Bucks County may own its own DUI testing lab…

The Bucks County Courier Times reports that the new Bucks County District Attorney, David Heckler, has requested and may get his own chemical testing crime lab. The main job of this crime lab would be to test Bucks County DUI defendants for blood alcohol content (BAC) and controlled substances. It has been reported that Bucks County currently pays a private lab about $250,000 a year to test blood samples. The Bucks County District Attorney's new crime lab is estimated to save the County about $90,000 a year when it is up and running. The new crime lab would cost Bucks County about $200,000 to set up.

A DUI suspect may be tested for DUI in Bucks County, Pennsylvania by either supplying a blood sample or by providing a breath sample at the police station. In addition to blood and breath tests, a Bucks County DUI suspect's urine may be tested. The arresting police officer has the option as to which DUI test he or she desires to conduct. Most local police officers and Pennsylvania State Police officers assigned to Bucks County opt to have the DUI suspect give blood and sometimes urine at the closest hospital. The blood and/or urine sample is then taken to the lab for testing.

Should the District Attorney's Office crime lab be trusted to test the 3,500 or so DUI defendants' blood or urine? Should Bucks County DUI suspects' blood only be tested by an independent laboratory? What is independent? If Bucks County pays the independent lab $250,000 a year, is the lab really independent?

As a defense attorney, I would certainly advise my clients that they have the option of having their own blood tested by an independent source. What are your thoughts on this topic?

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PA police will be using Airplanes against speeders…

To help increase safety of all persons on the road and reduce the number of injuries from Pennsylvania car accidents and accident fatalities, PennDOT and the Pennsylvania State Police will be rolling out their Air, Land, and Speed campaign. This campaign will work hand-in-hand with the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement program. This dual approach to roadway safety focuses on reminding motorists to drive at safe speeds and to buckle up, two very important factors which aid in avoiding car accident injuries and even death.

The Air, Land, and Speed campaign utilizes aircraft to register motorists' speed. The aerial police then instruct state troopers via radio to make the traffic stop to issue Pennsylvania speeding tickets. Local municipalities will also have police deployed in full force along targeted roadways to further the PA speeding ticket enforcement effort. People who drive carelessly or at excessive speeds often do so because they are driving under the influence (DUI) in Pennsylvania. Car accidents caused by those who drive drunk are often very serious and can cause life altering personal injuries to those unfortunate enough to be a victim of a Pennsylvania drunk driving car accident.

Keep an eye to the skies this weekend, you just may be being watched! If you are charged with a speeding ticket in Bucks County, PA, hire an experienced traffic violation lawyer such as Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. Many times we can reduce or eliminate your PennDot driving points.

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Michael L. Saile, Jr. is quoted in major Bucks County newspaper DUI article

This past Sunday, the Bucks County Courier Times ran a series of front section, and even a front page articles written by Ben Finley about DUI arrests in Bucks County, PA. The first (front page) article titled "Drivers take to the roads drunk" stated that DUI is the most charged crime in Bucks County and that Pennsylvania had a record number of DUI arrests last year.

One of Michael L. Saile Jr.'s DUI clients, "a 22-year old", was interviewed by reporter, Ben Finley, about his experience with the DUI process in Bucks County, PA. Mr. Saile was quoted several times along with Assistant District Attorney, Robert Salzer, Newtown Township police officer, Tim Keegan, and toxicologist, Gary Lange. You can link to the article here: Bucks County Courier Times.

In the second article titled "Tips for staying sober behind the wheel", Mr. Saile gives some tips on how to drink responsibility without reaching the "under the influence" point. It is very hard to predict or measure a person's blood alcohol content (BAC). Even the most sophisticated testing process yield error.

Some of Mr. Saile's tips include: eating a full meal before drinking alcohol, counting your alcoholic drinks, keeping track of the amount of alcohol the bartender is pouring in your drinks, alternating water between alcohol drinks, and have no shots or martinis if you are driving. You can find the second article here: Bucks County Courier Times.

If you are charged with DUI in Bucks County, hire an experienced and knowledgeable DUI lawyer. Contact us to set up a free DUI case consultation and provide us with your DUI arrest information here: case submission form.

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Can you get into the Bucks County DUI-ARD program if you have been involved in a Bucks County Car Accident?

There are a few state-wide exclusions for the Pennsylvania first offender's program for DUI (otherwise known as the ARD Program). Being involved in a Pennsylvania car accident is not one of the state-wide exclusions.

Pennsylvania law allows each county's district attorney's office to run their county's DUI ARD Program. The Bucks County District attorney's ARD program is known to be one of the tougher Pennsylvania ARD-DUI Programs to gain admittance. Bucks County has its own ARD Program rules for DUI cases.

Bucks County had a longstanding policy not to allow DUI defendants admittance to its ARD-DUI Program if the DUI defendant was involved in a Bucks County car accident. Even if the Bucks County DUI defendant did not cause the car accident, the DUI defendant would be prevented from the ARD Program.

In the past few years, we at Saile & Saile LLP have been successful in obtaining admittance of our clients into the Bucks County ARD Program when they have been involved in a car accident in Bucks County. These clients have been individuals who have been arrested for DUI in Bucks County and who have not caused the Bucks County car accident.

Recently there has been a new District Attorney elected in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The new Bucks County D.A. has made a few improvements to Bucks County criminal procedure. Perhaps the new Bucks County D.A. will allow more Bucks County DUI defendants into the Bucks County DUI-ARD program?

