Felony Offenses
Arizona Felony Offenses are very serious violations of the law and should not be taken lightly. They can involve mandatory prison time, being placed on lifetime probation, having your civil rights taken away, fines of up to $150,000, and more. Having a felony criminal record may affect career opportunities, education, military service, child custody, and marriages. It is critical to retain a criminal defense attorney that understands Arizona law and how to properly defend your case.
Contact Us Today for a Free In-Depth, No Obligation Case Review.
Consequences of a Felony
There are an endless amount of different consequences associated with felony offenses. Arizona does not have an expungement statute, except with regards to simple possession marijuana convictions, that’s it. A felony on your criminal record may be more of a detriment than most people believe. Below are some of the consequences of a felony conviction:
Civil Sanctions
A Felony conviction will result in not being able to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury, and possess a firearm. Even if a person’s right to carry a gun is restored, they will be permanently banned from receiving a concealed weapon’s permit due to Federal Regulations.
Prohibited State Licenses or other Opportunities
A person may be denied employment by the state or be denied a license, permit or certificate to engage in certain professions due to their prior conviction.
The licensing agencies have enormous discretion to deny felony offenders from obtaining licenses, and many state licenses or occupational opportunities may be prohibited with a felony conviction.
Issues Involving Family
Felony convictions may affect a person’s child custody rights and parental status — a court may rule that a felony conviction is grounds for removal of child custody. A felony may also negatively impact a person’s marriage/relationships.
Termination of Child Custody
Felony convictions may be used to argue against joint custody in a child custody case. Parents convicted of drug offenses or certain DUI offenses will be presumed to be unfit unless the parent can show they have not received a felony conviction within the last five years and completed treatment.
Domestic violence may also prevent a parent from receiving joint custody or unsupervised visits with the child.
Severance of Parental Rights
A parent’s right to raise their child may be terminated by the state if the parent is incarcerated or committed a crime against a child such as murder, manslaughter, or a sexual crime involving a minor. The court may order a severance of a child without requiring CPS to provide efforts to rehabilitate the relationship.
Military Service Ban
A person may be able to join the armed forces if they have their record expunged, charges dismissed or receive a pardon. However, a felony will usually result in disqualification from the military. Note: Arizona only allows expungement of convictions for simple possession marijuana.
Denial of Educational Assistance
A person who is convicted of a felony drug offense and was receiving educational grants/loans is barred from further assistance. A one year ban for a first time offense, two years for a second offense, and life for a third or more offense.
Loss of Housing
Depending on the offense and the city in which the person lives, they may lose their public housing for a short period of time or indefinitely. Many apartments also have restrictions on felons living in the complex.
Government Benefit Issues
A person convicted of a felony for possession or sale of controlled substance may lose their ability to obtain food stamps and social security benefits if they are not in compliance with the terms of their probation or parole. The person’s children are eligible for the benefit but the award may be reduced by the number of people in the household with felony drug convictions. However, the state may still use the ineligible person’s income to determine amount of award.
Felony Sentencing Laws
In Arizona there are mandatory sentencing laws in place. This restricts a judge to sentence a person to a set range determined by State Legislation. Below are some of the sentencing requirements imposed on courts in Arizona:
First-Time, Non-Dangerous Felony Conviction — A.R.S. § 13-702(D):
For a first-time, non-dangerous felony conviction, a person may be sentenced to prison, probation from 3 to 7 years (10 years for Felony Aggravated DUI), probation with up to 12 months jail, etc. This is the only felony sentencing category that may not require prison, but a judge has the option of prison.
