A Tempe DUI charge needs prompt, concrete attention. Arizona uses a low impairment standard, separates alcohol results into escalating tiers, and attaches mandatory jail language even to a first conviction. This page explains the charge, the likely court path, and the records a local defense attorney will need to examine before decisions are made.
Call (480) 741-9606No obligation · Written for Tempe · Maricopa County
Six boxes, about thirty seconds. You pick when to be called back, and that is when the phone rings.
Or call (480) 741-9606A reported number, the arresting agency, and the court named on the paperwork determine what needs attention first.
Know the difference between 0.08, extreme DUI at 0.15, and super extreme DUI at 0.20 before you make assumptions about the charge.
Misdemeanor DUI complaints and felony aggravated-DUI allegations can travel through different local prosecution paths. The paperwork, not the arrest location alone, tells you where to look.
Reports, video, test records, and the timeline should be identified early. A number on a citation is a starting point for review, not a complete analysis.
Tempe Police, ASU Police, and state or county agencies can create different record trails. The arresting agency belongs in the first set of facts an attorney checks.
Nothing is filed and nothing is owed until you decide what to do next.
Set aside the citation, release paperwork, any testing notice, and court date. Save texts, receipts, ride records, and witness names in their original form.
A lawyer reviews the listed count, reported concentration, aggravating allegation if any, arresting agency, and venue. That separates a standard misdemeanor issue from a possible felony path.
The record may include video, reports, dispatch material, and testing documentation. Early review is about obtaining those materials and avoiding a missed setting, not predicting a result.
Illustrative photographs only. No specific Tempe case, client or property is shown.
A Tempe arrest can look simple on a citation and still turn on several distinct legal facts. These are the four that change the first review.
Arizona can allege a 0.08-or-higher count, impairment to the slightest degree, drug-related grounds, or multiple counts. The exact cited statute determines what the state must establish.
A result at 0.15 or 0.20 can place a case in Arizona’s extreme or super extreme tier. The statutory sentencing language and interlock provisions change with the tier.
A suspended license, certain prior convictions, a child passenger, or an interlock allegation may transform the route. The prior-record dates and underlying statute need verification, not assumptions.
An arrest in Tempe may involve city police, ASU Police, or another agency. The report source and case venue affect where an attorney looks first for records and what deadline is next.
Most people start with one of four questions: is this a first-offense misdemeanor, does the number make it extreme, can the test be examined, or is there a felony issue? Each deserves a direct answer.
A first conviction under section 28-1381 begins at ten consecutive days in jail, and probation is off the table unless the whole term is served. The same subsection lets the judge suspend all but one of those days once court-ordered screening or treatment is finished. That trade, not a dismissal, is the shape of a minimum sentence. Start by finding the arraignment date printed on your paperwork.
That order is the motor vehicle division's, not the judge's. It takes effect on the thirtieth day after it was served, and a surrendered license buys a temporary permit good for the same span. A written or online hearing request has to reach the department inside those thirty days or the suspension becomes final without anyone reviewing it. Read the date on the notice today.
A reading is admissible only once the state establishes five foundational facts: an approved device, a permitted operator, duplicate tests within 0.02 of each other or twenty minutes of observation, a completed operational checklist, and maintenance records showing the machine was working. Four of those live in paperwork somebody has to request. Ask while the calibration records around your test are still easy to isolate.
Five circumstances lift a DUI out of city court: driving on a suspended, canceled, revoked or refused privilege, a third violation inside eighty-four months, a passenger under fifteen, driving while an interlock is required, or a wrong-way allegation. Felony cases arising here are filed by the county attorney and heard downtown, in months of prison rather than days of jail. Gather your driving record and every prior disposition.
This is general information, not an assessment of any individual case. The citation and arrest report are only the beginning; a qualified attorney has to review the actual charge, evidence, history, and deadlines.
Checked against primary sources on 2026-08-22. Every claim below links to where it came from.
Arizona’s basic DUI statute reaches driving while impaired “to the slightest degree” and a 0.08-or-higher alcohol concentration within two hours of driving. A separate statute sets the extreme-DUI range at 0.15 to less than 0.20 and the higher, commonly called super-extreme, range at 0.20 or more. The stated first-conviction jail minimums are ten consecutive days for the basic statute, thirty days for 0.15–0.199, and forty-five days for 0.20 or above, subject to statutory sentencing provisions.
Why it matters: A Tempe reader needs to know that a number below 0.08 does not itself resolve an impairment allegation, and that 0.15 and 0.20 are legal threshold lines rather than casual labels. The cited subsection and reported result shape the evidence review and sentencing exposure.
The Tempe City Prosecutor’s Criminal Division prosecutes misdemeanors occurring in Tempe, including traffic and criminal complaints involving DUI. The same office states that felony cases occurring in Tempe are prosecuted by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
Why it matters: A standard misdemeanor DUI and an aggravated-DUI felony allegation can begin on different local prosecution paths. The charge and venue listed on the paperwork determine where a lawyer needs to look for the case and which court process applies.
Source: tempe.gov
Arizona’s Governor’s Office of Highway Safety reports DUI figures separately for ASU Police: 19 in 2023 and 55 in 2024. The agency’s 2025 figure is listed as preliminary statistical data.
Why it matters: Tempe’s university footprint can place an arrest in a distinct law-enforcement record system. The arresting agency printed on the citation helps identify where reports, video, dispatch material, and other case records may begin.
Source: gohs.az.gov
Arizona’s basic alcohol DUI provision uses 0.08 or more within two hours of driving. A reported 0.08 through 0.149 generally falls in that standard per-se range. Under A.R.S. § 28-1382, 0.15 through 0.199 is the extreme-DUI tier and 0.20 or above is the higher tier often called super extreme DUI. A result below 0.08 is not automatically the end of a DUI allegation because A.R.S. § 28-1381 also prohibits driving while impaired to the slightest degree. The charge and evidence—not a nickname for the number—control what has to be addressed.
Many misdemeanor DUI complaints arising in Tempe can be handled in the city’s municipal system. The Tempe City Prosecutor says its Criminal Division prosecutes misdemeanors occurring in the city, including DUI, while felony cases occurring in Tempe are prosecuted by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. The citation, release paperwork, and case lookup identify the actual venue. That distinction matters because an aggravated DUI allegation can be a felony, and a court date should be confirmed from the documents rather than inferred from where the arrest occurred.
The agency identifies where records begin. The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety separately reports DUI figures for ASU Police, including 55 in 2024 after 19 in 2023, so an arrest connected with the university can involve a distinct law-enforcement record source even when the event occurred in Tempe. The arresting agency, location, and court named on the paperwork help direct requests for reports, video, dispatch material, and other evidence. Keep the citation and booking paperwork together; agency names and report numbers are practical details, not minor paperwork.
Get the citation, court date, test paperwork, and arresting-agency details organized now. A DUI lawyer here can identify the allegation, the venue, the evidence to preserve, and the next deadline without pretending the result is known in advance.
Call (480) 741-9606No obligation · Written for Tempe · Maricopa County