DUI Charge

[mcs221]

I live in Scranton PA, A few months ago a friend of mine was stopped for speeding he was doing 48 in a 45 mile an hour zone. Anyway he was pulled over and the officer gave him a breathalizer test. Well the field test came up just under the limit and he was taken for a blood test. The blood test came back and he was 1 point under the legal limit. So he was fine with that but they are still charging him with the dui and also the cop added a wrecklass driving charge and did not describe in the ticket what the charge was all he put was the definition of wreckless driving. Now he has to go to court. He did speak with a lawyer and was told they can get the dui charged dropped but the wreckless driving charge would be the one he might not be able to win. The lawyer told him to take the wreckless driving charge and opt for the ard program. Since he was not really wreckless driving should he fight that as well, even though the consequences are much greater if he loses? It seems to me the ard program in this state is a scam to get money out of inoccent people, plus the cop new exactly what he was doing and knew if he could not get him on that it would be something else.

[Drew27k9]

First of all, I think that something don't sound right about being pulled over for doing 48 in a 45. Second the lawyer telling him that he could get the DUI dropped and to opt for ARD for the reckless driving charge don't make sense. It seems that someone here don't have all the facts. When you are arrested for DUI in Pa. the DUI charge, and all traffic related charges all go onto the criminal complaint, which is attached to an affidavit of probable cause. When you said that the officer only wrote the reckless driving section down but didn't put down what was reckless don't make sense. The officer has to put down in his affidavit, all factors supporting all the charges that are the face of the complaint. If and I doubt it, that the lawyer said opt for ARD for the reckless driving charge, when the DUI is dismissed. IF the DUI charge is dismissed, the reckless driving charge is only a summary offense and a fine attached, and ARD is not required. ( I would think that the lawyer would have known that)

§ 3736. Reckless driving.
(a) General rule.--Any person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving.

(b) Penalty.--Any person who violates this section commits a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $200.

It seems to me the ard program in this state is a scam to get money out of inoccent people,

Well, see there is something else you said that shows that you don't know what your talking about. ARD is for first time offenders. It is actually cutting the people a break.

Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition
PA Rules of Criminal Procedure - "The primary purpose of this program is the rehabilitation of the offender; secondarily, the purpose is the prompt disposition of the charges, eliminating the need for costly and time consuming trials or other court proceedings. These rules contemplate that ordinarily the defendants eligible for the ARD program are first offenders that lend themselves to treatment and rehabilitation rather than punishment and that the crime charged is relatively minor and does not involve a serious breach of the public trust. The program is intended to encourage offenders to make a fresh start after participation in a rehabilitative program and offers them the possibility of a clean record if they successfully complete the program. Because of the rehabilitative purpose of the program, and because the program permits prompt disposition of the charges, the descriptive title "accelerated rehabilitative disposition" was selected rather than such terms as "pre-indictment probation" or "deferred disposition".

[mcs221]

Well weither you beleive it or not all the above is true. The wrecklass driving charge was on the criminal complaint with the DUI but the definition of the wreckless driving was listed not any decriptions of the offense. My comments for the ARD Program being a scam. I agree it does have some good points, it does help get you out of trouble and clean your up your record. So maybe I did go off a little. In this case it seems to me this charge was added because the officer did not want the person to get out of any charge that night knowing he was 1 point under the DUI, adding the wreckless driving charge would still cause trouble for the person. Plus what you have under with 3736. Reckless driving it now includes a possiable 60 days suspension of your driving license. I do appreciate all the info you presented.

Thanks