While case law is supposed to clarify issues of interpreting DUI statutes, sometimes it accomplishes just the opposite, or opens up a new question that then needs to be intrepreted.

Law students spend three years studying, pondering, disecting and debating judge made caselaw, and then practicing lawyers spend a lifetime reading and rereading the cases relevant to their area of law.

It is foolish to think that a non-lawyer can look at a body of case-law prescedent and determine what the law is. It takes practicing lawyers years to learn the nuances.

Most DUI lawyers will tell you that it is dangerous for non-lawyer DUI defendants to start studying the actual cases, because they invariably interpret them to fit their best interest. It is a lawyer's job to interpret cases and then argue that their apply to their client's best interest. However, it is also the lawyer's function to be objective and tell the client when the case law does not support their position.

While case law is important, my experience in Arizona DUI cases is that pure advocacy in front of a Judge or Jury is the single most important factor in winning an Arizona DUI case.