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.

ARS 28-1381(A2) DUI above .08 – Not Guilty

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Jerry was a business man stopped by the police after his round of golf. He had a couple beers on the front 9 but felt there was no way he was above the limit and felt fine to drive. Burges showed the jury how the police were biased in their investigation and how the lab can get things wrong with the blood analysis. The jury agreed and dismissed the charge. Jerry is still working to improve his putting.

ARS 13-1504 Criminal Trespass (Domestic Violence) – Dismissed

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Mark was dating a woman for only a couple weeks when he stopped by her house for a surprise visit. But he was the one who got the surprise. The woman was with another man. In fact, it was the man she told him she left because she was afraid of him. Mark was upset but he didn’t react and just left the house when she told him to go. Then Mark heard screaming and thought she was in danger from this other guy so he ran back into the house. But she was fine and now Mark was facing trespassing charges. Burges negotiated with the prosecutor and got the case dismissed as long as Mark promised to stay away from the woman. That was more than okay with Mark.

ARS 13-1204 Aggravated Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (car) – Significantly Reduced Prison Time

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Greg got in a bad accident with his family in the car. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but it turned out Greg had alcohol in his system. Greg also had old prior felonies from 20 years ago. The prosecutor wanted to throw the book at him and brought 16 charges. The prosecutor got a little too creative with his charging though and tried to charge Greg with Dangerous Crimes Against Children which would mean at least 40 years of prison for Greg. Burges researched the law and showed the prosecutor and the judge a case that ruled such charges couldn’t be brought for a car accident case. The prosecutor eventually gave in and Greg was sentenced to only 6 years.  It’s still a long time for him to be away from his family but at least it isn’t the rest of his life.