Arizona Criminal Laws

Free Case Evaluation in Phoenix

Jared, at AM Law, what is a free case evaluation? That’s a good question. We have people ask that all the time when they call in to talk to us. They want to know, “Is free really free?” and the answer is absolutely yes.

At AM Law, we will talk to any individual, any prospective client that calls us about a criminal matter, or some type of legal matter that we’re able to help them with. We’ll sit down with them, or we’ll talk to them over the phone, whatever’s convenient for them and we’ve met whether it be at our office, or a Starbucks, or a potential client’s home, we’re willing to do that and talk to you about your case and look at any information you may have already been given, whether it’s a police report, or a citation and try to give you an idea of how the case is going to proceed from that point and the type of work that we can do in a case like that and especially the type of experience we may have in a case like that and talk a little bit about the value and the benefits of having an attorney on your case at various stages of a pending matter. So, when we talk about a free case evaluation at AM Law, we are absolutely talking about time that you do not have to pay for.

By: Jared Allen

What made you decide to switch from being a prosecutor to becoming a defense attorney?

When I left the prosecutor’s office, I had been a prosecutor for almost (6) six years and during that time I had handled every type of case from a low-level misdemeanor offense all the way up to very serious high-level felony offenses. And during my time as a prosecutor, I found myself to be interested in the practice of criminal defense law from the standpoint of working with defendants. Really getting a chance to advocate for the person who stands before the court accused of that crime and I was fortunate enough to work with some excellent criminal defense attorneys during that time, who really demonstrated for me at least the amount you can accomplish for a client who’s facing such a tough situation. So when the opportunity presented itself to begin our firm, it was just natural for both of us to move into the area of criminal defense, since it allowed us to utilize all of the skills, techniques that we had learned as prosecutors, however, to put them to use for individuals who have been charged for these crimes and really deal with the personal aspect of the criminal justice system.

By: Steven Meyerand

Aggravated assault is a serious felony offense. It involves an assault under special circumstances are involving a particular person or party. Example would be, using a dangerous weapon or dangerous instrument during an assault, such as a knife or a firearm, can subject you to aggravated assault charges. Causing any sort of serious physical injury to another during an assault, such as broken bones or other disfigurement can also result in felony aggravated assault charges. In addition, simple assaults against a particular person, such as a police officer, or a firefighter, or an EMT can result in aggravated assault felony charges. Felony charges are serious business. It can impact your ability to get a job. It can impact your ability to have a firearm. It can also impact your ability to vote. If you or a family member have been charged with a serious felony aggravated assault, you need legal help today. Feel free to give me a call at (480) 994-8824 or you can contact me at my email.

If you’ve been charged with aggravated assault in Arizona, view a profile and complete a contact form.

By: Attorney Max Hanson

My name is Max Hanson. I’m an Arizona attorney and I practice primarily in criminal defense and family law. Well one, I’ve been doing this for seventeen years here in Arizona. I’ve basically appeared in almost every court in the state, including every county and superior court in the state and probably most of the little tiny courts. I believe in being upfront and honest with clients from the get go. I tell clients I’m a straight shooter and I really believe in that. They need to know what the risks are and what the benefits are to any particular goal or path they want to pursue as far as a case or in litigation. The client should expect that I’m going to work hard for them, that I’m going to put in the effort and time it takes to resolve a case. I try to be effective for clients and by effective I mean, not only doing what needs to be done as far as the work and working hard for them, but doing that in a way that is the most effective both cost and time effectiveness. I’d like to be perceived by my clients as honest, reliable and effective for them. Basically, all of the things they’d really like to have in an attorney that nobody thinks they have.

The highest compliment I ever get from clients is, they tell me some sort of horrible lawyer joke or story that lawyers are awful, oh except for you. When you come in to see me, your gonna come into my office and I’m going to point you to my bookshelf and you’re gonna see on that shelf, over the last twenty years, I have numerous thank you cards. Hand-written thank you cards from clients, thanking me for my service to them. They took the time to hand-write a thank you card and send it to me. I think that speaks about what type of practice I have and what type of lawyer I am and what I’ll do for you. If you’re running into legal problems or you need the advice of a legal professional, feel free to give me a call at my office at (480) 994-8824.

