Unlawful detention means a person is held, stopped, or restrained against their will without lawful authority. In criminal defense cases, the issue often involves police detaining someone without reasonable suspicion, arresting someone without probable cause, or extending a stop beyond the time permitted by case law.

AZ Defenders helps Arizona defendants review cases involving unlawful detention, false arrest, false imprisonment, and any other criminal defense issues. 

Call AZ Defenders at (480) 456-6400 for a free consultation with a criminal defense attorney.

Unlawful Detention by Police

Unlawful detention by police occurs when officers hold a person against their will without lawful…
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There is no single answer to how long after you smoke you can get a DUI in Arizona. There is no safe waiting period and no fixed number of hours after smoking, vaping, or consuming marijuana that protects a driver from a DUI charge. 

The impairing effects usually fade within a few hours, but that is not the same as being impaired to the slightest degree under ARS 28-1381.

Active THC can remain detectable in blood for a day or more, in saliva for roughly one to three days, and in urine for several days to a month or longer…
Continue Reading How Long After You Smoke Can You Get a DUI in Arizona?

 A     Autism

A.A.C. Augmentative
& Alternative Comm

ADA    Americans
with Disabilities Act

ADE    Arizona
Department of Education

ADHD   Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity

       Disorder

ALJ    Arizona
Law Judge

APE    Adaptive
Physical Education

A.R.S. Arizona Revised Statutes

ASD    Autism
Spectrum Disorder

ASL    American
Sign Language

AzEIP  Arizona
Early Intervention Program

BIP    Behavior
Intervention Plan

C.F.R. Code of Federal Regulations

DD     Developmental
Disorder

US DOE United States Department of Ed

DP     Due
Process

DSM-V  Diagnostic
& Statistical Manual-5

ED     Emotional
Disability

ESY    Extended
School Year

FAPE   Free
& Appropriate Public Education

FBA    Functional
Behavior Assessment

FERPA  Family
Education Records Privacy Act…
Continue Reading Special Education Acronyms Parents Need to Know for MET and IEP meetings

Earlier this week, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted, in part, a broker-dealer’s request for review of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s denial of the firm’s petition for rulemaking related to FINRA arbitration. See Thrivent Financial for Lutherans v. Securities and Exchange Commission, __F. 4th __, 2026 WL 2095279 (D.C. Cir. July 21, 2026).  Though the opinion breaks little new ground with respect to administrative law, the court’s dicta with respect to the intersection of the Federal Arbitration Act, FINRA arbitration, and the federal securities laws caught my attention.In the case, the bylaws of Thrivent, a…
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit and Securities Arbitration

A serious road accident can destroy your entire life, create stress, leave lots of questions, and affect your married life. Victims face loss of employment and create a burden to submit hospital and credit card bills. A Phoenix injury attorney helps to protect your legal rights and guides you on what action to take in … Continue reading “How Does Legal Help Protect Phoenix Injury Victims’ Rights?”
Continue Reading How Does Legal Help Protect Phoenix Injury Victims’ Rights?

That number should reframe how every professional thinks about a bad day, a lost case, a client who walks, or a deal that falls through. Attorneys in particular tend to carry losses like weight, because the profession trains you to believe that competence means winning, consistently. But the math simply doesn’t support that belief, not even for the best in the world at what they do. You can build a successful career by being spectacular in aggregate while being almost exactly average point by point. The players and professionals who last are not the ones who avoid losing. They are…
Continue Reading Fifty-Four Percent

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Berk Law Group is proud to announce that Amanda Thomas has joined the firm as its new Director of Operations, a key addition as the firm enters an exciting period of growth.
Amanda brings more than 20 years of operational leadership to Berk Law Group. She founded her own company in 2007, built and led its teams for 14 years, and successfully sold the business in 2021.  She went on to establish The Fractionals, providing fractional COO services to growing businesses and helping founders transition from management to leadership.
“Amanda’s experience building and growing teams is exactly …
Continue Reading Berk Law Group Welcomes Amanda Thomas as Director of Operations

A motion to vacate is a request asking a court to throw out a judgment and/or conviction of guilt, or sentence. In an Arizona criminal case, this type of motion may be used after judgment when a defendant believes there is a serious legal problem with the conviction or sentence.

