What Happens on a 4th DUI in Arizona? ARS 28-1383

What Happens on a 4th DUI in Arizona?

A fourth DUI within 84 months is aggravated DUI, a Class 4 felony, with a harsher floor than a third. Under A.R.S. § 28-1383(A)(2), any third or subsequent DUI within 84 months is aggravated DUI; under subsection (E), a person convicted of that offense who has three or more prior DUI convictions in the window is not eligible for probation, pardon, commutation, or any release until they have served at least eight months in prison, double the four-month floor that applies to a third offense. The ordinary Class 4 range under A.R.S. § 13-702(D) is 1 to 3.75 years if probation is denied.

The number that changes a fourth DUI most, though, is not in the DUI statute. If any prior was itself an aggravated DUI, that prior is a historical prior felony conviction under A.R.S. § 13-105, and the definition contains a provision written for exactly this case: a prior aggravated DUI counts as a historical prior without any time limit when the new offense is a violation of 28-1383. A fourth DUI with one prior felony DUI is then sentenced as a category-two repetitive offender under A.R.S. § 13-703: 2.25 to 7.5 years, presumptive 4.5. With two prior felony DUIs, category three: 6 to 15 years, presumptive 10.

Counting to Four: The 84-Month Rule

Under A.R.S. § 28-1383(B), the dates of commission control regardless of the order of convictions, and time incarcerated or on absconder status is excluded from the 84 months. Convictions under 28-1381, 28-1382, and 28-1383, in any combination, count, as do out-of-state offenses that would violate those sections, and juvenile adjudications. Multiple counts from the same series of acts count once. Each prior must be alleged and proven by the State, and a prior that falls outside the window when the dates are actually computed, that is not the equivalent of an Arizona DUI, or that was entered without counsel or a valid waiver can fail. Removing one prior from a fourth-offense case drops the floor from eight months to four; removing two makes it a misdemeanor second offense. Our third-DUI guide walks through the prior-conviction fight in detail.

What the Case Looks Like

A fourth DUI is prosecuted by the county attorney in Superior Court by complaint or indictment. Release conditions under A.R.S. § 13-3967 at the initial appearance are set with the record in view and often include alcohol monitoring and a no-driving order, and a bond is likely; see why an attorney matters at the bond hearing. If probation is granted after the eight months, it can run up to ten years under A.R.S. § 13-902(B)(2), and under A.R.S. § 28-1383(H) a failure to complete court-ordered treatment on probation can bring jail as a probation term of up to eight months at a time and two years total for an (E) defendant. Revocation, a 24-month interlock, and the felony record follow the conviction under subsection (J) and A.R.S. § 28-3319(D).

How a Fourth DUI Is Defended

• The priors, one at a time. Offense-date math with incarceration excluded, out-of-state equivalence, the validity of each plea, and the admissibility of the records the State offers.
• The historical prior felony allegation. Whether a prior aggravated DUI was actually a conviction under 28-1383 and was properly alleged under the repetitive-offender rules.
• The current DUI. The stop, the arrest, the blood draw and its warrant, the two-hour rule, and the laboratory work; a fourth DUI needs a fourth DUI. See challenging a DUI blood test.
• Negotiated classification. Where a prior is contestable, resolution as a third-offense aggravated DUI (four-month floor) or, with two priors out, a misdemeanor second offense; whether the State offers it depends on the priors and the evidence.
• Mitigation. Verified treatment, monitored sobriety during the case, and a presentence record aimed at probation after the floor rather than a prison range.

How Tamou Law Group Defends Fourth DUI Cases

We begin with the priors and the repetitive-offender allegation, because together they decide whether the exposure is eight months or a decade, and each is a fact the State must prove with admissible records. The current stop, arrest, and blood evidence are litigated in parallel. Where a prior is contestable we pursue the lower classification; where the felony holds we build the presentence record for probation after the floor. Members of the National College for DUI Defense, in Maricopa County Superior Court from the first appearance through sentencing.

Related guides: jail time for a third DUI, felony (aggravated) DUI defense, DUI on a suspended license, and our Arizona DUI charges hub. Call 623-321-4699, 24/7.