Preliminary Hearings in Pennsylvania DUI & Criminal Cases

First time offenders, or those whose first offense is over 10 years old, may be eligible for the DUI ARD program. ARD stands for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition and the program has a number of benefits to those charged with first-offense DUIs.

The DUI ARD program can often greatly reduce the license suspension that may result from a Lehigh County or Northampton County DUI conviction and also an individual to completely avoid the mandatory minimum DUI prison sentences and jailtime. Ask our Northampton County DUI Lawyers for more information.

Lehigh County, Monroe County and Northampton County all offer the DUI ARD program but the requirements in each county differ greatly. Some counties will not allow DUI ARD if your BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) is above a certain level while other counties may not allow ARD if you are charged with certain other offenses along with the DUI. In many cases, our Easton DUI Attorneys may be able to overcome the exceptions to ARD admission.

While DUI ARD is generally the best option in most cases, it is not always the best option for everyone. In certain, rare, cases you may actually be able to avoid a license suspension completely by not accepting DUI ARD. Speak with our Northampton County DUI Defense Lawyers in Easton, Pennsylvania for more details.

Whether or not House Arrest will be an option in your DUI case depends on a few factors, not least of which is whether the DUI occurred in Northampton County or Lehigh County. Lehigh County is fairly liberal in granting House Arrest but may often double the DUI sentence from what it would be without House Arrest. On the other hand, Northampton County very rarely offers House Arrest outside of its DUI ASP Program. Ask our Northampton County DUI Defense Attorneys in Easton for more information.

While ARD is the only method available to completely remove mandatory minimum sentences and convictions, many other programs exist to make sentences more tolerable. These programs and their availability may differ from Lehigh County to Northampton County.

• House Arrest – DUI House Arrest allows an individual to serve a sentence from the comfort of their residence. When on House arrest, you will be able to go to work, school and run errands but you may be required to operate on a set schedule approved by the DUI probation or parole department.

• Work Release – DUI Work Release allows an individual to maintain their employment and attend priority personal obligations but requires time not spend working or doing other pre-approved activities to be spent in a community corrections center. Some counties also allow individuals to take periods of up to 48 hours of furlough or “vacation” time to visit with family members and sleep at home.

• ASP – Northampton County typically does not permit a House Arrest only sentence but allows for a quick step-down program of a brief period in actual jail, followed by a period of Work Release and finally a period of House Arrest.

• TCAP – TCAP is a unique treatment program oriented towards those with serious drug and alcohol problems who have been charged with a third offense DUI. While TCAP may reduce a one (1) year mandatory minimum sentence to 90 days, the incarceration and intensive treatment makes maintenance of employment all but impossible. For this reason, given the choice, many defendants may opt for a long sentence that offers immediate work release.

Contact our Northampton County DUI Defense Lawyers in Easton for more information.

ASP stands for Alternative Sentencing Program and is available for many Second Offense DUIs in Northampton County DUI Court.

It allows a 30 day DUI sentence, that would otherwise be served in prison, to be structured with 7 days spent in the West Easton Work Release Detention Center and the remaining 23 days of the DUI sentence served on House Arrest.

DUI ASP also allows the 90 day mandatory minimum DUI sentence to be structured in such a way as to allow for 7 days spent in Northampton County Prison, 23 days spent in the West East DUI Treatment Center and the remaining 60 days to be spent in DUI House Arrest.

Speak with one of our Easton DUI Attorneys in Northampton County regarding your eligibility for the Northampton DUI ASP Program.

All DUI’s except for first offense, lowest tier, DUIs have a mandatory minimum jail sentence. However, jailtime can be completely avoided via the ARD program for first offense DUIs. Jailtime in second offense DUIs can be avoided or reduced via alternative sentencing programs such as ASP or house arrest.

A first offense, low tier, DUI in Pennsylvania has no license suspension. Other first offense DUIs have a one year license suspension but these can be reduced to 30 to 60-days via ARD. Most other DUIs have a license suspension ranging from 1-year to 18-months.

A Northampton County DUI case, like a Lehigh County criminal case, begins with the filing of the charging paperwork in the Magisterial District Court. The District Court serves as the gatekeeper for the Court or Common Pleas and does not decide guilt or innocence.

