Being a criminal defense attorney is more than a job to Joseph P. St. Louis. Whether Joe is battling on behalf of someone charged with a DUI, or is squaring off on behalf of a defendant facing the death penalty, Joe is always a passionate advocate for his clients. Joe is also known for going the extra mile. Many prosecutors frankly dread dealing with the numerous pre-trial motions and lengthy evidentiary hearings Joe routinely files and litigates on behalf of his clients. Joe’s peers have recognized his unique blend of hard work and passion by electing him president of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, Arizona’s leading attorney organization dealing with criminal justice issues, with over 400 members. Joe will be leading this organization during it’s 20th Anniversary year in 2006.

Described as being amongst “Arizona’s top criminal attorneys” by the Arizona Republic (“Prosecutors Sued Over Raid of Office” 11/27/03), Joe’s work has also been recognized by the Arizona State Bar, which has certified him as a specialist in criminal law. Only about 5% of attorneys currently practicing are certified as a specialist in any area of the law. Joe has had the unique privilege of being asked by the Arizona State Bar’s president to serve on two separate state Bar committees simultaneously. On the Criminal Jury Instruction Committee, Joe has helped re-write the instructions on the law given by judges to juries deciding criminal cases in courts throughout Arizona. Joe has also been a longtime member of the State Bar’s Membership Assistance Committee, which helps judges and lawyers with alcohol, substance abuse and mental illness issues. Joe was the committee chairman in 2004. Additionally, Joe was asked by the then-presiding head judge of the Pima County Justice Courts to serve as a part-time judge, which he did in 2003.

In addition to Joe’s extensive experience in DUI defense, Joe is also death penalty-qualified, both in State court where he tried Pima County’s first death penalty case to a jury, and in federal court where he has been appointed as “learned counsel.” Joe in fact has had two back-to-back first degree murder cases in which his clients were acquitted of all murder charges.

Joe gives lectures annually on defending DNA cases at the University of Arizona College of Law, and has taught on the topics of DNA Analysis, Blood Testing in DUI cases, Death Penalty Jury Selection, Death Penalty Trial Strategy, and Victim’s Rights to various attorneys’ groups throughout Arizona and California, and at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Making the Case for Life VIII conference in Oklahoma in 2005.

In addition to trying over 100 cases to juries, Joe has argued cases before the Arizona Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Joe persuaded the Arizona Supreme Court to strike down a portion of a criminal statute in State v. Getz, 189 Ariz. 561, 944 P.2d 503 (1997).