Arizona State Laws

The state of Arizona is known for being one of the hottest states in the country and has acquired many "snow birds" because of this characteristic. Arizona is also the largest landlocked state for population.

Arizona law has recently been in the public eye for increasing illegal immigration stipulations as well as rejecting the amendment for same-sex marriage. Despite its higher climate, Arizona's state laws are not too different from any other state's laws. Arizona law includes labor laws, bankruptcy laws, divorce laws, felony levels, expungement laws, and many others.

Bankruptcy
Each bankruptcy case is to be filed to a local Arizona court. In previous years bankruptcy could be filed at home through do-it-yourself programs. However in recent years the federal government created new laws for how bankruptcy is to be handled. This required all states, including Arizona, to comply with the increase requirements.

These laws were created to limit the use of bankruptcy for only necessary cases, as bankruptcy was often used unnecessarily. Arizona now requires several forms of paperwork, three times as many from previous years, and normally requires professional assistance. Individuals who qualify for bankruptcy will either file through Chapter Seven bankruptcy or Chapter Thirteen bankruptcy. Each of these kinds of bankruptcy has a different purpose and is divided by the amount of money an individual can pay each month against his or her debts.

Divorce
The United States requires individuals to file for divorce in their states of residency. Each state has a specific length of time in which individuals must reside within its borders to qualify as residents. Arizona, in turn, does not necessarily require its residents to be within its borders for a specific amount of time prior to filing, but does require that at least one individual in the marriage be an Arizona resident.

Individuals petitioning for divorces are to file to the circuit court in their counties of residency. If a case is filed to the incorrect county, the case will be thrown out.

Felony Stipulations
Arizona felonies are broken into different classes of severity. Not every class is the same as another state's, for instance one crime may be considered a lesser crime in Arizona than in a neighboring state where it is a moderate crime. Individuals are punished and imprisoned according to the severity of their crimes. Two individuals may have committed the same crime but because of the crime's circumstances, one individual may be punished with a longer incarceration than the other.

Expungement
Despite popular belief most felonies and misdemeanors cannot be expunged from an individual's record, especially those that include driving under the influence charges. When an individual has his or her record expunged, his or her firearm privileges will be restored after a payment of seventy-five dollars.

Because most felony convictions cannot be expunged, probation can sometimes be terminated under specific circumstances. The court will not automatically grant an expungement upon request but will instead take several things into account before reaching a decision. These things often include criminal history, the severity of the crime at hand, and the individual's potential to later benefit society.