Law Offices of Michael Harwin

01/27/2023

Many of my clients, and their families, report to me at the first meeting that the police gave them “tests” at the roadside.

01/27/2023

Should I get a lawyer for a DUI in Arizona?
Driving under the influence (DUI) is a serious crime in Arizona. If you have been arrested for DUI, it is important to understand your legal rights.
DUI

Driving under the influence (DUI) is a serious crime in Arizona. If you have been arrested for DUI, it is important to understand your legal rights.

08/27/2022

First, understand that in the dorms, your child's privacy rights as a practical matter are left at the key-carded entrance. And that the Resident Assistants rather than acting as your child's "assistants," actually serve as de-facto auxiliaries of the University of Arizona Police.

In the vast majority of cases, it is the Resident Assistants themselves who make the call to the Police about your child. And they do so for relatively minor occurrences it seems-when for example an RA thinks she smells ma*****na creeping ("emanating" the Police like to call it, the RA's adopting the police verbiage) out from under your child's dorm room door, or suspect usually correctly mind you that there's underage drinking going on behind that door, or when they hear what they think behind that door is heated argument your daughter might be having with her boyfriend.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/uofa-students-arrested-in-the-dorms-what-you-should-know/

04/28/2022

You or someone you care about was just arrested for a felony in Pima County. So you ask: What comes next? This article will give you a general overview of what happens and what to expect

Booking & Initial Appearance
In Pima County, all police departments, including Marana, Oro Valley, and Sahuarita, use the central booking and holding system at the Pima County Jail on Silverlake, with an annex around the corner on Silverbell.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/youve-been-arrested-for-a-felony-in-pima-county-what-happens-next/

03/31/2022

Last time we spoke about Speedy Trial rights under Arizona law, and how Covid has affected them. Today we are going to talk about other rights, the rights you have to "prompt" "timely" "disclosure" of basic materials-your police reports, the results of any chemical testing of bodily substances, photographs, videos, audio records and a host of others. Today I'm going to focus on videos, photos, and audio recordings because they are ostensibly readily available (in other words there is no further testing that has to be completed at a crime lab). And three things you can do where the prosecutor has failed to timely disclose important evidence.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/the-prosecutor-failed-to-give-me-evidence-three-things-you-can-do/

03/07/2022

During the COVID pandemic courts here in Arizona, in Pima County and in Tucson were temporarily closed, limited or cancelled. Almost all matters, especially for those out of custody, were continued interminably. For some time there were no jury trials, at all, no evidentiary hearings, sometimes not even any pretrial conferences. Cases languished. If you have one of those cases-one that has been pending for over a year. here's some positive thoughts about what you can productively do.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/your-dui-case-is-two-years-old-three-things-you-do/

02/25/2022

In our last three sessions we spoke initially about certain commonalities in domestic violence processing procedure , including arrest, initial appearance and arraignment. Then we spoke about the integral role cooperative victims can assume in securing favorable release conditions and, moreover, favorable final outcomes.

Today we're going to talk about some a common professional consequence that attach soon after arrest for a domestic violence related crime, including misdemeanors: Suspension of Fingerprint Clearance Cards.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/domestic-violence-for-professionals-fingerprint-clearance-cards-teachers-nurses/

02/15/2022

Last time we initiated our discussion of domestic violence and professionals by touching on arrest, initial appearance, release conditions, arraignment, and the basics of no contact orders.

Today we continue, introducing you today to the Arizona Victims' Bill of Rights. We discuss herein how the Arizona Victims' Bill of Rights may be in some cases actually helpful to defendants whose victims do not want the defendant prosecuted or restrained. In other words, we discuss how a cooperative victim may use the Arizona Victims' Bill of Rights to make her voice heard on release conditions, case management, and potentially outcome.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/domestic-violence-for-professionals-part-two-victims-bill-of-rights-in-arizona/

01/26/2022

If you are a licensed professional, serve in the military, hold security or access clearances, or need to carry or handle a firearm for your job, domestic violence charges, even if later dismissed, can alter your career trajectory.

In this blog series we will talk about some of the obstacles, and hidden traps, for those facing domestic violence charges, together with some possible solutions.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/domestic-violence-for-professionals-the-arrest-initial-appearance-arraignment/

01/21/2022

A few blogs back, you and I spoke about clearing your Arizona record of conviction through various machinations, at least setting it aside, or sealing it, and in some happy cannabis cases expunging it completamente.

But today we're going to talk about something else: What about those cases where you are arrested or charged but not convicted? Like, what if you actually win your case, but your arrest record keeps popping up? Years later. Employers, landlords, occupational licensing agencies , the Government? They see that arrest record and do not like it.

Today I want to show you how, or at least suggest to you, one way in Arizona you can, under the right circumstances, go after a state or local criminal record of arrest when there is a dismissal.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/how-to-clear-an-arrest-record-in-arizona/

04/21/2021

Many times people do not want the bother of coming back to court over and over, especially over what they thought was a minor misdemeanor thing like "disorderly conduct" or "criminal damage" even if it's classified as domestic violence.

To make matters worse, Arizona courts don't appoint public defenders or indigent defense attorneys on misdemeanors generally unless the prosecutor is looking for jail time. That means that people facing domestic violence cases many times don't get a lawyer.

So sometimes good people think they are making a good cost-effective and harmless choice by taking a plea early, and uncounseled in what they think is a nothing case, only to find that they lose their job over it, they get rejected from college, they get deported, or they experience some other unforeseen disaster.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/wrongfully-convicted-in-arizona-five-things-you-should-know/

03/15/2021

First of all, there is no absolute requirement that police ever have to give you Miranda warnings, when they arrest you. Only if they want to question you. Sometimes the police simply arrest you and don't bother with the warnings and then don't try to use your statements.
https://www.michaelharwinlaw.com/when-do-the-police-have-to-advise-me-of-my-miranda-rights/