TLDR
- A police report is one side’s first draft, and the founder of this firm learned that by reading his own report years too late.
- Public defenders are skilled lawyers, and the gap between them and a private attorney is measured in hours per file.
- Arizona ethics rules put a lawyer’s fee in writing, so a consultation never produces a bill you did not agree to, and a fee stamped nonrefundable still comes back to you for work not performed.
- The words “I want a lawyer” stop police questioning, and you do not need a lawyer’s name or number to say them.
Myth one: the report is airtight, so nothing an attorney does will matter
I am Zachary Divelbiss, and I founded Future First Criminal Law. Before law school, I was arrested for DUI. I read the police report and believed every line of it. The officer wrote that I drifted across the lane, that my eyes were red and watery, that I failed the roadside tests. It read like a verdict. I hired nobody. I assumed a lawyer would take my money and hand me the same result.
At my court date I met a public defender for the first time. He told me he had picked up my file that morning, with a stack of others under it. He walked me through the plea on the table and called it a fair deal. I took it. The conversation lasted a few minutes.
Years later, as a lawyer, I pulled that report and read it again. I found several problems. The reason for the stop was thinner than the officer made it sound. The roadside tests were run in a way the training manual warns against. The timeline between the stop and the breath test did not match the report. None of those would have made the charge vanish. Each one would have cut the punishment, and a lawyer with an afternoon to spend on my file would have found them.
That is the point of this myth. Officers write reports fast, from memory, after a long shift, to support an arrest they already made. They make mistakes constantly. Nobody is guilty because a report says so. The prosecutor still has to prove every element, and the defense gets to test every one.
My public defender was not the problem. He was a capable lawyer with more files than hours. What a private attorney adds is time. Time to watch the body camera footage twice. Time to call the prosecutor before the court date and negotiate from a position of knowing more than the other side expects. That story is why this firm exists, and it is why the rest of this post speaks in the firm’s voice instead of mine.
Myths two and three: lawyers are only in it for the money, and all lawyers are rich
These two travel together, so they share an answer.
Start with the money motive. A defense lawyer charges a fee, and nobody should pretend otherwise. The question is what the fee buys. In criminal defense it buys hours, and hours are the one thing a court-appointed lawyer with a full caseload has the least of. A private attorney’s fee pays for the time to read the report closely, the budget to send blood to an independent lab, and the willingness to set a case for trial when the offer is bad. A lawyer chasing easy money picks a different field. Our client reviews describe what the fee bought, in the words of the people who paid it.
Now the rich part. The lawyers on billboards handle injury cases, and injury cases pay a percentage of a settlement. Criminal defense does not work that way. A misdemeanor case carries a flat fee, and that fee covers a paralegal, court time, and the weeks between hearings when nothing bills. Most defense attorneys in Arizona run small offices. Many started, as Zachary did, after their own brush with the system.
Ethics rules also forbid a contingent fee in a criminal case. A defense lawyer is not allowed to take a cut of a win the way an injury lawyer does. The fee is a flat number or an hourly rate, written down before the work begins. That structure is why payment plans are common in criminal defense, and why the firm publishes its numbers on a pricing page instead of asking you to guess.
Myth four: talking to an attorney means a surprise bill
Plenty of people avoid the phone call because they picture an invoice arriving a week later for the conversation. Arizona’s rules for lawyers make that fear groundless.
ER 1.5 of the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct requires a lawyer to communicate the scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fee to the client in writing, before or within a reasonable time after the representation begins. Any change to the fee has to be in writing too. A consultation where you have not hired the lawyer and have not signed anything is not a representation with a fee attached. There is nothing to bill.
As of 2026, this rule works the same way it has for years, and the bar that licenses every Arizona lawyer enforces it. A lawyer who billed you for a consultation you never agreed to pay for would be answering to the bar, not collecting.
At this firm the consultation is free and it is scheduled during business hours. You talk to a person who asks what happened, where the case sits, and what worries you most. If you hire the firm, you sign a written fee agreement first and know the number before any work starts. If you do not, you leave with information and no bill.
