ARS 13-1204 Aggravated Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (gun) – Probation with no jail

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Chris had a problem with the neighborhood kids harassing him and his wife. He overreacted one day and pointed a shotgun at a couple of the kids. The gun was not loaded but under Arizona law that doesn’t matter and Chris, who had no criminal history, was now facing mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison. Burges was able to detail the harassment with the prosecutor and negotiated probation with no jail for Chris.

ARS 28-1381(A3) DUI drugs – Not Guilty

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Jim was waiting to turn left when he was struck by a truck.  Jim was a bit dazed from the accident when the police arrived.  The Scottsdale officer decided Jim was impaired but Jim didn’t have any alcohol in his system.  So Scottsdale charged Jim with being impaired by his prescription drugs.  At trial Burges got the State’s lab expert to admit that the levels of the prescription drugs in Jim’s system were probably not enough to impair him. The jury acquitted Jim in a matter of minutes.

ARS 13-907 Set Aside Conviction, ARS 13-908 Restoration of Civil Rights

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Rachel and her husband had a lot of felonies on their record from their youth when they were both addicted to drugs. But all these years later they run a successful small business together and have been clean and sober for over a decade.  Burges filed petitions with the courts to get their convictions set aside and their rights restored.  They look forward to voting in the next election.

ARS 13-1204 Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon (knife) – Probation without jail

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Nancy and her husband got into a fight after drinking way too much and Nancy stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife. Nancy had no criminal history and was in graduate school when this happened. Nancy and her husband had never even had a physical fight before. The prosecutor wanted her to go to prison for 2.5 years. She turned to Burges and he negotiated with the prosecutor and convinced him to let Nancy have probation without any jail. Nancy and her husband got counseling and are still happily married.

ARS 13-3407 Possession for Sale of Dangerous Drugs – Dismissed

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Matt was a passenger in a car that was stopped and searched by police. The police found a backpack with ecstasy inside and packaged for individual sales. Matt exercised his right to remain silent. The driver of the vehicle, however, told police the backpack was Matt’s and he was charged with possession for sale. Matt was on probation for marijuana possession the year prior.  The prosecutor wanted to send Matt to prison for 5 years. Matt’s father hired Burges and he got to work investigating the case.  He showed the prosecutor the weaknesses in the case and the prosecutor agreed to dismiss the charge. Matt doesn’t hang out with that other guy anymore.

ARS 13-2008 Taking the Identity of Another – Probation with the chance to earn a misdemeanor

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Mary is a realtor who made a dumb decision one day that almost cost her her real estate license. She had clients, a couple who moved to the Valley from out of state, whose home wasn’t ready to move in yet. She needed to find them a place to stay for a short time. She also had a client who skipped out on his rent and she knew his place was vacant. So she sublet his apartment to the couple. The problem was she didn’t get permission from the landlord because she was afraid he would say no. Then she got herself into real trouble by signing the landlord’s initials on the sublease agreement. She thought as long as she didn’t sign his name, it wasn’t forgery. But it was identity theft and now she was facing a felony and the loss of her real estate license. Burges negotiated a deal where Mary could turn the conviction into a misdemeanor after probation and then helped her with her real estate license hearing. She got to keep her license and her livelihood.

ARS 28-1381(A2) DUI above .15 (Extreme) – Dismissed

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Justin is deaf. He was stopped for DUI but the officer didn’t bother to get an interpreter before conducting his investigation. The officer even interrogated Justin without an interpreter. Burges did the research to prove Justin’s rights were violated and took it to the prosecutor.  At first the prosecutor fought the issue, but Burges persisted and eventually the prosecutor gave in and dismissed the case.

ARS 28-1382(A1) DUI above .15 (Extreme) – No jail

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Floyd drove home from the bar and came upon a road that was shut down by the police. Even though the police had no reason to suspect Floyd of DUI, they smelled alcohol on his breath and arrested him. His BAC came back above .15. Burges negotiated a deal with the prosecutor that allowed Floyd to plead to a regular DUI instead. Then Burges convinced the judge to spare Floyd the mandatory 24 hours jail by giving him credit for the few hours he spent in jail the night he was arrested.

ARS 28-1382(A1) DUI above .15 (Extreme) – Not Guilty

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Matt was stopped in Scottsdale for DUI and charged with Extreme DUI when his BAC came back from the lab above .15. The prosecutor wouldn’t give Matt any deal so we took it to the jury. Burges cross-examined the police to expose flaws in their investigation.  The jury agreed Matt wasn’t extreme and acquitted him of the charge.

ARS 28-1382(A1) DUI above .15 (Extreme) – Not Guilty

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Brittany was driving home from a Scottsdale bar when she was stopped right after she pulled out of the parking lot. She was charged with Extreme DUI because the Scottsdale crime lab claimed her BAC was above .15. Burges exposed problems with the lab testing to the jury and Brittany was acquitted of the Extreme DUI.