James Nesci - Tucson, AZ

James Nesci is a 1994 graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law and was a solo practitioner for ten years in Tucson, Arizona before becoming the managing partner in the firm; Nesci, St. Louis & West, P.L.L.C. in January, 2005.

On January 1st, 2010, he and Joseph P. St. Louis created a new firm, Nesci & St. Louis, P.L.L.C.. In addition to writing books on DUI Defense, he works on large-scale challenges to DUI laws and investigatory techniques. Mr. Nesci is AV Preeminent-Rated^® by Martindale-Hubbell, was named one of The Best Lawyers in America^® by Woodward/White and also named as one of only four of Tucson’s Top DUI Lawyers by Tucson Lifestyles Magazine in 2010. U.S. News and World Report has named his firm as a Tier One Best Law Firm.

In 1999 Mr. Nesci became a Sustaining Member of the National College for DUI Defense. In 2001, he was Board Certified by the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. and is the only Board Certified attorney in the State of Arizona and one of less than fifty in the nation (as of January, 2011). Board Certification is recognized by the American Bar Association.

In 2006, he was appointed Regent of the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. He was formerly the chair of the Curriculum Committee for the NCDD. Currently, he is the State Delegate Coordinator, a member of the Long-Range Planning Committee and often serves as an oral argument judge for the Board Certification Committee.

Mr. Nesci is the author of Arizona DUI Defense: The Law & Practice, a legal treatise written for DUI defense attorneys and published by Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company (now in its second edition). He is co-author of DUI Defense books for New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. He is a contributing author to the 5th Edition of the treatise: MedicoLegal Aspects of Alcohol which is a text used by forensic toxicologists across the world and serves as the text for the Borkenstein School at Indiana University.

His firm’s practice is devoted almost entirely to defense of vehicular crimes. At any one time, he typically defends up to twenty DUI cases in several jurisdictions.

Mr. Nesci often defends cases well into the .30 blood-alcohol range. He has caught more than one police officer lying during cross-examination and some police officers have even refused to grant pretrial interviews to him without a prosecutor or their own counsel present. He was one of the lead attorneys on the Intoximeters^® RBT-IV breath-testing issue in Southern Arizona which resulted in the suppression of breath tests in over 7,000 cases and the removal of the RBT-IV from the streets of Arizona. He also spear-headed the effort to obtain the manufacturer’s source code and software for the CMI Intoxilyzer 8000. Although the source code was never obtained, he almost single-handedly ground 90% of all DUI prosecutions within the City of Tucson to a halt for nearly three years and obtained breath test suppressions and dismissals in hundreds of DUI cases.

He has represented former Supremes lead singer Diana Ross and Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Tight-End Jerramy Stevens on Extreme DUI charges and fitness guru Richard Simmons on an assault charge.

Mr. Nesci is a team-player within the Southern Arizona DUI Defense Community. He is often involved in large-scale challenges to DUI investigative methods and chemical testing. His opinion is sought by DUI Attorneys across the nation on various issues. He is one of only a handful of attorneys in the country who has ever held a DOT-Compliant Permit to operate an Intoxilyzer^® 8000. He owns both an Intoxilyzer^® 5000 & 8000 which are used for in-court demonstrations and for research purposes. He is qualified to administer Standardized Field Sobriety Tests under National Highway Traffic Safety Administration & International Association of Chiefs of Police Guidelines.

Mr. Nesci has lectured from coast-to-coast for such organizations as The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Arizona State University College of Law Alumni Association, University of Mississippi CLE Department, South Texas College of Law CLE Department, Arkansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, Arizona Public Defenders Association, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, City of Phoenix Public Defender's Office, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Indiana Public Defender’s Council, Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Maricopa County Bar Association, Maricopa County Public Defender's Office, Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, the Mexican-American Bar Association at Loyola National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National College for DUI Defense, the Nevada State Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Pima County Bar Association, Pima County Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Tucson City Public Defender’s Office and the Washington Foundation for Criminal Justice.

He has taught seminars on the subjects of Ethics, 4th Amendment Law, Drug Recognition Evaluations (DUI-Drugs/DRE), Cross-Examination, Trial Tactics, Jury Selection, Field Sobriety Testing, Blood Alcohol Calculations, Opening & Closing Arguments, Source Code Litigation, Frye & Daubert Challenges, Intoxilyzer 8000 Operator’s Course, Headspace Gas Chromatography, Blood and Breath Testing. He is a frequent guest of the John C. Scott radio program in Tucson. The Tucson Weekly named Mr. Nesci "King of the DUI Defense" (December 19, 2002). He has appeared on CNN, Inside Edition, Celebrity Justice, Fox News, Access Hollywood, Court TV and National Public Radio.

Mr. Nesci is married with twin daughters. He is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy where he spent much of his time working as an electrician in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyards. His interests are traveling, fine wines, vintage port and fast cars. He is an amateur race car driver, mechanic, and a Corvette fanatic.

Supreme Court of the United States, 2010

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1995

United States District Court for the District of Arizona, 1994

State of Arizona, 1994

National College for DUI Defense, Inc.

Regent, 2006

Sustaining Member, 2001

Member, 1998

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Member, 1995

Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, Member, 1995

BA, cum laude, University of Arizona, 1991

Major: Creative Writing

Minor: Communication

JD, University of Arizona College of Law, 1994

Author: James Nesci. www.lawyersandjudges.com

Author: James Nesci. www.lawyersandjudges.com

Authors: Ryan Russman Wagner & James Nesci. www.lawyersandjudges.com

Authors: Bruce Edge, John Hunsucker & James Nesci. www.lawyersandjudges.com

Author: Mimi Coffey & James Nesci. www.lawyersandjudges.com

Authors: Glen W. Neeley, Jason Schatz & James Nesci. www.lawyersandjudges.com

Authors: Harley Wagner & James Nesci. www.lawyersandjudges.com

(Certification Recognized by the American Bar Association).

Partner: Nesci & St. Louis, Tucson, Arizona 2010-Present

Regent: National College for DUI Defense 2006-Present

Managing Partner: Nesci, St. Louis & West PLLC 2005-2009

Solo Practitioner: Law Office of James Nesci, P.C. 1995-2004