What is an extreme DUI in Arizona?

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An extreme DUI in Arizona is driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more but less than 0.20 , or an alcohol concentration of 0.20 or more , in each case within two hours of driving or being in actual physical control of the vehicle, with the alcohol concentration resulting from alcohol consumed either before or while driving or being in actual physical control .

Extreme DUI is a distinct offense from the ordinary DUI offense in § 28-1381 — it has its own statute (§ 28-1382), its own elements, and its own classification, and it is not a sentencing enhancement of § 28-1381; § 28-1382(E)'s use of a prior § 28-1381 or § 28-1383 conviction as a repeat-offense look-back trigger within an eighty-four-month period is simply how separate offenses reference each other, not how one offense enhances itself . A conviction under § 28-1382 is a class 1 misdemeanor .

For a first conviction, the person must serve at least thirty consecutive days in jail (first tier) or forty-five consecutive days (second tier), with no eligibility for probation or suspension of the sentence unless the entire sentence is served; pay a fine of at least $250 (first tier) or $500 (second tier), a $250 assessment, and two additional $1,000 assessments; equip any motor vehicle the person operates with a certified ignition interlock device; complete traffic survival school; and may be ordered to perform community restitution . At sentencing, the judge may suspend all but nine days (first tier) or fourteen days (second tier) of the jail sentence if the person equips any motor vehicle the person operates with a certified ignition interlock device for twelve months .

For a second violation within the eighty-four-month look-back period — including a case where the prior conviction was under § 28-1381 or § 28-1383 — the minimums increase to 120 days in jail, sixty served consecutively (first tier), or 180 days, ninety served consecutively (second tier), a fine of at least $500 (first tier) or $1,000 (second tier), a $250 assessment, two additional $1,250 assessments, at least thirty hours of community restitution, and a one-year revocation of driving privilege with an ignition interlock requirement . In applying the eighty-four-month period, the dates the offenses were committed control, irrespective of the sequence in which they were committed, and a second violation does not include a conviction arising out of the same series of acts .

A parallel offense using the same two alcohol-concentration tiers applies to operating, or being in actual physical control of, a motorized watercraft that is underway . A licensed attorney can advise how these provisions apply to a particular case.