A criminal charge in the Stroudsburg or East Stroudsburg area can leave you managing several problems at once: a hearing notice, bail conditions, questions about the evidence, and, in a DUI case, separate driving and evaluation requirements. The first step is to identify what your papers require and what needs attention before the next court date.
Madsen Law Offices serves Monroe County from our office at 680 Wolf Avenue, Easton, PA 18042. We approach criminal and DUI cases through preparation, careful review of the record, and a strategy matched to the actual charges.
Schedule a Consultation with our Easton office. Call (484) 548-0529 or visit our contact page. Have your court papers available.
Start with the notice, not the mailing city
Do not assume every Monroe County criminal or DUI appointment takes place at the Stroudsburg courthouse. The county has separate magisterial district courts, Common Pleas proceedings, and Pretrial and DUI Services appointments.
Keep the complaint, summons, and each scheduling notice together. Check the date, time, address, and type of proceeding on the current notice. If a date changes, keep the new written direction. A request to reschedule should not be treated as permission to miss the existing date.
The Monroe County courts guide explains the broader county procedures. For your case, the notice and any later court order need to be reviewed together.
The preliminary hearing and bail require separate attention
A preliminary hearing asks whether the Commonwealth has presented enough evidence to hold charges for court. It is different from the trial that decides guilt. The decision whether to contest or waive that hearing should follow a review of the charge, available evidence, and the reason for taking either course.
Bring any bail order and written release conditions to the consultation. We review what the order actually requires, identify questions about compliance, and discuss whether a request for relief needs to be considered. Keep questions about release conditions separate from assumptions about how the underlying charge will end.
The same preparation matters when the charge is not DUI. A drug, theft, or assault case should be evaluated on its own record. The existence of a local program does not replace an investigation of the accusation or the available defenses. Learn more on our criminal-defense page.
Formal arraignment is not automatically optional
Monroe's local Rule 303 permits written arraignment as an alternative to appearing, but it also allows the District Attorney to require a personal appearance. Hiring counsel should not be treated as a blanket excuse from attendance.
Before arranging work or travel, have the actual notice and any proposed written arraignment reviewed. Confirm the arrangement for that proceeding instead of relying on a form or on what happened in a different county.
In a DUI case, evaluations, classes, and driving are different issues
Monroe publishes separate instructions for a Court Reporting Network evaluation, a full drug-and-alcohol assessment, and Alcohol Highway Safety School. Completing one service does not mean that every required evaluation, class, or treatment obligation is complete.
Use the county's current Pretrial and DUI Services information and linked instructions. Keep appointment confirmations, receipts, reports, and completion records. Ask counsel to identify what is required in your case and what remains outstanding before an admission or disposition date.
Bring every PennDOT letter as well. A criminal-case disposition does not, by itself, tell you whether you may drive or what restoration steps remain. Ignition-interlock licensing has its own conditions. If another state issued your license, its requirements also need separate review. Our DUI-defense page explains the broader defense issues.
ARD and Treatment Court need individual screening
ARD provides an opportunity to earn dismissal through satisfactory completion of an approved program. An application is not admission, and the conditions and consequences need to be understood before acceptance. A non-DUI charge calls for its own eligibility and application review; do not assume a DUI packet supplies the correct answer for another charge.
Monroe has a separate supervision order for ARD cases. Its rules address reporting, travel permission, alcohol use, treatment verification, and address changes. Those requirements should be read with the conditions actually imposed in the case. A violation can put participation at risk, but a DUI ARD violation does not automatically require termination in every case; the court retains discretion under the governing Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision.
Treatment Court is a different program. The county's posted prescreen requires Monroe County residency and in-person participation, and it lists eligibility for ARD on the current offense among its disqualifying criteria. Screening and admission remain separate decisions. It should not be presented as an automatic alternative for every DUI defendant or an out-of-county visitor.
What happens next
- Gather the papers. Include the complaint, affidavit if provided, summons, notices, bail or supervision orders, docket number, and OTN.
- Add the DUI and driving records. Bring PennDOT correspondence, referrals, evaluations, class or treatment records, and accurate documents for prior DUI or ARD cases.
- Identify practical needs early. Tell us about work travel, residence outside Monroe County, language needs, and any appointment or condition you do not understand.
- Review the next event. The consultation should identify the current posture, the immediate questions, and the documents needed for a fuller assessment.
This is a preparation checklist for counsel, not a universal packet that must be filed with the court. Arrange an appropriate way to share sensitive records.
Questions about Monroe criminal and DUI cases
Will my hearing be at the courthouse in Stroudsburg?
Use the current notice. Preliminary proceedings, Common Pleas events, and DUI-service appointments can take place at different locations. A Stroudsburg mailing address alone does not identify the correct court or office.
Can I handle the case from home if I live elsewhere?
Do not assume so. Written arraignment may be an option under the local rule, but a personal appearance can still be required. Any different attendance arrangement needs to be confirmed for the particular event.
Does an ARD application mean I have been accepted?
No. The application, admission decision, and completion of the program are different stages. Review the current requirements and the proposed conditions before relying on ARD as the expected outcome.
Is Treatment Court the same as ARD?
No. Monroe's posted Treatment Court materials use a separate screening process and list residency, attendance, and offense-related restrictions. The current prescreen excludes people eligible for ARD on the current offense.
Will finishing the criminal case restore my driver's license?
Review the PennDOT requirements separately. A criminal disposition does not establish that every licensing condition has been met or that driving is permitted. Bring the actual notice rather than relying on a general suspension estimate.
Schedule a Consultation
For a Monroe County criminal or DUI matter, contact Madsen Law Offices at (484) 548-0529. Our office is in Easton, at 680 Wolf Avenue, serving people with matters in the Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg area. Visit myeastonattorney.com to learn more or Schedule a Consultation.
General information about Pennsylvania law. It is not legal advice for a particular case.
Official references
- Monroe magisterial district court directory.
- Monroe criminal rules, Rule 303, PDF p.8.
- Monroe Pretrial and DUI Services.
- Monroe ARD supervision order, 4 AD 2026, PDF pp.1,4.
- Monroe Treatment Court prescreen, PDF pp.1,3.
- Pa. R. Crim. P. 312, (1)-(2); Rule 318, (C).
- Commonwealth v. Worzel, No. 36 MAP 2025, slip op. at 2,27 (Pa. Oct. 1, 2026).
- PennDOT ignition-interlock licensing information.