Valarie A McNeice’s Answers

It sounds like there are no charges to be dropped. You can be arrested on two felonies and never officially charged. Law enforcement refers the charges to the City, County or State Attorney for charging. In Arizona, it is usually the County Attorney that files felony charges. If the County Attorney reviewed your case and did not file charges based on a lack of evidence, something would have to change for the charges to be filed at a later date. You can check with the County Attorney's...

An arrest is just that and nothing more. If you were never charged, you should not even have to mention the arrest on a job application, unless it asks if you were ever arrested. Then I would answer "wrongfully arrested and no charges were ever filed". Most applications ask if you were ever charged or ever convicted. An arrest without charges should not prevent you from getting a fingerprint clearance card. Even if you were charged, you are presumed innocent until proven otherwise. Only...

A rule 69 agreement can be a partial or complete agreement and it is binding on both parties once entered with the court. I am confused about the part that he would "file back". If you are asking if he still needs to file a reply, possibly. If you filed for legal separation and then the rule 69 agreement regarding most of the issues, then the remaining issues are still at issue. Your husband should file a response (if he hasn't already)and pay his response fee to address the remaining...

If you have already been terminated, then it may be hard to get reinstated. Unfortunately, missed UAs are often treated as positive. Even though you went in the next day, 24 hours could be long enough to get some drugs out of your system. It may help to hire an attorney to assist you in presenting your case to the judge. A hair follicle test might also show that you have been clean.

I agree that you need to consider more than one attorney. Do not be distracted by popularity, television ads and fancy offices. If an attorney serves all of Arizona, it is not the big name attorney that is handling all of the cases. You can get a good honest attorney at a reasonable price (well as attorney fees go.) Look for an attorney with less years of experience but with particular experience with felony DUIs. Former prosecutors seem to know what discovery to request. A good...

You can file a motion to quash the warrant, but if you have failed to appear in the past then it is not likely that the judge is going to quash the warrant without you appearing. You can explain that you didn't have transportation but what if you can't get transportation next time? If you file a motion to quash the warrant, you should also request that the court set a hearing on your motion even if the court will not dismiss it without you appearing in person. If you appear for that hearing...

I agree with Attorney Biddle, it sounds like you should go ahead and file for default. You may also wish to file an objection to your ex-wife's motion for a change of venue because it was not properly filed. Your objection can be very brief with just a paragraph or two, explaining that the motion was not properly filed and that the response time has lapsed. File for the default and let the court rule on that issue regardless of what is going on with the motion for a change of judge.

You are at risk of losing your children if you are giving them alcohol. It may in part be cultural, but in the United States it is generally not acceptable for children ages 8 and 10 to be consuming alcohol. This could be grounds for a change in physical custody, criminal charges or even a dependency matter. Anyone aware of this situation could contact Child Protective Services and there would likely be a full investigation. Adults are not allowed to give underage children alcohol. You...

It is generally a good idea to hire an attorney in family law matters if there is drug use by one of the parents, but it is not always necessary. You can find forms at self-help locations either on line or at some court houses. If you feel that it is in your daughter's best interest to have custody or parenting time modified, then you should file a petition to modify custody, parenting time or both and request that the father's parenting time be suspended due to drug use until safeguards are...

In order to represent yourself, you are going to have to know about criminal procedure and trial practice. Without reviewing the evidence, no attorney is going to be able to tell you exactly what you need to do. The pre-trial statement includes basic information that each side needs to provide. When ever you file anything, the original goes to the Clerk of the Superior and a copy to the other party/attorney. You should also provide a courtesy copy to the judge. A copy of exhibits are not...