Arizona Criminal Laws

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

The legal limit to drive in Arizona without facing a DUI charge, as far as blood alcohol content, is a .08 or below. Then you’re within the legal limits if you’re a .08 or below. Above a .08, you’d be considered driving under the influence or DUI, but even if you’re under a .08 and within that safe range, you can still face a DUI charge if somehow alcohol or other drugs impaired your ability to drive in the slightest degree. So, if you’re involved in an accident after having a couple drinks, you can still be charged with DUI, even if your blood alcohol content is within that legal limit of .08. If you or a loved one have been charged with DUI, please give me a call at (480) 994-8824 or email me.

By: Attorney Max Hanson

Advantages of Criminal Law Practice

With that said, what in your view is the most rewarding thing about practicing criminal law. For me personally and I think for our firm, anytime you can get a client the result they want and for every case that’s going to be different. For some clients that means an acquittal after trial, for other clients it simply means the best deal they can get given their circumstances. But, when you get to that point in a case where you’ve been able to accomplish what the client wants and the client is not only happy with the result, but their relieved, their thankful, that as a criminal defense attorney is the most rewarding aspect, is knowing you’ve been able to walk hand in hand with someone through a process that is for many of our clients, something they’re experiencing for the first time and something that may be the most difficult thing they’ve ever faced. And to come through it on the other side with an outcome that they wanted, there is nothing more rewarding in the practice of law at all.

And speaking of cases, what kind of cases do you handle? At our firm, we handle a full range of criminal defense cases. Everything from speeding tickets all the way up to some of the most serious offenses you hear about on the news and everything in between. One of the areas we specialize in is DUI defense, but we also cover many other types of misdemeanors, such domestic violence offenses, violent crimes, drug offenses and all manner of felony offenses. So, we pride ourselves in being a full service criminal defense firm that can handle any type of criminal defense case that any of our clients might be facing.

By: Steven Meyerand

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

DUI Litigation Expertise

Steve, at AM Law, what is your experience in handling DUI cases? DUI cases are some of the most common cases that come up in the world of criminal defense. For me personally, while I was a prosecutor I handled hundreds of misdemeanor DUIs as a trial attorney and I finished my career at the Maricopa County attorneys office as a member of their vehicular crimes bureau, where my practice was dedicated solely to cases involving DUIs, or manslaughters, or homicides that involved an impaired driver. So, for me personally, I’ve handled thousands of cases involving DUIs and have focused my training and my practice as a prosecutor in handling those types of cases.

By: Steven Meyerand

Criminal assault in Arizona means that you’ve been charged with either physically injuring someone or even threatening to physically injure someone if they feel their in imminent danger of harm, which means you come up to someone and you draw back with your fist or something else and they think they’re going to be punched, that’s assault under Arizona law. Additionally, you can be charged with assault if you just simply push someone, goat them, insult them, provoke them into action or provoke them into a fight, you can be charged with assault in Arizona. It’s a criminal misdemeanor offense. Maximum penalty, probation is usually available, but maximum penalty can be up to 6 months in jail, so it’s a serious offense that you need serious help with. If you’ve been charged with assault, give my office a call. Talk to one of our experienced criminal law attorneys. Our number is (480) 994-8824. Or you can contact me by my email address.

By: Attorney Max Hanson

Field sobriety tests refer to those tests the officers do during the course of a DUI investigation or driving under the influence investigation. They usually take place outside the suspect’s car. They involve the classic walk and turn while walking heel to toe, the one legged stand where you stand on one leg for a period of time, the touching your nose while your eyes are closed and those type of classic tests that we all have heard about before, as far as testing for sobriety or not. These tests are designed to give the officer evidence of your impairment by reason of alcohol of your ability to drive. These tests can be biased depending on your physical capabilities. You might not be able to perform certain parts of this test, like the one leg stand, depending on what your physical condition is. If you’re older or have back problems or something else that may impact your ability to actually complete the test whether or not you were impaired or you were completely sober. They’re not good indicators. You are not required to take these tests. The courts have held you are not required to take these tests. You could refuse and can refuse to take these tests with no ramifications either to your driver’s license or to your court case if you are charged with DUI. If you or a loved one have been charged with DUI, please give me a call at (480) 994-8824 or email me.

By: Attorney Max Hanson

Allen and Meyerand Law Firm

We are here with attorneys Jared Allen and Steven Meyerand of the Law Offices of Allen and Meyerand Law Firm. What I’d like to do is find out a little bit about each of you, then explore what you do as a law firm, getting into the practice areas you’ve chosen to specialize in.

What is the philosophy of your firm?

At AM Law, we try to live by the philosophy of providing our clients the defense you need and the service you deserve. For us, that entails providing our clients with a first class criminal defense, being able to provide them with two attorneys with years of experience in this area and providing it to them in a way that they actually get the personal service they deserve, taking the time to get to know our clients as individuals to be available to answer their questions and really work with them through the process of being arrested, charged with a criminal offense and then seeing it all the way through to the end with them. So, that’s the philosophy we try to lead our firm with is providing all of our clients with those two things.

By: Steven Meyerand 

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