dui.com - Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules on Unique DUI Defense

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules on Unique DUI Defense

Monica — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:45:35 -0600

The state high court issued a ruling stating that a man stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence in Pennsylvania twice on one night cannot be sentenced as a repeat offender.

The defendant was stopped for suspicion of impaired driving at around 11:45pm and booked for DUI in PA after registering a blood alcohol content of .16%. About 90 minutes after being released to the custody of his wife, the defendant was arrested for DUI a second time. His BAC at the time of the second traffic stop was .146%.

Prosecutors filed charges relevant to second offense DUI in Pennsylvania. The Supreme Court, however, found that the defendant must be convicted of the first violation before having elevated charges filed against him for a second offense.

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OnStar Signal Leads to Pennsylvania DUI

Monica — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:03:59 -0600

A 22-year old man from Stroudsburg has been charged with drunk driving in Pennsylvania after the OnStar system in his vehicle signaled car trouble. Paul W. Sinker III got his car stuck in the mud while he was turning around 1:00 am on New Year’s Day. The General Motors electronic safety, navigation and communications device alerted police to possible problems. The officers dispatched to the scene to investigate detected alcohol.

Sinker failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence in Pennsylvania.

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Lebanon County, PA Buys DUI Bracelets

Monica — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:30:08 -0500

Motorists convicted of drunk driving in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania will soon have to adjust to a new probation condition. County commissioners approved the purchase of five alcohol detecting ankle bracelets.

Depending on the details of the case, PA driving under the influence defendants may be required to attend alcohol abuse treatment and forgo alcohol as a condition of probation. The special bracelets monitor alcohol emitted through the skin and wearers must log in regularly with a control center. The results of the monitoring are relayed to probation officers. If alcohol is detected, the wearer faces revocation of probation and jail.

The bracelet purchase is being made with funds from a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation grant aimed at helping the Lebanon County DUI court. The commissioners said they may order as many as 25 additional monitoring devices, at a cost of $1,500 each.

Currently Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, York and Lancaster counties have the option of using the alcohol detecting bracelets after Pennsylvania DUI offenses.

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Pennsylvania DUI Legislation Raises National Concerns

Bill — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:47:19 -0500

The Pennsylvania state legislature is considering a law that would require judges to mandate ignition interlock devices for all motorists charged with drinking and driving. The issue raises questions about the focus of the national anti-drunk driving campaign.

The average motorist driving under the influence who causes a fatal accident has a blood-alcohol content more than twice the legal threshold for intoxication. They display slurred speech and an obvious lack of coordination. That is the image that many people hold when they hear about drinking and driving.

The reality is that many law enforcement agencies across the United States now profess a zero tolerance for any alcohol. Motorists who have engaged in responsible social drinking and show no signs of impairment have become subject to arrest for the presence of any alcohol. Arrests for drinking and driving have become common even when a breath test reveals a BAC below .08%. There have even been instances of individuals being charged with DUI when they are completely sober because they were not able to complete an arcane field sobriety test.

Driving Under the Influence is a serious offense, and chronic drunk drivers with high BAC levels warrant aggressive pursuit and prosecution. To provide a larger context however, a growing number of motorists charged with DUI were not legally drunk and statistics show that the majority of all stopped for drunk driving are never arrested again.

Applying a single response to a complex issue, such as ignition interlock devices for all charged with driving under the influence, indicates the focus has moved from an anti-drunk driving campaign to one of anti-drinking.

For a succinct article on the issue of drunk driving and the pending Pennsylvania ignition interlock legislation, please read the article by the director of the American Beverage Institute at this link.

The full story can be found at http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20080331_Will_cars_regulate_our_drinks_.html.

If you have been arrested drunk driving in Pennsylvania you will need to hire a PA DUI attorney.

Pennsylvania DUI Law Under Court Challenge

Monica — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 06:00:00 -0500

The State of Pennsylvania has a ‘first offenders’ program titled ARD, which stands for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition. The goal of the program is to keep certain first time offenders, such as those charged with DUI, from entering the criminal justice system. When an offender enters the program, the state suspends the charges. There is no admission of guilt and should the offender successfully complete all conditions of the ARD program, the charges are dismissed and the original arrest record can be expunged.

The mandated prohibition period under the ARD program was previously seven years. If someone was charged with a DUI in Pennsylvania, entered the ARD program and managed to not be arrested again for DUI within seven years, their record would be clean.

Having a clean record has a huge impact on how a subsequent DUI arrest would be handled. Because the original charges are only suspended under ARD, a second arrest within seven years would re-enact the first charge leading to two strikes. After seven years in ARD though, another DUI arrest would only be a first strike.

Then the Pennsylvania legislature extended from seven years to ten years the period of time that prosecutors can look backward for previous offenses. Despite warnings from DUI defense attorneys of potential problems, the new law went into effect in February 2004.

As predicted, a number of defendants are now challenging the constitutionality of the new law.

The basis of the complaints pertains to the changed ‘look back’ period for prior arrests. One defendant, Dean Pleger, was arrested for DUI in 1994 and he entered the ARD program in 1996. He understood that if he were to be arrested for DUI within seven years, his first arrest would come back into consideration. He successfully completed the requirements of the ARD program in 2003 and the 1996 charge was expunged from his record.

That should have meant that any subsequent arrest for DUI would be treated as a first offense.

Then Pleger was arrested again for DUI in 2004. It was after the Pennsylvania laws had changed and prosecutors were allowed to look back ten years for previous offenses. Pleger’s second DUI occurred more than seven years but less than 10 years after his first arrest and he was sentenced as a second offender under the new law.

His DUI defense attorney claimed that the new law violated Pleger’s due process rights. The county court agreed and Pleger’s sentence was altered.

"(Pleger's) constitutional rights are violated because the commonwealth changed the terms surrounding the ARD agreement," states the opinion of court that was signed by Judge H. William White. Pleger upheld his part of the agreement when he accepted ARD and relied on the commonwealth to fulfill its part, according to the court order.

The matter is now before the Pennsylvania Superior Court.