9 Things You Need To Know About DUI in PA

A DUI or driving under the influence of alcohol can come with some serious outcomes. You can lose your license and can be slapped with those expensive fines. Even worse, you can be put behind the bars.

In this article, we walk through the key things to know about DUI in Pennsylvania.

1. Understand the Basics of the DUI Process:

The DUI process starts as soon as you are caught by a police officer driving under the influence. There are many ways you can get snagged by police—from a sobriety checkpoint where every driver is being stopped, to being in an accident, to an officer simply observing what he believes are you driving in an unsafe manner (speeding, swerving, driving too slow for traffic, tailgating, etc). 

Under Pennsylvania law, police need only observe at least one violation of the Vehicle Code to justify pulling you over and at that point, they are interacting with you to confirm whether you may be under the influence. While being detained by police, they may ask you to undergo field sobriety testing, breath tests, and eventually, a blood test.  

Even if you submit to none of those tests, or you are unavailable for those tests (such as you were taken to the hospital from a serious accident), there are other ways that police have to decide if you should be charged with a DUI. Your behavior and appearance during interaction with police is a primary example. 

Police often testify in court that a DUI suspect had an “odor”, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, unable to stand straight without weaving over, incoherent speech, slow responses, and many others. 

Testimony from a police officer describing behavior and appearance IS evidence. However, it is up to a judge or jury whether to believe that testimony. 

In addition, police often have body camera footage and dash camera footage that they rely on for DUI cases. Defense attorneys will frequently request to see the camera footage during the discovery process, in order to review all the evidence of intoxication. 

2. Jail Sentences:

In Pennsylvania, DUI offenders usually face jail sentences. But going to jail doesn’t necessarily happen as there are other alternatives in place. These include Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) and Intermediate Punishment Program (IPP), like house arrest.

Whether a person can get admitted to ARD, or obtain a deal that involves house arrest with no jail time is dependent on the District Attorney, the Probation Department, which county the person is charged in, and the judge in the higher court.

In Pennsylvania, a DUI charge comes with different tiers and they are based on the chemical test results:

• Tier 1: BAC .08% – .99%
• Tier 2: .10-.159%
• Tier 3: .16 or more, or if the person has drugs in his or her system or refuses chemical testing

Keep in mind the level of alcohol in your body determine the penalty for you. The more alcohol detected leads to a more severe penalty.

3. An Attorney is Important:

It is important to hire a DUI attorney in Pennsylvania to deal with a DUI charge. If you are found guilty, a DUI will stay on the record without the possibility of expungement. An attorney can help ease the penalty, negotiate outcomes, look for defenses, and potentially prove your innocence.

4. Court Appearance:

You will sometimes have to be arraigned and post bail on a DUI arrest, but more often, in Pennsylvania, a DUI case is filed by Writ of Summons, which means charges filed by the police and the paperwork sent out to you. 

At that point, you will have a preliminary hearing scheduled. This will be your first court date in the case. This is a crucial step in the process. You should not attend this hearing without an attorney. If you need more time to get an attorney, you should contact the magistrate judge and ask for a continuance of your hearing so that you can get a lawyer.

5. The Suspension of License:

Nearly all DUI charges can lead to a license suspension for some time. If you are charged with a first offense, based on alcohol in the lowest tier, and you are admitted into the ARD program, you might then be able to achieve no license suspension. Virtually all other DUI cases will have a driver’s license suspension. 

6. The Provision of a Limited License:

If your license is suspended, you can apply for an Occupational Limited License (OLL), also known as the bread and butter license in Pennsylvania. This license lets you drive under certain conditions, like going to and from work.

A couple of years ago, Pennsylvania instituted and greatly expanded provisions for getting an Ignition Interlock installed. In many DUI cases, if PennDOT approves you for an interlock, then you can drive, even while dealing with a DUI license suspension. 

Moreover, for many DUI cases, you now are REQUIRED to have an interlock installed on your vehicle and fulfill that obligation successfully, with no violations, in order to fully restore your driver’s license to normal. 

7. Penalties:

DUI convictions carry heavy fines, but also court costs, costs of probation supervision, costs to go on house arrest if applicable, costs to be incarcerated/work release, costs of bail, costs of car accidents from a DUI, etc. Don’t forget to read about the possible penalties for DUI conviction in Pennsylvania.

The financial cost will be heavy, but investing in an attorney can help reduce many of these other costs, not to mention that an attorney may be able to save you from other various outcomes such as avoiding jail or avoiding a problem with your employer. 

8. The setting of Case Before Trial:

DUI cases frequently get settled well before trial. This is because accused persons become convinced that “the deal” is better than taking a risk in going to trial. The possibility of going to trial in any criminal case, including a DUI, requires many hours of conversation between you and your lawyer, and many more hours of preparation if you do proceed with a trial.

9. Increased Insurance Rates:

Your insurance provider will eventually learn if you are found guilty of a DUI. You will be offered a special policy with higher rates for a set amount of time since drunk drivers pose a significant danger to insurance providers.

These charges are frequently double or triple what a typical premium would cost. This is yet another reason to consult with an attorney on a DUI case.