{"id":14414,"date":"2016-10-11T12:19:22","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T19:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/criminal-defense-law\/?page_id=14414"},"modified":"2022-07-07T15:18:18","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T22:18:18","slug":"arizona-water-law-strange-illegal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/criminal-defense-law\/blog\/arizona-water-law-strange-illegal\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it Illegal to Deny Someone Water in Arizona?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

In Arizona, there is no statute that states\u00a0it is illegal to refuse water to someone else in the state. This myth grew because of lack of formal information, and looking through the statutes, you won’t find any mention of the law.<\/p>\n

Alia Rau, a reporter with the\u00a0<\/b>Arizona Republic<\/a>, researched the topic and found it to be\u00a0untrue. “According to the Arizona Legislative Council,” Rau said, “the staff of state attorneys charged with drafting legislation for state lawmakers and updating the state statute books, it could find no such state law in Arizona statute.”<\/p>\n

In fact, even if someone was near death because of hydration, refusing to provide them with water would not be a criminal act (ethically, that is a different scenario). There are certain situations that may be considered criminal, however; ARS 36-2281<\/a> states that one may not “deny or deprive an infant of nourishment with the intent” of causing death, though that is an extreme and specific case.<\/p>\n

This is one of several strange Arizona laws or myths that have been perpetrated by media and word-of-mouth rumors. There are, however, real Arizona laws that are strange and outdated.<\/p>\n

Other Strange\u00a0Arizona State Laws<\/h3>\n

Most people are familiar with common criminal offenses, such as robbery, DUI, or possession or drugs, but did you know you could face up to 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus in Arizona? Most likely not, so, to enlighten you on other strange AZ laws you may be unfamiliar with, we have compiled the following list.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that most of these are outdated and inapplicable, but amusing nonetheless.<\/p>\n