Voters May Decide if DUI Offenders Get Jury Trials

It may be up to Arizona voters whether to allow drunk drivers to get jury trials.

Two Arizona attorneys are on a quest to amend current state law which eliminates the right of people charged with simpleDUI to go before a jury to determine their innocence. If the attorneys are successful in their campaign, this law will be overturned and a judge will be given the power to grant or deny a jury trial.

In order to get a referendum heard for this amendment, the lawyers - Stephen Barnard and Clifford  Girard - must get 86,405 valid signatures. Should they gather all of these signatures, the issue will be placed on the 2012 ballot for the public to decide. Another amendment is on the table regarding drunk driving laws, including the length of time that an ignition interlock device would be installed in an offender's vehicle. The current state law demands 12 months for first-time offenders; the change would bring that down to just six months.

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