What is a felony DUI?

A DUI can be a misdemeanor or a felony; in the case of misdemeanor, the crime is relatively small with lesser charges but felony DUI is a special kind of crime because harsher consequences are associated with it. Often different situations arise which can aggravate the suspected driver’s decision to get drunk and then drive. This is why it is extremely important to know how a felony DUI can occur in Arizona and what are the consequences of getting charged with a felony DUI.

Types of Felony DUI

Felony DUI is also referred to as Aggravated DUI and there are three different types of it in Arizona. These types are determined based on intoxication of liquor or drugs accompanied by felonious acts.

People would be committing a Felony DUI if they commit a violation of DUI while their driver’s license is suspended, revoked, cancelled or refused or any other restriction is placed on their driving privilege. A Class Four Felony DUI would mean that you were arrested for DUI while your license was restricted and especially if you were ordered to get an ignition interlock device in your vehicle.

The consequences of Class Four Felony DUI can range from medium to harsh because the minimum sentence is of four months with the Department of Corrections. Followed by this, is a term of probation and the harsh scenario is that the driver would get a sentence of 3.75 years and in some cases, this happens even if this is the first felony DUI. Some people might be involved in a DUI felony crime more than once and for that, the imprisonment sentence can be up to fifteen years.

Another type of felony DUI can take place when the violation of DUI is committed with a person under the age of fifteen in the vehicle. This is known as a Class Six Aggravated Felony DUI and happens when the driver is arrested for DUI while having a child of less than fifteen in the car with them. This is such a serious crime in Arizona that it does not matter whether this is your first time with DUI or whether or not your license was canceled, revoked or suspended.

The punishment for Class Six DUI felony in Arizona is also just as serious with up to two years of imprisonment including hundreds of hours of community service and a mandatory license revocation.

For all of these reasons, it is extremely wise to be prepared in case you are arrested for a DUI felony. You should know how to behave during the arrest and how to get the best legal representation so that your charges can be reduced or dropped completely.

For more information regarding the specific Aggravated DUI charges please see: First Offense Felony DUI, Second Offense Felony DUI, Third Offense Felony DUI.