By: Max Hanson

Whether or not that you’ll be eligible for probation for a drug offense is going to be dependent on three factors. The type of drugs involved, the amount of drugs involved, and also whether there were any indicators that you had intent to sell the drugs involved. When were dealing with smaller amounts and certain drugs, such as marijuana, you may have a statutory right to probation for a first offense. If we’re dealing with a drug, such as methamphetamine, you’re likely going to be facing a jail term and not be eligible for probation, depending on the circumstances of the offense. Anytime that there’s an indication that there’s an intent to sell, you will not be eligible for probation for that type of offense. That’s why it’s important to have a strong, experienced attorney that has handled these types of cases. If you or a loved one have been charged with a drug offense and you have these questions, feel free to give me a call at (480) 994-8824 or email me.

To find out if you’re eligible for probation on a drug charge in Arizona, please contact an Arizona criminal attorney.

By: Attorney Max Hanson

Importance of Trial Experience in Phoenix

Is it important for a defense attorney to have actual experience in trial? I think it abolutely is. The shear volume of trials that we’ve done has provided us with tremendous experience, however, it’s really quality over quantity is how I look at it.

Both Steven and I have done very specific types of felony trials, misdemeanor trials, all the way down to citations and traffic offenses in our career as prosecutors and that’s translated to the same type of success that we had as prosecutors and now translated as defense attorney as well. When you’re familiar with how a courtroom is run, how juries respond to the type of information that’s being presented to them, that is valuable in not only presenting at trial, but in negotiating a resolution for your client.

One of the things we try to avoid at all costs is going to a trial, because we don’t want to put that decision in somebody else’s hands as to how this case is going to resolve. But, because we know how to do good trial work, we do good pre-trial work and we’re able to get the results we’d like to get after a trial at an earlier stage where the risk is much lower.

By: Jared Allen

If you are convicted of aggravated assault, this is a serious felony offense that you will not be eligible for probation upon conviction. You will face a significant prison term that can range anywhere between three to twenty-one years in prison. You will also face the possibility of paying fines up to $150,000 and it will have lasting significant impact on you, even upon release from prison as to your right to vote, as to your right to possess or use firearms and as to any future employment. Your employment will be limited by the fact that you have been convicted of a serious and dangerous felony offense. If you or a loved one are facing charges of aggravated assault or have been convicted of charges of aggravated assault and need help, please feel free to contact me at (480) 994-8824 or email me.

By: Attorney Max Hanson

Trial Cooperation

If witnesses refuse to cooperate with the police, will the case be dismissed? That’s a good question. I’d say it’s an urban legend that if a witness doesn’t want to prosecute, or doesn’t want to testify in a trial setting, then that case is going to be dismissed and we hear that at AM Law from clients in not just domestic violence cases, but cases in general.

We try to educate our clients based on our experience as prosecutors having had those difficulties in getting witnesses to trial, or getting witnesses to the interview prior to a trial. If you’re counting on that as your 100% sure fire way to get your case handled, then your most likely going to be disappointed with the result. We talk about the experience we had as prosecutors, because the power of the state is significant.

Court Subpoena

They can subpoena and compel witnesses to appear in court and that can be as aggressive as going out and arresting the individual that has said that they don’t want to come and testify or that they don’t want to prosecute the case and bring them before the court to testify more or less against their will. So, we try to explain to our clients that we want to build a defense that isn’t dependent on luck, or circumstances that are outside of our control.

Allen & Meyerand

We want to do what we can control here within these four walls. That involves using our experience to talk with prosecutors about potential results that would be beneficial for both parties and we see in domestic violence a lot of times that it is beneficial to have a counseling, or an anger management, or even a familial type of counseling resolution in lieu of having a conviction. That, often times, is enough for the behavior to not be repeated. And then obviously if the behavior is repeated, then there are more serious consequences down the line for those types of offenders.

By: Jared Allen