The other surprise shows up when someone wants to switch lawyers midway through a case and finds the word “nonrefundable” in the agreement they signed. The word does less than it looks like it does. Arizona lets a lawyer call a fee nonrefundable or earned on receipt only if the agreement tells you, in writing and at the same time, you are free to fire the lawyer at any point, and the part of the fee the work performed does not justify comes back to you. The Arizona Supreme Court said the same thing in 2002 in a discipline case called In re Connelly. A flat fee paid up front is treated as your money until the work is done, and stamping it nonrefundable does not change who it belongs to. The refund is measured by the value of the work performed, not by the label on the agreement. A lawyer who did nothing keeps nothing. If a lawyer tells you no money is coming back and you believe some is owed, call the State Bar of Arizona at 602-340-7280. Its intake lawyers take fee complaints from the public and look into them.
A written flat fee also names what sits outside it. At this firm the flat fee covers the lawyer’s work on your case. Expert witness costs, court fines, classes and an interlock device are separate, and you hear about them before you sign, not after.
Myth five: you need a lawyer before you are allowed to ask for one
This one costs people more than the other four combined, because it plays out in a patrol car or an interview room with no time to think.
The right to a lawyer belongs to you from the first moment of a custodial interrogation. You do not need a lawyer’s name, a business card or a phone number. You do not need to have spoken to a lawyer once in your life. The words “I want a lawyer” are enough. Once you say them, the police have to stop questioning you until a lawyer is present, unless you restart the conversation yourself. The United States Supreme Court set that rule in Edwards v. Arizona, a case that came out of this state.
Two cautions. Say it plainly. “Should I get a lawyer?” and “I think I might need a lawyer” are questions, and courts have treated questions like those as something less than a request. Say it as a statement. Then stop talking. People ask for a lawyer and keep explaining, and everything they say afterward is fair game.
Asking does not make you look guilty to anyone whose opinion matters. The judge reads the request as a person using a right. The prosecutor reads it as a file with fewer statements in it. If you were stopped for DUI, read what to say and what you are allowed to refuse. If a detective is calling about a case with no charge filed yet, the same words apply, and what happens during an investigation explains why that call is not casual.
The Law Behind This
The myths above are about hiring. The charges below are the ones people face most often when they make that decision, and the third column is what the law means for your file.
| Charge or relief | What the law says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| First offense DUI | A.R.S. § 28-1381 makes it a crime to drive impaired to the slightest degree, at 0.08 or more within two hours of driving, or with a listed drug or its metabolite in your body, and it sets a ten-day jail floor on a first offense while letting the judge suspend all but one day once screening or treatment is finished | Three theories of guilt means three places the report has to hold up, and the suspended days depend on a lawyer asking for them |
| Misdemeanor jail caps | A.R.S. § 13-707 caps jail at six months for a class 1 misdemeanor, four months for a class 2 and thirty days for a class 3, and it moves a repeat of the same offense within two years up one class | The class the prosecutor picks sets the ceiling, and moving the class down is often the whole fight |
| Domestic violence label | A.R.S. § 13-3601 attaches a domestic violence designation to an underlying charge when the two people share a listed relationship, such as a marriage, a household, a child in common or a romantic history | The label is not its own crime, and challenging the relationship element or the underlying charge removes it |
| Probation terms | A.R.S. § 13-902 caps probation at one to three years for misdemeanors and allows up to five years on a DUI | A plea that sounds light on jail often runs years on supervision, and a lawyer reads that part before you sign |
What a private attorney does with the time
The firm’s job is to spend on your file the hours Zachary’s public defender never had. That is specific work, not a slogan.
On a DUI, the first move is the hearing at the Arizona MVD, which the firm handles in-house instead of sending you elsewhere. The second move is the blood. When a sample deserves a second look, it goes to an independent lab for retesting, and the result either confirms the number or hands the prosecutor a problem. Brielle Schumpe leads the DUI side of the practice. The DUI law gives the prosecutor three theories of guilt, and each one gets tested.
