Arizona Criminal Laws

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 

The range of penalties for intent to sell marijuana can range from everything down to probation, all the way up to 12-1/2 years in prison, plus up to $150,000 in fines, plus the special assessment on selling marijuana cases, which is $750, or three times the value of the drugs. Which if were talking about a large amount of marijuana, could be substantial, as opposed to what you’re already paying in fines and assessments. Additionally, you’re looking at at least 240 hours of community service for a conviction of this charge and the impact it can have to your future employment. If you or a loved one have been charged with a possession of marijuana with intent to sell, please give me a call at (480) 994-8824 or email me.

If you would like to discuss an intent to sell marijuana charge with a Scottsdale criminal attorney, please visit a profile page and complete a contact form.

By: 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

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

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

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

Domestic Violence in Phoenix

What are some consequences for a person convicted of a domestic violence offense? Well, that’s a good question as well. At AM law, we found that some of the consequences that our clients have been facing, aside from just the conviction in itself, which can make life very difficult when you’re talking about applying for a job, even applying for loans and credit, that type of thing can come up and be a hindrance to people.

Right to Bear Arms

Specifically with domestic violence, the right to bear arms, to own a firearm or some type of weapon after having been convicted of that offense is going to be restricted. You’re not going to be able to do that and that’s obviously a concern for individuals who are concerned about their own safety in their homes and the defense of themself and their family members, if they were someone that felt a firearm was one of the ways they felt protected.

Monetary Consequences

So, that can be one of the more significant consequences for an individual in a domestic violence situation. And again, the consequences of being incarcerated, whether it be in jail or prison, depending on the level of offense are obviously very serious and there’s monetary consequences as well. Typically, domestic violence offenses come with mandatory fines; sometimes the cost of probation can be a burden for individuals.

So, these are all the things that when we are trying to negotiate a resolution in a domestic violence offense we’re trying to be considerate and conscious of those potential issues for our clients before entering into a resolution.

By: Jared Allen

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