A motion to vacate is not the same as an appeal, a motion for a new trial, or post-conviction relief. Each procedure has different deadlines, grounds, and legal requirements.

AZ Defenders helps Arizona defendants review criminal judgments, post-trial motions, appeals, and post-conviction options. 

Call AZ Defenders at (480) 456-6400…
Continue Reading What Is a Motion to Vacate?

Applying Arizona DUI laws to different forms of transportation can be complicated. Whether you can get a DUI on a skateboard in Arizona depends largely on how Arizona law defines a vehicle and whether the person is in actual physical control of a vehicle under the state’s DUI statute.

In most situations, a traditional skateboard is not treated the same way as a car, truck, motorcycle, or other motor vehicle. That means a DUI on a skateboard is generally different from a standard Arizona DUI case. 

However, that does not mean an intoxicated person on a skateboard cannot be arrested…
Continue Reading Can You Get a DUI on a Skateboard in Arizona?

Being arrested for a DUI in Arizona can be a frightening experience, considering what is at stake in the event of a conviction. For most people, one of the first questions that comes to mind is how to get out of jail while the case is still pending. That is where bail and bond come in.
Arizona law generally allows people facing DUI charges to secure their release before trial, but the process and the cost can vary depending on the details of the case. Here is a closer look at how it works and what you should expect.
How…
Continue Reading Understanding Bail and Bond for DUIs in Arizona

Some faculty are wary of using artificial intelligence (AI) in scholarship and teaching.  Some are reluctant to use it because they worry that it may undermine thinking, writing, and teaching.  Others worry about using AI in ways that effectively delegate too much intellectual work to the technology.There is another possibility.  You can use AI as part of a “centaur system.”  In centaur mode, humans use AI to get results that are better than humans or AI tools can produce operating independently.  Unfortunately, some people use it in “zombie” mode, deferring to outputs uncritically, contributing little independent judgment, and failing…
Continue Reading How You Can Take Advantage of AI in Your Scholarship and Teaching

In Arizona, no statute explicitly says riding a horse while intoxicated is sufficient for a DUI charge. Arizona DUI law focuses on whether a person was driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle while impaired, so the issue is whether a horse is a vehicle.

However, that does not mean riding a horse drunk is safe or risk-free. A person riding a horse under the influence in Scottsdale, Phoenix, or elsewhere in Maricopa County could still face an arrest, criminal charges, disorderly conduct allegations, animal cruelty issues, or other penalties depending on what happened.

If you were arrested…
Continue Reading Can You Get a DUI on a Horse in Arizona?

If a criminal case is dismissed, it may be reopened or refiled in some situations. The answer depends on whether the dismissal was “with prejudice” or “without prejudice,” whether the statute of limitations has expired, and whether the prosecutor has a legal basis to bring the charges again.

A dismissal can feel like the end of the case, but that is not always true. In Arizona criminal court, some dismissals leave the prosecutor with room to refile charges, while others are meant to end the prosecution permanently.

AZ Defenders helps Arizona defendants understand dismissed criminal cases, the risks of refiling,…
Continue Reading If a Case Is Dismissed, Can It Be Reopened?

Article Summary

  • Delayed pain after a car accident can still be serious, even if you felt fine immediately after the crash.
  • Symptoms such as neck pain, back pain, headaches, numbness, tingling, or abdominal pain may appear hours or days later.
  • You may still have a car accident injury claim if another driver caused the crash and your medical records connect your injuries to the accident.

Many accident victims walk away from a crash believing they are not badly hurt. In the first few minutes after a collision, the body may feel alert, tense, or surprisingly normal. Then, hours later or…
Continue Reading Delayed Pain After a Car Accident: Do You Still Have a Case?

At 5:30 in the evening on Super Bowl Sunday of this year, a eighteen-month-old toddler was found face down in a swimming pool in the East Valley.  The child was pulled out of the pool and EMT’s rushed him to Mercy Gilbert Hospital where the emergency room doctor declared the child to be dead at 6:20 p.m.  The doctor declared the child to be dead despite the parents and the police officers, who had accompanied the family to the hospital, telling the medical personnel that the child was still breathing.  The medical personnel dismissed these claims and a nurse informed…
Continue Reading A Shocking Arizona Case