Phoenix DUI Defense
Phoenix DUI Lawyer
Honest counsel. From start to finish.
Arizona has some of the toughest DUI laws in the country, and a DUI opens two cases against you at once: the criminal charge and the driver's license suspension. I'm Stewart Salwin, a former Maricopa County prosecutor. I know how the other side builds its case, because I built those cases for years.
Salwin Law Group
You Are Not a Criminal. You Have a Criminal Charge.
Most of the people who call me about a Phoenix DUI have never been charged with anything before. A professional, a parent, a student, sometimes a visitor who had one drink too many in Old Town Scottsdale. You are not a criminal; you are a person with a criminal charge, a court date, and a license suspension you only half understand.
On this page I will walk you through both tracks of the case, the realistic range of outcomes, and how I work, so you can make the hiring decision with real information instead of marketing. The person on the first consultation is me, and the person in court is me.
“I'm Stewart Salwin, founder of Salwin Law Group, a former Maricopa County prosecutor with thousands of DUIs handled across both sides of the courtroom. A DUI arrest opens two cases against you: the criminal charge under ARS § 28-1381 or § 28-1382, and the MVD license case, where a suspension takes effect automatically 30 days after the stop unless a hearing is requested first. I defend both, and the first thing I give you is a frank, realistic read on your case, even when it is not what you hoped to hear, so we can build an actual strategy to see you through this.”
What I defend
The DUI Charges I Defend in Phoenix
Arizona charges DUI in tiers, and the tier drives everything: the mandatory minimums, the license fallout, and the defense strategy. These are the cases that come through my door.
First-Time Regular DUI
The majority of my clients: one mistake, no record, and two cases to manage at once. Most of this page speaks to you. Start with the first-offense guide if you want the full picture.
Extreme & Super Extreme DUI
BAC of .15 or .20 and above, where the mandatory minimums climb to 30 and 45 days. These are also the cases where the blood margin of error matters most, because a small correction moves the case down a full tier.
Aggravated (Felony) DUI
A DUI on a suspended license, a third DUI within seven years, or a DUI with a child in the car becomes a felony. The stakes change completely, and so does the strategy. Read more on aggravated DUI in Arizona.
Drug DUI
Arizona charges DUI for drugs and their metabolites, including legal prescriptions taken as directed. These cases turn on chemistry and timing, and they are defensible in ways people do not expect.
Second & Repeat DUI
Penalties climb steeply on a second offense, and the prosecutor's posture hardens. The earlier I get into a repeat case, the more room there is to work with.
Out-of-State Visitor DUI
Arrested on a trip to Phoenix or Scottsdale, and now you are home wondering what happens next. I handle the Arizona side while you handle life at home, minimizing or eliminating the times you have to come back to Arizona.
Before you hire anyone
How to Choose a DUI Lawyer in Phoenix
If you are comparing firms this week, most of them look the same from the outside: a confident photo, good reviews, the word "aggressive" somewhere on the page. Two questions cut through it. Ask them of every attorney you talk to, including me.
"Is the person giving me this consultation a lawyer?"
At some large firms, the first conversation is with an intake specialist or a consultation attorney whose real job is signing you up. The advice that persuades you to hire may come from someone who will never touch your file.
"Will you be the attorney standing next to me in court?"
At volume firms you are often handed to a junior attorney after signing, and at some, whichever attorney covers that courthouse that day handles your hearing, so you re-explain your case to a new lawyer each time. If a firm cannot tell you plainly who your attorney will be, that is a red flag. Make sure you speak to the attorney who will actually be handling your case and you are comfortable with that specific person.
Trust your gut
DUI defense is not a practice area to dabble in; blood testing, MVD procedure, and court-specific policy reward an attorney who works these cases constantly. Once that baseline is established, the last filter is not on the website at all: hire whoever you trust most.
