Year: 2020
DUI penalties get tougher after the first conviction
For someone with no criminal history, a conviction for drinking and driving in Pennsylvania does two things. One, it can get your driver’s license suspended, force you to pay a fine, and potentially send you to jail. Two, it will set you up to experience an even tougher sentence if...
Can I turn away from a DUI checkpoint?
With the holiday season just around the corner, police departments across Pennsylvania will increase their patrols for drunk drivers. Many will have DUI checkpoints over the next several weeks, hoping to stop drunk drivers before they cause an accident and hurt someone else. That’s because the U.S. National Institute on...
Common myths regarding breath tests
Police officers in Pennsylvania commonly use handheld devices to measure the breath-alcohol content of motorists suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. A reading of 0.08 or more represents probable cause to arrest the driver. The collection of the blood and breath readings used as evidence in court happens...
Methods used by police officers to evaluate DUI suspects
Society has an interest in keeping intoxicated drivers off of the roads of Pennsylvania. As a result, law enforcement officers follow specific guidelines for identifying DUI suspects and then conducting field sobriety tests. Reasons to initiate a traffic stop Patrol officers watch for traffic violations that may indicate intoxicated drivers....
When a breathalyzer test results in a DUI
Blood alcohol content is the basic standard of measuring someone’s level of intoxication despite how inebriated the individual really is. The less someone weighs, the less it takes for a person to hit the legal limit of 0.08. This can make it a shock for someone who learns this after...
High-speed chase in Pennsylvania leads to DUI charge
A Pennsylvania man faces a raft of criminal charges including counts of receiving stolen property, eluding law enforcement and driving under the influence of alcohol after allegedly led police on a high-speed chase through Centre County on the evening of April 28. The 46-year-old Allentown resident is being held at...
The faulty method used to get drug convictions
Though marijuana has been decriminalized in some cities of Pennsylvania, it is still illegal as is driving while under the influence of marijuana. Police have been using less-than-perfect tests to determine if a driver is under the influence of marijuana, but that is not all: In many parts of the...
Pennsylvania woman likely to be acquitted on DUI charge
A panel of Pennsylvania appeals judges have ruled that police officers cannot initiate traffic stops based only on a sense that something is amiss. The decision was handed down in a case involving a 25-year-old Mechanicsburg woman who was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic...
Drug possession penalties in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania residents who are convicted on drug possession charges can face a wide range of penalties. If they are prosecuted in federal court, they would face tough mandatory minimum sentences implemented by Congress in 1986 to stem an epidemic of drug use and narcotics-related violence. The sentence handed down in...
Woman to challenge PA zero tolerance DUI standard
Lawmakers in Pennsylvania approved the use of marijuana for medical use in 2016, and more than 250,000 people in the state have since registered to use the drug to treat conditions ranging from chronic pain to anxiety. However, every one of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana patients commits a crime each time...
Understanding why you’ve been charged with DUI
It can be all too easy to find yourself facing DUI charges, and the consequences of a conviction can be significant. Even for a first offense, you can lose your driving privileges, which can substantially damage your ability to work, go to school or care for your family. This can...