On any charge, the report gets compared against the body camera footage, the dispatch log and the witness statements. Gaps between them are what make a case winnable. Trial is a real option here, and the firm’s case victories include charges dismissed outright as well as felonies brought down to misdemeanors. A prosecutor who knows a firm will set a case for trial negotiates differently from one who knows it will not.
Every client gets recorded video updates after hearings, so nobody waits days wondering what happened in a courtroom they did not attend. The firm holds 250+ five-star Google reviews from people who went through this. Our Phoenix criminal defense lawyers handle misdemeanors and felonies across the Valley, and the same team reads the probation terms that follow a plea before you sign one.
Our Results
The client faced a first offense DUI charge and a report that looked solid on paper. The firm challenged the evidence and the prosecutor dismissed the charge in full. No DUI conviction and no jail. Read the full result.
The client faced an extreme DUI charge, which carries a thirty-day jail floor on a first offense. After negotiation the charge came down two tiers to reckless driving, which is not a DUI at all. The client left with no DUI on the record. Read the full result.
The client faced a class 6 felony disorderly conduct charge with a dangerous allegation and a domestic violence label, an exposure that includes mandatory prison. The firm negotiated the charge down to a class 1 misdemeanor. No prison and no felony record. Every case turns on its own record, and past results do not predict a future one. Read the full result.
Talk to an attorney before your first court date
The report is not a verdict. The consultation is free and produces no bill. The words “I want a lawyer” are yours to use before you have ever met one. Call Future First Criminal Law at 602-900-7625 and tell us where your case sits, whether that is a citation in your glove box or a court date next week. Phones are answered around the clock, and consultations are scheduled during business hours. We keep good people out of jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a public defender a real lawyer?
Yes. Public defenders are licensed attorneys, and many of them are among the most experienced trial lawyers in any courthouse. The limit is the caseload, which leaves each file with less time than it deserves.
Who qualifies for a public defender in Arizona?
A judge appoints a lawyer for a person who faces possible jail and is unable to afford one, in every court under the Arizona Judicial Branch. The judge asks about income and assets at the first appearance and decides from there. Many working people land in the gap where they do not qualify and still struggle to pay.
Does a consultation with a criminal defense attorney cost money?
At Future First Criminal Law it does not. Some firms charge a consultation fee, and when they do, they tell you the fee before the meeting because the rules require the fee basis in writing. Nobody is allowed to bill you afterward for a fee you never agreed to.
How do I switch from a public defender to a private attorney?
Hire the private attorney, and that attorney files a notice of substitution with the judge and takes over the file. The switch is allowed at any point before the case ends. The earlier it happens, the more time the new lawyer has to work with.
Is a nonrefundable fee legal for a criminal defense lawyer in Arizona?
The word is allowed only if the agreement also tells you, in writing and at the same time, you are free to fire the lawyer at any point and get back the unearned part of the fee. The Arizona Supreme Court held in 2002 in In re Connelly a flat fee paid up front is treated as your money until the work is done, whatever the label. If you switch lawyers midway, the first lawyer keeps a fee for the work performed and refunds the rest. If the refund does not come, the State Bar of Arizona takes the complaint at 602-340-7280.
Do I need a lawyer for a misdemeanor in Arizona?
A class 1 misdemeanor carries up to six months in jail and up to three years of probation, and the conviction stays on your record. A lawyer often moves the class down or gets the charge dismissed, which changes what follows you for years.
Do I need a lawyer for a first DUI?
A first DUI carries mandatory jail, fines and alcohol classes in court, plus a license suspension and an ignition interlock through the MVD. The case runs on two tracks, one in court and one at the MVD, each with its own deadline. A lawyer who handles both is the difference between a managed case and a surprise.
What should I ask at a consultation?
Ask who handles your case day to day, what the fee is and whether it is flat, how you receive updates, and how many similar cases the lawyer has taken to trial. Walk away from anyone who promises a result.
How do I ask for a lawyer during a police stop?
Say “I want a lawyer” as a plain statement, not a question. Then stop answering questions about what happened. You still hand over your license, registration and insurance, and you still step out of the car when told to.