Legal Blog

First and foremost, if you believe you may have an issue with substance abuse; either controlled substances and/or alcohol, you should get a drug and alcohol evaluation from a licensed treatment provider. Pennsylvania law does make allowances for people who get treatment before they are sentenced. It always makes a good impression with the Judge and prosecuting attorney if a Defendant voluntarily seeks treatment without being ordered to by the Court. Additionally if you successfully complete treatment, the court may…

Yes. The number and kinds of programs available to you for your case will depend on your particular circumstances and which county is prosecuting your case. The most widely available programs are: Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) Restrictive Punishment (RP) (formally known as County Intermediate Punishment (CIP or IP) Treatment Court (DUI Court or Drug Court) State Drug Treatment Program (SDTP) (formally known as State Intermediate Punishment (SIP)) Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) is designed for first time offenders. There are instances where…

Individuals with a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) must be extremely careful with using alcohol, as well as any and all other controlled substances (including prescribed medications). A CDL driver who is charged with a DUI can lose their Commercial License even if they were not using their CDL when they committed the alleged crime. This means that if you are convicted of a DUI even in your personal vehicle you will lose your CDL. The first time a CDL holder…

Yes. In fact, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania individuals are almost always charged with multiple counts of DUI. There are multiple ways a DUI can be charged. The Commonwealth will charge a Defendant with everything they can at the beginning of the case rather than try to add it later. Even if someone is not charged with multiple DUIs initially, these extra DUI charges will almost certainly be added by the District Attorney office later in the process. For example…

Field Sobriety Tests, also known as FSTs, created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They were designed to help police determine if a person is impaired by alcohol. Three main tests are used, normally in addition to a Portable Breath Test (PBT). The results of these tests are used to establish Probable Cause to request a blood test or more reliable breath test. The three main FTSs are: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test: This test is done with…

Pennsylvania’s Ignition Interlock Limited License is a special license that individuals can apply for through Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. This license is issued to individuals that have had their regular license suspended for a period of time. It allows an individual to drive and operate a vehicle with an Ignition Interlock System installed in the vehicle that they are driving. The Ignition Interlock system will not allow the vehicle to start if it detects alcohol on the individual’s breath when they blow into the…

The only way you will not lose your license in Pennsylvania is when you areconvicted of a first offense DUI where the blood alcohol content is less than .10%,and there is not an accident. If you are convicted of any other DUI in Pennsylvania,your driving privileges in Pennsylvania will be suspended for 12 or 18 monthsfollowed by an additional 12 months with an interlock restricted license. See ourresource page for more information on license suspensions. If you are a minor…

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation does not require individuals who have an Ignition Interlock License to install an Interlock system on vehicles that are used specifically for work purposes. If the vehicle is own by the business and only used for business needs the employee with an Ignition Interlock License may use the vehicle. However this can only be done after the owner of the business completes the Ignition Interlock Employment Exemption Affidavit. This exemption does not apply for school buses,…

On April 17, 2016, Governor Tom Wolfe signed the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act into law. The effective date of the new Medical Marijuana Act was May 17, 2016. The passing of this law is a boon to those people suffering from several serious and often debilitating medical conditions specifically defined in the act. Just recently, Pennsylvania medical marijuana patients started signing up for the program, and soon, medical marijuana will be available to dispense. Unfortunately, there are a lot of…

If you receive a DUI with a child in the vehicle Pennsylvania increases the punishment for the DUI offense substantially. For this section of the DUI statute a minor/child is defined as anyone under the age of 18. If this is your first or second DUI charge then the charge is automatically increased to the highest tier and the grading is increased to an Misdemeanor 1. This means that your maximum penalties are increased to a possible 5 year jail…