Articles Posted in Minors

In a December 2023 case before an Arizona court of appeals, the defendant asked for a reconsideration of the lower court’s sentencing decision in her child abuse case. She was originally charged with and convicted of negligent child abuse, and she asked the higher court to conduct a review of the record, to ensure the lower court arrived at the verdict and resulting sentence fairly. Finding no fundamental error in the trial court’s record, the court of appeals affirmed.

Facts of the Case

This case revolved around a 2011 incident in which the defendant and her husband mistreated a ten-year old girl that was living with them at the time. According to the opinion, the couple subjected the girl to cruel punishment by making her remain in a backbend position for at least one hour after she took a popsicle without permission. They then locked the girl inside a storage box in a room without any air conditioning, where she eventually died.

The defendant was convicted of many offenses, including first-degree murder, intentional child abuse, and negligent child abuse. She appealed the lower court’s sentencing decision on the negligent child abuse offense.

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Recently, a state appellate court issued an opinion in an Arizona DUI case discussing the elements of an aggravated DUI under Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) section 28-1383(A)(3). Ultimately, the court determined that the prosecution established evidence of each element, and affirmed the jury’s guilty verdict.

According to the court’s opinion, the defendant was driving a 14-year-old girl home from a party when he was involved in a car accident. Evidently, the defendant did not know the girl very well, and was unaware of her age. When police arrived on the scene, they found a bottle of pills inside the vehicle, and the defendant admitted that he had smoked marijuana earlier that day.

The defendant was arrested and charged under A.R.S. section 28-1383(A)(3), which makes it an aggravated DUI to operate a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol while carrying a passenger less than 15 years of age. The defendant requested the trial court instruct the jury that he could not be found guilty unless the prosecution proved the defendant knew the girl was under 15 years of age. The court rejected the defendant’s request and the jury convicted the defendant of aggravated DUI. The defendant appealed.

People throughout the greater Phoenix area have counted on the team at the Law Office of James Novak to provide robust DUI defense and legal advice on what to do after a drunk driving arrest. This applies to many different kinds of crimes, whether they involve adults over the age of 21 or minors.

We know that many minors face legal matters that involve alcohol and fake identifications. With this in mind, we'd like to consider what happens when you are a minor and charged with using a fake ID.

Legal Penalties for Using Fake Identification

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