Class 2 felony: Mitigated term of 3 years; Minimum term of 4 years; Presumptive term of 5 years; Maximum term of 10 years; Aggravated term of 12.5 years
Class 3 felony: Mitigated term of 2 years; Minimum term of 2.5 years; Presumptive term of 3.5 years; Maximum term of 7 years; Aggravated term of 8.75 years
Class 4 felony: Mitigated term of 1 years; Minimum term of 1.5 years; Presumptive term of 2.5 years; Maximum term of 3 years; Aggravated term of 3.75 years
Class 5 felony: Mitigated term of 0.5 years; Minimum term of 0.75 years; Presumptive term of 1.5 years; Maximum term of 2 years; Aggravated term of 2.5 years
Class 6 felony: Mitigated term of 0.33 years; Minimum term of 0.5 years; Presumptive term of 1 years; Maximum term of 1.5 years; Aggravated term of 2 years
One Non-Historical Prior Felony Conviction — A.R.S. § 13-703(A),(H):
For a “Repeat,” non-dangerous felony conviction, a person must be sentenced to prison. Probation is not an option. This range is used if a person has a one “non-historical” prior or for a second offense in the same complaint with a different date of offense, see below for more information on priors.
Class 2 felony: Mitigated term of 3 years; Minimum term of 4 years; Presumptive term of 5 years; Maximum term of 10 years; Aggravated term of 12.5 years
Class 3 felony: Mitigated term of 2 years; Minimum term of 2.5 years; Presumptive term of 3.5 years; Maximum term of 7 years; Aggravated term of 8.75 years
Class 4 felony: Mitigated term of 1 years; Minimum term of 1.5 years; Presumptive term of 2.5 years; Maximum term of 3 years; Aggravated term of 3.75 years
Class 5 felony: Mitigated term of 0.5 years; Minimum term of 0.75 years; Presumptive term of 1.5 years; Maximum term of 2 years; Aggravated term of 2.5 years
Class 6 felony: Mitigated term of 0.25 years; Minimum term of 0.5 years; Presumptive term of 1 years; Maximum term of 1.5 years; Aggravated term of 2 years
One Historical Prior or Two Non-Historical Prior Felony Conviction(s) — A.R.S. § 13-703(B),(I):
For a “Repeat,” non-dangerous felony conviction, a person must be sentenced to prison. Probation is not an option. This range is used if a person has two “non-historical” priors, one “historical” prior, or for a third+ offense in the same complaint with a different dates of offense.
Class 2 felony: Mitigated term of 4.5 years; Minimum term of 6 years; Presumptive term of 9.25 years; Maximum term of 18.5 years; Aggravated term of 23 years
Class 3 felony: Mitigated term of 3.25 years; Minimum term of 4.5 years; Presumptive term of 6.5 years; Maximum term of 13 years; Aggravated term of 16.25 years
Class 4 felony: Mitigated term of 2.25 years; Minimum term of 3 years; Presumptive term of 4.5 years; Maximum term of 6 years; Aggravated term of 7.5 years
Class 5 felony: Mitigated term of 1 years; Minimum term of 1.5 years; Presumptive term of 2.25 years; Maximum term of 3 years; Aggravated term of 3.75 years
Class 6 felony: Mitigated term of 0.75 years; Minimum term of 1 years; Presumptive term of 1.75 years; Maximum term of 2.25 years; Aggravated term of 2.75 years
Two+ Historical Prior Felony Convictions — A.R.S. § 13-703(C),(J):
For a “Repeat,” non-dangerous felony conviction, a person must be sentenced to prison. Probation is not an option. This range is used if a person has two “historical” priors or more.
Class 2 felony: Mitigated term of 10.5 years; Minimum term of 14 years; Presumptive term of 15.75 years; Maximum term of 28 years; Aggravated term of 35 years
Class 3 felony: Mitigated term of 7.5 years; Minimum term of 10 years; Presumptive term of 11.25 years; Maximum term of 20 years; Aggravated term of 25 years
Class 4 felony: Mitigated term of 6 years; Minimum term of 8 years; Presumptive term of 10 years; Maximum term of 12 years; Aggravated term of 15 years
Class 5 felony: Mitigated term of 3 years; Minimum term of 4 years; Presumptive term of 5 years; Maximum term of 6 years; Aggravated term of 7.5 years
Class 6 felony: Mitigated term of 2.25 years; Minimum term of 3 years; Presumptive term of 3.75 years; Maximum term of 4.5 years; Aggravated term of 5.75 years
Understanding Sentencing Ranges
What is a Historical and Non-Historical Prior?
