Raye v. Jones

OPINION

GEMMILL, Judge.

¶ 1 The question presented is whether a person charged with violating Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”) section 4-244(33) (2002) is entitled to a trial by jury. We hold that this offense, often called “underage drinking and driving,” is not a jury-eligible offense.

¶ 2 Leander D. Raye was twenty years old when cited for violating A.R.S § 4-244(33), which makes it unlawful for “a person under the age of twenty-one years to drive or be in physical control of a motor vehicle while there is any spirituous liquor in the person’s body.” 1 The municipal court denied Raye’s…