A witness who makes an inconsistent statement on the witness stand that goes against prior statements can and should be subject to impeachment by a defense attorney during cross-examination. The defense attorney can then argue that the witness should not be believed because they made inconsistent... View More

Now would probably be a better time than any other that I can think of. The court system is trying to keep people out of jail at the moment, and therefore they may be more likely to reinstate you on probation than to revoke it. Of course, that is assuming all other things being equal. More... View More

When there is a conflict of interest with the Public Defender's Office, then an attorney from the Legal Defender's Office will usually be appointed. The Legal Defender's Office also provides court-appointed attorneys to defendants who financially qualify. This is an issue that... View More

A prohibited possessor is defined under Arizona law in ARS 13-3101 as someone who is not lawfully allowed to possess a "firearm." A firearm is defined by that same law as follows: "any loaded or unloaded handgun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or other weapon that will expel, is... View More

Assuming that somebody is convicted of a crime, it is up to the judge to impose the sentence. Depending on the defendant's criminal history, there will be a sentencing range that the judge must follow. Within that sentencing range, the defense attorney and the prosecutor can both try to... View More

Arizona has different sentencing schemes for different crime classifications. One type of crime is called a "dangerous" offense. A dangerous offense is defined by Arizona Statute 13-705 as, "an offense involving the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or... View More

A lawyer would have to look into the specific facts of this situation to see what is going on. In general, if you give evidence to the court it may have become part of the record, which could explain why the court still has the DVD.

There is a state and federal statute of limitations for criminal offenses. The general Arizona statute of limitations for felonies is 7 years. The general statute of limitations for federal crimes is five years. These time limits can vary depending on the exact crime at issue. Beyond this... View More

The officer can still testify as to his observations. He is subject to cross-examination by the defense counsel. If there is a legitimate question as to whether the purse ever existed, that's something that could be argued at trial if a defense counsel, after reviewing the evidence in the... View More

There are no guarantees as to what will increase or decrease jail time. Arguments to "aggravate" or "mitigate" a sentence can be made by the defense attorney and the prosecutor, and the judge will ultimately make the decision. If your defense attorney can successfully show... View More

An attorney would need to look at the docket for your case and see what type of court hearing you have. It's hard to say with the current information provided.

As to the first part of your question: A general criminal law principle known as the corpus delicti rule provides that a confession, standing alone, isn’t enough for a conviction. The rule is designed to prevent wrongful convictions, and originates from the phenomenon of false confessions.... View More

This is correct, there is a general statute of limitations for felonies in Arizona of 7 years. However, as pointed out above, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, A.R.S. 13-107(A) states, " A prosecution for any homicide, any conspiracy to commit homicide that results in the death... View More

I agree-- contacting the Arizona Supreme Court should easily answer this question. "ME" often stands for "Minute Entry" which is a description of events that occurred during a court proceeding.

Contacting the Arizona Supreme Court will be able to answer this question. It sounds like "ME" stands for "Minute Entry" and "PCR" stands for "Post-Conviction Relief" which is one of the avenues of appeal of a criminal case.

I agree with Mr. Divelbiss. Whether somebody can be charged with fraud depends on the entire facts of the case. If you believe that you are the victim of a crime, then you should contact your local law enforcement agency and report it.

According to the AZ Court's website and "IS" code stands for "Interstate Compact Criminal." You can find a list of the different court codes here: https://www.azcourts.gov/courtservices/Automation-Services-Unit/Code-Standardization-GJ

Interstate Compact is the... View More

If a defendant is facing charges for simple possession of dangerous drugs, then that is a class 4 felony under ARS 13-3407 (the statute that prohibits possession of dangerous drugs). Because the crime was committed in violation of parole, he would be looking at a sentencing enhancement under ARS... View More

When the police write their report (the "departmental report" or DR) for a felony case, they submit the paperwork to the prosecutor and they will suggest certain charges be filed. This is known as a "long form" submittal. Once the prosecutor receives the long form submittal,... View More

As you are probably already aware, violation of Arizona's open container law (A.R.S. 4-251) is a class 2 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $750 and up to 4 months in jail. As a practical matter, I have not seen a violation of the open container law result in jail time, but it is... View More