Legal Question in DUI Law in Pennsylvania

Re: dui

I don't think it's possible to answer your question without knowing all of the circumstances of the stop and the arrest.

Although "technicalities" are rare, they do occur on occasion and although police screw-ups in DUI cases are rare, they do occasionally occur also.

It's always a good idea to hire an attorney for any criminal case if for no other reason than because an attorney is able to minimize at least some of the adverse consequences, even in DUIs and also because you are not in the dark about what is going on.

If you'd like to discuss your case please feel free to e-mail or call.

Re: dui

I completely agree with the answer given to you by Atty. Sughrue. You need to provide more details about the circumstances which led you to be pulled over/stopped by the police in the first place, and we would need to know your prior record, any past DUIs, etc., to provide advice.

Re: dui

Getting off on a technicality is something that is more dependent on the circumstances of your arrest, meaning the facts surrounding the reason for being pulled over in the first place. Other technicalities surrounding the breathylyzer machine concerns the machine itself and the protocols that must be followed by law enforcement.

Assuming the DUI is in Allegheny County, you would most likely not want to risk fighting the dui past your preliminary hearing because then you risk a permanent record, jail time, license suspension etc...

However, if your criminal record is already bad then you might as well fight the dui because you will only be offerred the mandatory minimum punishment and you will not qualify for a pretrial diversionary program you may have heard of--ARD. If house arrest etc is what you want, then fighting the DUI isn't your best option in Allegheny County either.

I always suggest forcing the Commonwealth to testify at the preliminary hearing so that we can attempt to discover a "technicality" with which we can later challenge your arrest or at least make an informed decision about how to proceed, plea/trial.

Call or email if you have additional questions. Tell my staff that lawguru sent you and ask for me.

Thanks and good luck.