The honest range, not the marketing
What Realistically Happens in a First-Offense DUI
People read the maximum penalty online and start planning for the worst. On our first call, I give you various possibilities instead: the technical range, the realistic range for facts like yours, and where your case likely lands.
Dismissed or knocked down
When the blood work is on the margin, a constitutional violation exists, or the State lacks evidence that you were driving or in actual physical control, the charge can often be dismissed or reduced below the DUI threshold. It happens, but it cannot be promised in advance.
The mandatory-minimum territory
A first-time regular DUI conviction carries 10 days with 9 suspended after screening and classes, plus fines and the MVD consequences. Much of the defense work is keeping a case in this territory, or below it.
Up to 6 months
The statutory maximum for a misdemeanor DUI. It is the number that fuels 2 a.m. catastrophizing, and in my experience it is nowhere near the realistic outcome for a typical first offense.
No two cases are the same. The realistic range for your situation depends on facts a lawyer needs to hear first; this is how these cases generally resolve, not a prediction about yours.
Criminal court is only half of it
A DUI Opens Two Cases Against You
Most people focus on the criminal charge and miss the second case entirely: the Motor Vehicle Division moves against your license on its own track, on its own deadline, whether or not charges have been filed yet.
The two tracks run on different clocks. The criminal case can take months to even begin; the license case is decided in the first 30 days. That is why the first week of work matters more in a DUI than in almost any other charge.
One call gives you a realistic read on both tracks of your case. Free, and you talk to me.
Call (480) 702-1789The license clock started the night of the stop
The admin per se suspension takes effect automatically 30 days after the arrest unless a hearing is requested first. Filed in time, the request stays the suspension, which means you usually keep driving while the case is worked. The ADOT paperwork confuses almost everyone who faces it alone.
I can read your file the way the state does
I learned 50 percent of what it is to deal with a DUI case from prosecuting them, and the extra 50 percent from defending them. I spent years at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office before I started defending people in 2014. Some lawyers have only ever seen one side of a DUI. They are missing half the picture.
Calling today costs the same as calling next month. But by then it could be too late to save your license.
Call (480) 702-1789Inside the case file
Where a DUI Defense Attorney Attacks the State's Case
Once the police report, body cam footage, and blood work come in, I read the file the way a prosecutor would read it: looking for the problems.
The blood work, first and always
The single most common way a Phoenix DUI gets dismissed or knocked down is the margin of error in the blood result. Arizona's thresholds sit at .08, .15, and .20, and when a result lands near a line, I bring in an expert to argue the true value belongs a tier lower, or below the limit entirely.
"It literally is the first thing that I look at. It was the first thing I looked at as a prosecutor."
Stewart SalwinThe right to counsel
Arizona's Supreme Court treats the right to speak with a lawyer during a DUI investigation as so important that a clear violation means dismissal, even when the rest of the state's case is solid. These violations are not common, but they still happen, and they are always worth looking for.
Why you were pulled over
If the officer had no valid basis for the stop, everything gathered afterward can be suppressed, which effectively ends the case. One honest caveat: Arizona patrol cars generally do not carry dash cameras, so disproving an officer's stated reason for a stop is harder here than people expect.
Field sobriety tests matter less than you think
Problems with those tests only go to whether you were impaired to the slightest degree; they do not touch a blood result. A .20 BAC still stands even if the officer ran the eye test badly. I prioritize the levers that actually move cases, and I will tell you plainly which ones your case has.
What happens after you hire
The First Seven Days on Your Case
The criminal case can take months to even begin. The license case is decided in the first 30 days. That is why the first week is where a DUI defense earns its keep, and why waiting is the most expensive move available.
Start With a Free ConsultationMap the license strategy
I triage your license on our first call. In most cases the right move is a hearing request with ADOT inside the 30-day window, which stays the automatic suspension. Occasionally taking the suspension early is the smarter play; that is a strategy call I make with you.
File the hearing request
Filed in time, the request means you keep driving while the case is worked, instead of losing your license before anything has been decided.
