CONVICTION REVERSED | DUI DRUGS (inactive marijuana metabolite) CONVICTION REVERSED – State v. Harris (Shilgevorkyan) (DMC No. ) (Arizona Supreme Court CV-13-0056-PR/Arcadia Biltmore Justice Court TR2011-10043):
In this high profile Arizona Supreme Court case, Mr. Shilgevorkyan was pulled over for a minor traffic violation and a DUI investigation ensued. He admitted that he had smoked marijuana the night before, and he consented to a blood test. His blood test showed that he had Carboxy-THC (the inactive metabolite of marijuana) in his blood. He did not have tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”-the psychoactive metabolite of marijuana) in his system. This case was handled by one of our DUI Lawyers. He argued that the Arizona Legislature did not intend to criminalize the mere presence of inactive metabolites in a person’s system. He argued that the actual intent was to criminalize the psychoactive metabolite of impairing drugs as it relates to driving. This case was argued in front of the Arizona Supreme Court, and on April 22, 2014 they agreed with us and reversed the convictions against Mr. Shilgevorkyan. This case received widespread media coverage, and will effect countless future and past marijuana DUI cases in Arizona.