Arizona Law: Impaired to the Slightest Degree

(The content below was transcribed from an interview done with Acacia Law. We think you'll find it much easier
and more enjoyable to read this way.)

Interviewer: Today we’ll talk about DUI in Arizona specifically in Maricopa County, Pinal County, Pima County and the surrounding areas. One thing before we begin. Arizona seems to have come out with an ‘impaired to the slightest degree law or opinion’. Can you talk about what that means, what that is in relation to DUI?

Acacia Law: That’s actually been around for at least 20 years. It’s Section 28-1381A1. Specifically how its designed is to make what level of alcohol a person has in their system irrelevant. What it means is that by the consumption of alcohol or drugs or toxic vapors, or some combination thereof, the person’s ability to operate the motor vehicle was impaired to the slightest degree. Now that is a very low threshold.

A Person’s Blood Alcohol Level Can Be Below the Legal Limit and They Would Still Be Charged

What that means is that even if a person’s BAC, or Blood Alcohol Content is at limit for alcohol, which is 0.08%, that limit no longer becomes relevant to being charged. Even if you consumed only one beer or one drink and your level was far below a 0.08%, that simple consumption impaired your ability to drive to the slightest degree.

Therefore, under that statue, which is a DUI statute, you are guilty. Now, if you think about it the definition ‘slightest degree’ is a very low standard to meet. That is what all the alcohol influence report questions and field sobriety tests are designed to establish.

For example, one of their questions that they frequently will ask someone is on scale of 1 to 10, 1 being completely sober and 10 being falling down drunk where do you think you fall? Well, if your answer is everything but one then you’re essentially saying that you in fact are impaired by alcohol to the slightest degree regardless of what you had to consume.

Interviewer: Someone that’s pulled over that blows a 0.04, 0.03, or 0.07 is still going to be charged?

Acacia Law: Absolutely. Again, it’s not an issue of the alcohol content. The statute is designed precisely for that purpose. It’s a catchall position. It’s a much easier allegation to prove because you don’t need a blood alcohol content reading. That is where that PBT I was telling you about, out on the streets where a cop might give you a handheld PBT to see how much you’ve had to drink, doesn’t come into evidence to show your blood alcohol content.

What can come into evidence is that you did consume some alcohol, whatever quantity that may be, is unknown but that you have in fact consumed some alcohol. With that information in conjunction with either the driving itself or the field sobriety test, even if you’ve just had one drink, under the statute if it impaired your ability to drive to the slightest degree, then you are guilty of a DUI. That’s what it’s designed to do.