There are many Bucks County car accidents caused by people arrested for DUI that involve no personal injuries. These accidents often involve only minimal property damage. These Bucks County DUI defendants should be admitted to the Bucks County DUI-ARD program. What do you think?

If you have been involved in a Bucks County DUI, do not wait and jeopardize your rights, contact us for an aggressive and experienced DUI defense and guidance.

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Philadelphia may de-criminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana…

There is an effort afoot in Philadelphia to reduce the penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana for personal use. The effort is being led by Philadelphia's new District Attorney, Seth Williams. This is one way, according to Williams, to ease the crowding of Philadelphia courts.

In late April 2010, a policy will be put into effect in which those in possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana with be charged with only a summary offense. This means that those individuals charged with minor possession may be required to pay a fine, but they will not gain a criminal record. The fines will most likely be set at $200 for first offenses and $300 for subsequent offenses, though these figures have not yet been formalized.

As possession of marijuana remains illegal, those charged with possession for personal use will continue to be arrested. Their cases, however, will be heard in summary court and not criminal court.

The idea behind stepping-down the charge of possession of marijuana from misdemeanor to summary offense is to clear the nearly 3,000 yearly cases dealing with limited marijuana possession from the court dockets. By keeping the small-time offenses to a minimum, Philadelphia's courts are freed up to concentrate on more serious cases such as big-time drug traffickers, as opposed to recreational users.

The new Philadelphia District Attorney Williams is actually working with two of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court justices, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille and Justice Seamus McCaffery, on this matter and a number of other reforms to Philadelphia's criminal justice system.

Perhaps Philadelphia's precedents will encourage a state-wide shift in criminal justice procedures. Do you think de-criminalizing marijuana possession is a good idea?

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New Bucks County DUI ARD procedure…

If you are offered ARD (Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition or commonly known as the "First Offender's Program") for your Bucks County DUI offense, your deal may have just gotten sweeter. The new Bucks County District Attorney has made some changes to Bucks County criminal procedure. The change to the ARD-DUI procedure was much needed.

First, Bucks County ARD DUI cases are now being consolidated and are scheduled for court only two days per week now (usually Wednesday and Thursday) as opposed to five days per week. In addition, the DUI-ARD cases are now separated from the other Bucks County criminal cases, including DUI guilty pleas, DUI motion hearings, and DUI trials. DUI Court still meets at 9:00 a.m. For the first half hour or so the DUI defendants and their attorneys go over and sign the ARD Agreement. A judge will then take the bench and go through the ARD colloquy and soon enough the ARD procedure is over.

In my experience the first few weeks of this new Bucks County ARD procedure was not any more efficient than the "old" way. Now, the court and the Bucks County District Attorney's Office have got the procedure down. If we just had more judges, the remainder of the Bucks County DUI cases would also run efficiently. Hopefully the new DA will make some more changes!

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Can you really get a DUI without driving?

As we already know, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is a criminal offense in Pennsylvania and Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) is a serious traffic offense in New Jersey. In the state of Minnesota a DUI conviction was issued against a man who was not driving. Although he appealed the lower court's ruling, the Supreme Court of Minnesota upheld the DUI conviction.

Daryl Fleck of Minnesota was found by a neighbor to be asleep in his car with the driver's side door open. Mr. Fleck's car sat legally parked in the parking lot of his apartment building. The police who responded to the neighbor's call found that Fleck's car was not running and that the engine was cold. Furthermore, the keys were absent from the ignition and instead were found inside the center console.

Fleck, however, was proven to be intoxicated as his blood-alcohol level was .18 (Minnesota's legal blood-alcohol limit is .08). He also had a history of prior DUI convictions. Yet, there was no proof that he had driven on this given evening in 2007. It appeared only that he was "sleeping off" a night of drinking that had taken place in his home. Still, for this offense he received a felony conviction for DUI which landed him in jail for 48 months and required him to serve five years of probation.

Mr. Fleck appealed the court's decision all the way up to the Minnesota Supreme Court. The conviction was upheld by the high court, based upon a ruling from 1992 which applied the concept of "physical control", meaning that a person's ability to drive may be greatly affected but they still have control of the vehicle. The Court found Fleck to be in control of the vehicle because he was in a position to start up the engine and drive the car since the vehicle and keys were available to him. Intent to drive (or not drive) did not come into play, even though police were unable to get Fleck's car to start.

Pennsylvania DUI law also incorporates "physical control" language into its DUI statutes: "An individual may not drive, operate or be in actual physical control of the movement of a vehicle after imbibing a sufficient amount of alcohol such that the individual is rendered incapable of safely driving, operating or being in actual physical control of the movement of the vehicle." (PA code section 3802)

To some, a DUI conviction based upon the assumption that because car keys are available to a drunk person they are going to use them is absurd. In cases such as these, where a person takes shelter in his car and refrains from driving, does it seem the person was acting more responsibly than irresponsibly? With news of convictions such as Mr. Fleck's, people may just opt to drive if they know there is a chance they will be charged with DUI anyway for "waiting it out" in their car. How does that keep us any safer?

If you are facing a Bucks County, PA DUI charge of any sort, contact a lawyer with a vast amount of experience in Pennsylvania DUI matters. Call Michael L. Saile, Jr. for a free, in-office consultation.

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