Take over the court case
If charges are filed, a notice of appearance usually vacates your arraignment and resets the case to a pretrial conference. You do not stand up alone in front of a judge wondering what happens next.
Open the evidence
The notice also starts discovery: the police report, body cam footage, and the blood or breath work. That evidence, plus what you tell me, is what I build the negotiation with the prosecutor on.
Your attorney
Who You Are Actually Hiring
I grew up in Phoenix, studied at Georgetown, and graduated from Harvard Law School. I spent five years as a prosecutor at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, and since 2014 I have defended the same kinds of cases I used to bring, most of them DUIs.
I started my own firm because I wanted to work with people I can actually help, and to see every case through from the first phone call to the resolution. What I put out into the world is a representation of who I am, and I treat every case that way.
Practically, that means you get me. My clients text me and email me directly, and I return communications as quickly as I can. When we talk about your case, you are hearing the strengths and the weaknesses from the person who read the file.
Local knowledge is the job
Phoenix, Justice, and City Courts: The Courthouse Matters
A Phoenix-area DUI can land in Phoenix Municipal Court, one of the Maricopa County justice courts, or a city court in Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, or beyond. The volume these courts move is hard to overstate: DUI was the lead charge on 3,797 of the 43,496 cases referred to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in 2025, one of the largest charge categories in the county, and that is before counting the misdemeanor DUIs the city prosecutors handle on their own. The building matters less than who works inside it: each court has its own prosecutors, and each office has its own policies. The same facts can resolve differently across the Valley, and knowing a given office's posture is a real part of the defense.
The prosecutor holds most of the cards until trial; judges stay procedural until then. So the outcome usually takes shape in negotiation, where my fifteen years of working opposite the same offices, and inside one of them, is the advantage that does not show up on a billboard. One lever many drivers never hear about: some Valley courts offer Veterans Court, a separate track that routinely produces better outcomes for those who qualify. Not every attorney thinks to ask. I do, every time a client has served.
As an attorney, I was terrified after being charged with a DUI. Stewart walked me through the entire process. All of my questions were answered in detail. I am forever grateful for the outcome of my case.
Former Client · Out-of-State Attorney Charged With a DUI in Arizona Excerpted from a public client review. Every case is different; a past client's experience does not predict your outcome.Phoenix DUI Defense: Common Questions
Do I need a lawyer for a first DUI in Phoenix?
Can I still drive after a DUI arrest in Arizona?
What are the penalties for a first DUI in Arizona?
Can a DUI be dismissed or reduced in Arizona?
How much does a DUI lawyer cost in Phoenix?
Which court will my Phoenix DUI be in?
Arizona law sources cited on this page
- ARS § 28-1381: Driving under the influence
- ARS § 28-1382: Extreme and super extreme DUI
- ARS § 28-1385: Admin per se license suspension
- Arizona MVD: Ignition interlock requirements
- Maricopa County Attorney's Office Data Dashboard: 2025 referral counts by highest-ranked charge (retrieved July 2026; dashboard updates weekly)
Where I practice
DUI Defense Across the Phoenix Metro
Based in Scottsdale, I defend DUI cases in municipal, justice, and city courts throughout Maricopa County, for locals and for out-of-state visitors who need Arizona counsel they can trust from a distance. Phoenix DUI lawyers are not interchangeable across the Valley's courts; I work in these ones every week.
Free consultation
Tell Me What Happened
Get the peace of mind that comes from talking with someone with real knowledge and real experience. Call (480) 702-1789 and talk to me now, or send the basics and I will call you back. You will speak with me directly, not a call center.
This page is attorney advertising and general information about Arizona law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Outcomes described are general and depend on the specific facts of each case; past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Statutes cited are current as of publication and subject to change.
Free consultation
Arrested for DUI in Phoenix? Let's talk.
One call gives you a realistic read on both tracks of your case, the criminal charge and your license. Speak directly with Stewart Salwin, a former prosecutor, and get the personalized attention you deserve.