Historical Priors are defined in A.R.S. § 13-105(22). If you have a “historical prior” on your record, it greatly increases your prison time/sentencing category. As a rule of thumb, older priors are often “non-historical,” while newer ones may be “historical.” There are also forever historical priors, like dangerous offenses, that will always count as “historical” against a person. Note: if you have any kind of felony prior, historical or non-historical, you must be sentenced to prison. Common historical priors are listed below:
Any Class 2 or 3 felony conviction within the last 10 years;
Any Class 4, 5 or 6 felony conviction within the last 5 years;
Any third+ felony conviction
Note: when calculating time periods, any time spent incarcerated does not count towards the limit. For example, if you were convicted of a class 3 felony in 2010, served ten years in prison and commit another felony in 2022, the 2010 prior would still be “historical.”
How a Court Applies the Sentencing Range
For the sentencing ranges above, a court must start at the “presumptive” term, but they have the discretion to increase/decrease the sentence within the statutory range. In order for a judge to lower the sentence, they must find at least ONE “mitigating factor” to reduce the sentence to a “minimum” term, and at least TWO “mitigating factors” to reduce the term to the “mitigated” term. The judge must find at least ONE “aggravating factor” for a “maximum” term, and must find at least TWO “aggravating factors” for an “aggravated” term.
Mitigating Factors A.R.S. § 13-701:
Defendant’s Age
Defendant’s Support/Family Support
Defendant’s Ability to Appreciate Wrongdoing
Defendant’s Involvement was Minor
Any Other Factor Relevant in the Defendant’s Character of Background or Regarding the Nature of Offense
Aggravating Factors A.R.S. § 13-701:
Infliction of Serious Injury
Use of a Deadly Weapon
Offense Involved Property Damage
Use of an Accomplice
Offense Committed for Financial Gain
Offense Committed in the Presence of Child
Note: These are just a few of the mitigating/aggravating factors courts may apply at sentencing and the above list does not include all factors.
Felony Offenses Committed on Release
If you commit a felony offense and you are on probation, parole, or while on release for another felony charge, your prison time increases significantly.
If you are on probation and are convicted of a felony offense, the lowest sentence a court can order is the presumptive term in prison. In addition, if you are convicted of a felony offense and were on parole or felony release for another offense, the court must add two years to your incarceration. The court must also revoke your release and sentence you “consecutively” — this means any sentence you receive will not run at the same time and will have to be stacked.
Non-Bondable Hold: a person committing a felony while on felony release is non-bondable and will be held in jail until the case is resolved. For example, if you are out on bond for a felony drug possession case and commit another felony drug possession offense, the court must hold you non-bondable. In these cases, a person would be entitled to what is called a “Simpson” hearing to determine if they should be held non-bondable. These hearings are time sensitive so contacting an experienced attorney could make the difference between being released or spending months in jail while your case goes through the judicial process.
Dangerous Offenses
Being convicted of a “dangerous offense” means a person must go to prison, even if they have a clean record. In Arizona, a dangerous offense is “prison mandatory” by statute. These offenses involve a weapon, firearm, and/or cause some kind of serious injury.
A “dangerous offense” is defined in A.R.S. § 13-105(13) as an offense involving the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument or the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury on another person.
Prison Ranges
Prison ranges for dangerous offenses vary depending on how many priors you have, if you’ve committed other dangerous offenses in the past, and the class of felony offense. If you have no other prior felony convictions, the mandatory prison range for a dangerous offense is 1.5 years but can go up to 21 years. If you have prior felony convictions, the prison time may be increased to 35 years!
Speak with an Experienced Former Prosecutor Today
If you are charged with a “dangerous offense” in Arizona, the direct complaint or grand jury indictment should indicate such. If your case involved using a deadly weapon, even if you only used it in a threatening manner, it likely will be charged as a dangerous offense. Due to the seriousness of these types of offenses, it is imperative you contact an experienced and trustworthy attorney to advise you properly. Contact our office to have a conversation with a Former Prosecutor about your case.
Why Millar Law?
Experienced Former Prosecutor to Aggressively Fight Your Case
5-Star Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Former Prosecutor
Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney
Extensive Trial Experience
1000+ Cases Handled
Open Communication with Your Attorney
Military Veteran
Free In-Depth Case Evaluation