Driving Under the Influence

Being charged with a violation of Pennsylvania's Driving Under the Influence law is a very intimidating and confusing experience. You were questioned, given a field sobriety test, asked to blow into a breathalyzer or submit to a blood draw, handcuffed and escorted to a hospital, placed in a holding cell, and charges were filed against you. If you were intoxicated and going through this it becomes difficult to remember what you said and what you did. Now you are being introduced to new terms like Arraignments, Preliminary Hearings, and ARD eligibility. You're also hearing familiar terms like Blood Alcohol Content and wondering how this science actually affects you personally. You are now facing charges that have serious consequences.

Let's slow things down and talk about our Phases of Representation.

Phase I

The initial stages of being prosecuted for an alleged violation of Pennsylvania's Driving Under the Influence law is a formal process that prepares the case to be handled by the appropriate court. There are two important pieces of information that we need to consider and evaluate.

First, there is the arrest and the evidence. The police in Allegheny County are dedicated, honest, and hard-working men and women. However, even the police can make mistakes and it is our responsibility to present those mistakes to the court, if they exist.
Second, once the evidence has been processed through the Medical Examiners office and your record has been scrutinized, the District Attorney's office will make an offer that we must consider. If an offer is acceptable then we need to make sure that you are processed into that system correctly. If the offer is not acceptable then we will need to proceed to Phase II.
- ARD - Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition is a pretrial remedy that avoids the costs and time associated with a trial. The result of successfully completing the ARD program is an automatic expungement of the record. This is not a plea of guilt but does have some costs associated with participating in the program.
- Phoenix Court - The Phoenix Court is designed to expedite the litigation process. The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office has placed some of their best attorneys in this division. It is this division's directive to review victimless crimes and make plea offers that typically reflect the fairest resolution of the matter.
- General Trial - The offers from the General Trial division of the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office have to balance the interests of the state and the fact that there may be significant property or personal damages.

Phase II

If there is a reason to contest the charges or decline the offer, we have to plan for the steps ahead. Depending on the circumstances, it may be appropriate to argue a Motion to Suppress the Evidence or we could try the case in front of a Judge or Jury. If we are going to take either approach we have to prepare our case. The facts of your case will dictate the amount of preparation that is necessary but there are common matters to keep in mind.

Witnesses - Identifying potential witnesses, conducting an interview, and preparing them to testify.
Experts - In most circumstances, when there is an issue with the Blood Alcohol Content lab results, relying on the testimony of the Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office is enough. The personnel that work there are highly qualified and professionally unbiased. When a nuance exists that is worth bringing up in the defense of your case we may consider working with our own medical expert.
Defenses - The reason we may be fighting the case is that there is an appropriate defense that is available. This evidence that we will want to present requires special notice, preparation, and presentation to the court.

Phase III

Now that we have prepared your case for a Suppression Hearing or Trial by Judge or Jury we must present our case in the most effective way possible. There is no such thing as a trivial case and a DUI has potentially far-reaching consequences. For this reason we will treat every aspect of this litigation with intent and focus.

Opening Statements
Direct Examination
Cross Examination
Evidentiary Objections
Closing Arguments