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Lawyer Profile

Image of Joseph P. St. Louis

Joseph P. St. Louis

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Nesci & St. Louis PLLC
  • Recognized Since:
    2013
  • Recognized in:
    DUI / DWI Defense
  • Law School:
    University of Arizona College of Law
  • Lawyer Page:
    https://www.azdefense.com/atto...
  • Website:
    http://www.azdefense.com
  • Phone Number:
    (520) 999.2441
  • E-mail:
    joestlouis@azdefense.com
  • Location:
    216 North Main Avenue
    Tucson, AZ 85701
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Joseph P. St. Louis is the only lawyer in Arizona certified as a Specialist in both Criminal Defense (Arizona State Bar, 2000 to present) and in DUI Defense (National College for DUI Defense, a certification recognized by the American Bar Association, 2012 to present). Mr. St. Louis is AV ® PreeminentTM Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® and has been listed in Woodward/White's Best Lawyers in America in the DUI specialty area since 2013. He has been named to the Best Lawyers in Arizona and New Mexico by Super Lawyers magazine in the DUI specialty area since 2009 and was named one of the Best Lawyers in Tucson in the DUI specialty area by Tucson Lifestyle Magazine since 2013. Mr. St. Louis is one of eleven members of the governing board of the National College for DUI Defense, the Board of Regents. The NCDD has over 1,600 members nationwide.

Mr. St. Louis is also the past president of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, a statewide defense organization with over 600 members. In 2003, at the request of the then-presiding chief judge of the Pima County Justice Courts, Mr. St. Louis served as a part-time Justice of the Peace. In 2013, Mr. St. Louis was one of four lawyers who litigated a 17-day hearing in the Maricopa County Superior Court challenging the manner in which blood testing is performed in the Scottsdale City Crime Laboratory. The hearing resulted in the judge suppressing all blood evidence in 11 felony cases, after finding the results to be unreliable.

Mr. St. Louis is a sought-after lecturer and trainer at continuing legal education seminars. In both 2015 and 2019, Joe St. Louis was named as one of the top 10 highest rated lecturers at any presentation given in that calendar year by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (out of approximately 200 speakers each calendar year). Mr. St. Louis has spoken on a variety of legal topics at legal education seminars sponsored by a variety of State Bar and Defense Attorney organizations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. Mr. St. Louis is a graduate of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s Student Course on Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, NHTSA’s Instructor Course on Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, and the American Chemical Society's Forensic Chromatography Course.

Mr. St. Louis has defended several death penalty cases, both in state court, where he was lead counsel in Pima County’s first death penalty case tried completely to a jury (the client received a prison sentence after Mr. St. Louis convinced the jury not to impose the death penalty) and in federal court, where he was found to be qualified as “Learned Counsel,” a designation reserved for only the most qualified attorneys handling these cases. Mr. St. Louis has the unique distinction of having had two back-to-back first-degree murder cases in which the judges dismissed all murder charges during the trial.Mr. St. Louis has tried over 200 cases to juries, on both misdemeanor and felony charges, in federal court and in state courts throughout Arizona. He has also argued cases before the Arizona Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. St. Louis has been the attorney coach for the Basis Oro Valley Mock Trial team, since 2012. The teams he has coached have advanced to and competed in the State championship rounds in the last two state competitions held, placing 2nd and 4th in the state. 

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  • Lawyer Bio
  • Client Comments
  • Lawyer Practice Areas
  • Firm Details

Lawyer Bio

Joseph P. St. Louis is the only lawyer in Arizona certified as a Specialist in both Criminal Defense (Arizona State Bar, 2000 to present) and in DUI Defense (National College for DUI Defense, a certification recognized by the American Bar Association, 2012 to present). Mr. St. Louis is AV ® PreeminentTM Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® and has been listed in Woodward/White's Best Lawyers in America in the DUI specialty area since 2013. He has been named to the Best Lawyers in Arizona and New Mexico by Super Lawyers magazine in the DUI specialty area since 2009 and was named one of the Best Lawyers in Tucson in the DUI specialty area by Tucson Lifestyle Magazine since 2013. Mr. St. Louis is one of eleven members of the governing board of the National College for DUI Defense, the Board of Regents. The NCDD has over 1,600 members nationwide.

Mr. St. Louis is also the past president of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, a statewide defense organization with over 600 members. In 2003, at the request of the then-presiding chief judge of the Pima County Justice Courts, Mr. St. Louis served as a part-time Justice of the Peace. In 2013, Mr. St. Louis was one of four lawyers who litigated a 17-day hearing in the Maricopa County Superior Court challenging the manner in which blood testing is performed in the Scottsdale City Crime Laboratory. The hearing resulted in the judge suppressing all blood evidence in 11 felony cases, after finding the results to be unreliable.

Mr. St. Louis is a sought-after lecturer and trainer at continuing legal education seminars. In both 2015 and 2019, Joe St. Louis was named as one of the top 10 highest rated lecturers at any presentation given in that calendar year by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (out of approximately 200 speakers each calendar year). Mr. St. Louis has spoken on a variety of legal topics at legal education seminars sponsored by a variety of State Bar and Defense Attorney organizations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. Mr. St. Louis is a graduate of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s Student Course on Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, NHTSA’s Instructor Course on Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, and the American Chemical Society's Forensic Chromatography Course.

Mr. St. Louis has defended several death penalty cases, both in state court, where he was lead counsel in Pima County’s first death penalty case tried completely to a jury (the client received a prison sentence after Mr. St. Louis convinced the jury not to impose the death penalty) and in federal court, where he was found to be qualified as “Learned Counsel,” a designation reserved for only the most qualified attorneys handling these cases. Mr. St. Louis has the unique distinction of having had two back-to-back first-degree murder cases in which the judges dismissed all murder charges during the trial.Mr. St. Louis has tried over 200 cases to juries, on both misdemeanor and felony charges, in federal court and in state courts throughout Arizona. He has also argued cases before the Arizona Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. St. Louis has been the attorney coach for the Basis Oro Valley Mock Trial team, since 2012. The teams he has coached have advanced to and competed in the State championship rounds in the last two state competitions held, placing 2nd and 4th in the state. 

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  • Education
  • Bar & Court Admissions
  • Affiliations
  • Award List

Education:

  • University of Arizona College of Law , J.D., graduated 1987

Bar Admissions:

  • Arizona, State Bar of Arizona
 

Court Admissions:

  • Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Affiliations:

  • Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice - Past President, Member
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers - Lifetime Member
  • National College for DUI Defense - Regent
  • State Bar of Arizona - Member

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • DUI / DWI Defense
 

Awards:

  • District Award of Merit, Boy Scouts of America, 2010
  • Best Lawyers in Tucson -Criminal Defense, Tucson Lifestyles Magazine, 2011
  • President, Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice, 2006
  • Best Lawyers in Arizona & New Mexico, Superlawyers Magazine, 2009-present
  • Best Lawyers in Tucson - DUI, Tucson Lifestyles Magazine, 2011, 2013-present
  • AV Preeminent , Martindale-Hubbell, 2012 - present
 

Lawyer Client Comments

Lawyer Practice Areas

Key: Awarded in Best Lawyers Not Currently Awarded for this Area in Best Lawyers

Firm Details

Image for Nesci & St. Louis PLLC View Firm Profile
Nesci & St. Louis PLLC
http://www.azdefense.com
 
Headquarters
216 North Main Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 999.2441
 
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