The Preliminary Arraignment is the first court date a defendant must attend in a Lehigh County or Northampton County DUI case. At the preliminary Arraignment the MDJ will set bail on the DUI charges. If an arrest warrant has issued, this will occur prior to the preliminary hearing. If a preliminary hearing was scheduled via summons, the Preliminary Arraignment will occur simultaneous to the Preliminary Hearing.

In a Lehigh County or Northampton County DUI Case, preliminary hearings are the first opportunity for the Defense to test the evidence the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania plans to bring against them. While the burden the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania must meet at this level is very low, it is a critical stage of the defense because it allows your Lehigh & Northampton County DUI Attorney the opportunity to lay the strategic groundwork that may make or break a DUI defense in the upper courts. You should never waive a preliminary hearing without a DUI attorney from Easton, Allentown or Bethlehem.

Formal Arraignment is the first court appearance in the Court of Common Pleas during a Lehigh County or Northampton County DUI case. The purpose of the Formal Arraignment is to inform defendants of certain rights they have and deadlines in their case. If negotiations by your DUI Attorney have led to a favorable plea agreement in your DUI case, a plea may be entered at this court date

Depending on the individual Lehigh Valley DUI case, any of the following types of court hearings may occur after formal arraignment but before a trial:

• Diversionary Program Hearing – Diversionary Programs allow defendants a path through the criminal justice system that does not risk the chance of conviction. First time offenders may be eligible for the DUI ARD program. Other defendant’s may be eligible for Mental Health Court regardless of whether they have prior convictions.

• Habeas Corpus Hearing – A Habeas Corpus hearing, like a preliminary hearing, may be held to contest the sufficiency of the Commonwealth’s DUI evidence prior to a trial.

• Suppression Hearing – A suppression hearing may be held to have evidence illegally obtained by the police ruled inadmissible at trial. This usually relates to the DUI stop itself or the blood draw in a Lehigh Valley DUI case.

• Guilty Plea – If the Commonwealth and the defendant agree upon the terms of a guilty plea in Lehigh Valley DUI case, a plea may occur at any time throughout the DUI court process

In many DUI trials, cases proceed in front of a jury. However, sometimes it may be best to opt for a non-jury trial. Non-jury trials are most often used when the nature of the crime is one that risks a jury finding someone guilty based upon emotion rather than facts.

If the case precedes as a jury trial the judge, the prosecutor and the defense attorney will question potential jurors. Each side, without any justification, can eliminate a certain number of jurors. Another number of potential jurors can be eliminated based on a list of legal justifications. Eventually, through this process, a jury is reached and seated for trial.

After a jury is chosen, the trial begins with opening statements.

Because the government has the burden of proof, the prosecutor is allowed to make his opening statement first. The defense will then have the option of making an opening statement or waiting until after the prosecution rests its case.

Defense lawyers usually opt to deliver opening statements immediately after the prosecution so that jurors can examine the government’s evidence under the defense’s theory of the case.

After the opening statement(s), each side has the opportunity to present its case.

The prosecution must present its case first. During this time the government presents evidence and elicits testimony from its witnesses. The defense is entitled to cross-examine each witness that the government calls. The prosecution must establish each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

When the prosecution rests, the defense presents evidence to the jury. If the prosecution’s case is weak, the defense may argue to have the case dismissed at this point. If the motion is denied the defense will go forwards with its case.

After the prosecution and criminal defense lawyer have rested their case, each side will have the opportunity to make a closing argument. The defense lawyer delivers the first argument and the prosecution follows him or her.

The defendant may testify as a witness in his or her defense. However, doing so opens the door for the prosecution to attempt to discredit the witness and in many cases allows the prosecution to bring up harmful information from the defendant’s past.

While the prosecution must establish its case beyond a reasonable doubt, the defense has no obligation to present a case. When advantageous the defense may rely solely upon raising a reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.

After the closing arguments, the judge will read specific instructions to the jury outlining the legal standards necessary to decide if the defendant is to be found guilty or not guilty. The jury then leaves the courtroom to deliberate the case.

If all jurors cannot reach a unanimous decision, the jury is “hung,” and the case may be dismissed or it may be tried in front of a new jury.