Arizona Endangerment Lawyer

GET SKILLED LEGAL HELP NOW FOR YOUR DEFENSE

An experienced attorney can make all the difference in resolving a case into favorable outcome. Scottsdale endangerment lawyer, Dave Smith, has over 14 years' experience defending the accused in Arizona and has the skills to get the best possible result. 

If you are facing criminal charges in Arizona it is important to get legal help immediately. The early stages of a criminal matter are a crucial time to begin building a person's defense. Contact Us.

WHAT IS ENDANGERMENT IN ARIZONA?

Endangerment, or reckless endangerment, covers a broad range of behavior and circumstances. A person commits endangerment if, due to their reckless actions, another person's safety is put at risk. Since the definition is so broad, it is a commonly charged offense in Arizona. 

Hiring an experienced Arizona criminal defense attorney is a person's best defense against endangerment charges. The circumstances which gave rise to the endangerment charge are quite open for interpretation as to the recklessness or criminality of the behavior. Every case has its own unique facts and circumstances, so it is important to discuss your case with an experienced Arizona endangerment lawyer today. 

ENDANGERMENT ARIZONA LAW  

A.R.S. 13-1201 contains the Arizona legal definition of endangerment:  

A person commits endangerment by recklessly endangering another person with a substantial risk of imminent death or physical injury.

Endangerment is usually charged as a class 6 felony. In some circumstances it is charged as a class 1 misdemeanor. Contact Scottsdale endangerment lawyer, Dave Smith, to go over the facts of your case and learn about the risk exposure for these charges. 

Under the Arizona criminal code, felonies are broken into 6 classes with a class 1 felony being the most severe to a class 6 felony being the least serious of felony offenses. Misdemeanors are organized into 3 classes with class 1 misdemeanor being the most serious.    

A felony conviction is more serious than a misdemeanor conviction and carries harsh consequences such as longer periods of incarceration, heavy fines, a permanent felony record, the potential for loss of a person's job, loss of civil rights, public and housing benefits, immigration problems, and may cause child custody issues. 

Arizona Endangerment Conviction Penalties: 

• Class 6 felony - Endangerment involving a substantial risk of imminent death, which has a presumptive sentence of 1 year;
• Class 1 misdemeanor - all other cases with a maximum sentence of 6 months and up to 3 years probation.

In many cases, yes, the answer depends on the facts of the case. It is a matter that is negotiated between your attorney and the state and is in the judge's discretion to grant. Generally, a non-dangerous class 6 felony is eligible to be reduced to a misdemeanor as long as it is not a designated felony. A dangerous offense is one involving the threatening use of a deadly weapon, such as a firearm, or a dangerous instrument, such as a vehicle.   

WHEN WILL A CLASS 6 FELONY BE REDUCED TO A MISDEMEANOR?

Typically, the court will reduce the undesignated class 6 felony to a misdemeanor when the person completes their sentence. Sometimes this is automatically done, but it is not uncommon for a defendant to be required to petition the court after discharge from their sentence in order to have the felony reduced to a misdemeanor. If that is the case, the process involves filing a motion with the court to apply for misdemeanor designation.

Scottsdale felony lawyer, Dave Smith, has defended thousands of clients in Arizona and is skilled at achieving favorable sentencing and post-conviction outcomes.  

There are several potential defenses to endangerment charges. Every case is different with its own unique facts, so it is important to contact a criminal defense attorney skilled in endangerment law to review your case.

Attorney Dave Smith knows what it takes to destroy the state's case and get results. A winning strategy involves:

• Extensive defense investigations in the form of witness and police interviews,
• Review of discovery materials, 
• Lodging legal challenges where issues exist to preclude the state's evidence or argue constitutional violations,
• Finding the weaknesses in the case, 
• Negotiate with the state to get the best possible results such as full dismissal or reduced charges,
• Potentially trial, if you decide to go to trial. Dave Smith is a highly skilled criminal trial attorney with a reputation in the legal community for being an aggressive advocate of the accused.    

DEFENDANT DID NOT ACT RECKLESSLY

Whether the accused acted recklessly or the result occurred simply as an accident or by acts that fall short of criminal recklessness is often open for interpretation. The definition is very broad and ripe for argument. Contact Arizona endangerment lawyer, Dave Smith to discuss the potential defenses for your case.

"Recklessly" generally means that a person's actions constitute a gross deviation from society's standards of conduct. A person acts recklessly if they are aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk and they act in disregard of that risk. Being intoxicated voluntarily is not a defense to criminal recklessness in Arizona.   

Example: John is driving through a crowded department store parking lot with his child in the backseat. Another driver starts backing their large pickup truck out of their parking space toward his child's door. John honks, but the driver continues backing out and almost hits John's vehicle. John steps on the gas and pulls away, chirping the tires and lays a skid mark on the pavement. He drives away without hitting any people or property.      

This scenario is open to interpretation whether John acted recklessly by punching the gas in a parking lot, chirping the tires, and laying down a skid mark under these circumstances. Did John's actions amount to recklessness? A security surveillance video would likely be helpful here to show the details. John was in the right to honk and try to alert the driver to stop. This failed and John was left with a choice whether to allow the truck to back into his child's door or drive the car out of danger. Most would agree that it is justifiable to pull away and avoid another vehicle that is about to hit them. Did John put his child's safety at a substantial risk of imminent death? Not likely here since he was not going very fast, he merely accelerated from an already slow speed. What about causing substantial and unjustifiable risk to anyone else in the parking lot? Again, not likely since it is justifiable to avoid a collision by driving away, and he did so safely.

NO IMMINENT RISK OF DEATH

It is a defense to felony endangerment charges if there was no imminent risk of death to another person. "Imminent risk" is generally defined as causing imminent danger, or immediate danger.  If a person's actions do not rise to the level of creating an immediate risk that another person could die as result of those actions, then the behavior does not constitute endangerment.

ENDANGERMENT AS REDUCED CHARGES IN ARIZONA

Often, other more serious criminal offenses can be reduced to an endangerment charge to resolve a case favorably. Offenses such as DUI, assault, or racing are just some examples of crimes that may be reduced to an endangerment charge, depending on the circumstances. 

Contact Arizona endangerment lawyer, Dave Smith, to discuss your options today.