In a previous post, we covered the difference between a misdemeanor and felony, as well as the different levels and sentences for misdemeanors. In this post, we’d like to discuss felonies in more depth. If you’ve been charged with a felony in Arizona, the first...
Fire is a fascinating thing to many people. It’s something that is difficult to control or predict and the beauty of the flames can be mesmerizing. Appreciation for this natural wonder ends, however, when someone sets a fire on purpose to cause damage. Setting fires...
The act of killing another person is a very serious crime with very serious consequences. First degree murder is the highest level of homicide, and it will be punished harshly. If you find yourself facing a charge of first degree murder in Arizona, you will...
Prescription drug abuse and overdose continue to be a growing epidemic in the United States. In fact, a recent CBS News article reports that, “For the first time on record, Americans are more likely to die of an accidental opioid overdose than in a motor...
In our previous Coolidge Law Firm blog post we began to discuss the difference between civil and criminal law by first defining criminal law and how it plays out in a courtroom. We mentioned that both civil and criminal law have been developed in order...
In a previous blog post we discussed the Arizona minimum mandatory sentencing guidelines for felonies, which act as a baseline when judges are determining how to punish a convicted criminal. From there, the judge will look at evidence and facts presented that would either mitigate...
As a criminal defense law firm in Phoenix, we spend a lot of time in courthouses around the Pheonix-Metro area. Every day we witness guilty people being convicted, whether it be a simple traffic offense or a more serious crime like sexual assault. At times,...
When you hear about someone getting a felony charge, you might not realize that there are six classes of felony charges that could apply to a circumstance. Felonies, as a whole, consist of crimes that have a punishment of a year or more in a...
In Arizona, the law states that the police need to have a reason to search your vehicle. They can’t pull you over and arbitrarily search your car. Probable cause is required. Probable cause means that the officer has a reasonable suspicion of a crime being...
Criminal traffic tickets are different from civil traffic tickets (like speeding) and hold more intense consequences. Unlike civil traffic tickets in Arizona, you usually can’t take a class to have your ticket dismissed. What qualifies as a criminal traffic ticket in Arizona? The two categories of criminal...