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Bucks County DUI Lawyer Warns Against Buzzed Driving
June 13, 2011
New to the Bucks County lawyers DUI website is a piece about buzzed driving in Bucks County that everyone can relate to. It is focused on drunk driving accidents and injuries such as death and how they are all connected.
The article starts off with questions for the reader to answer that all deal with the amount of alcohol consumed. How the reader answers these questions determines whether or not they are fit to get into a car and drive without the risk of a DUI or causing a drunk driving accident in Bucks County.
Charged with DUI on Drugs???
November 9, 2010
If you have been charged with DUI in Bucks County while under the influence of drugs, you should check out Bucks County DUI lawyer, Michael L. Saile's new webpage discussing DUI-D.
Driving under the influence of drugs has been getting more and more popular in the last several years. Pennsylvania police have new training procedures and certifications to attempt to detect the type of drug you may have ingested. Drug Recognition Experts can testify against you in court.
Believe it or not, you can be found guilty of DUI in Bucks County, Pennsylvania for being impaired by legal, over-the-counter drugs. Certain drugs including prescription drugs in combination with alcohol cause impairment worse than either alcohol or the drug by itself.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office may hire a scientist to testify that the combination of drugs and alcohol caused you to become more impaired. If you have been charged with DUI-D or drug related DUI in Bucks County, PA check out our new web page here.
Contact the Bucks County law office of Saile & Saile LLP for a free DUI Roadmap Consultation involving your Bucks County drug related DUI.
Bucks County criminal courts do not always grant time served for inpatient rehab treatment…
October 14, 2010
A friendly warning…don’t assume you are going to get “time served” for your Bucks County DUI case if you checked yourself into an inpatient rehab facility. If you are charged with DUI in Pennsylvania, there is a chance you can avoid mandatory jail time if you spend time in an inpatient rehabilitation center.
Time served is a term commonly used in criminal court when a judge will apply time that you previously spent in a rehab center or time that you previously spent in jail to your current jail sentence. Pennsylvania law requires criminal judges to consider time spent in an inpatient rehab center as jail time. “Consider” does not mean “grant” time served!
An inpatient rehab program is a type of rehab program where you stay overnight participating in full-time rehabilitation, classes, counseling, and other recovery activities.
We had a recent case where a client was charged with DUI in Bucks County. She was charged as a first time offender, but was not eligible for the Bucks County first offender’s program known as ARD. She was facing a 72-hour minimum stay in the Bucks County prison. At the time of her Bucks County DUI arrest our client had addiction problems. Her family checked her into a 22-day inpatient rehab program. When she successfully completed the DUI rehab program she, among other things, attended 4-5 Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) classes a week.
Because our client had a prior DUI conviction many years ago, the Bucks County Common Pleas Court judge properly considered the inpatient rehab as time served, but denied her time served…just a little lesson on DUI cases in Bucks County. For this reason and many other reasons, hire a local Bucks County DUI attorney for your Bucks County DUI case.
MADD and its new DUI curbing efforts
September 29, 2010
MADD turns 30
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has been in operation for 30 years. We, drivers and passengers on U.S. roadways, should not only congratulate them, but perhaps also thank them. They made us aware of the serious dangers of driving under the influence (DUI), as well as the number of innocent victims killed by drunk drivers every day in DUI related car accidents.
Since the group formed in 1980, drunk-driving related fatalities have dropped by over 40%. Even more relevant, between the years 2006 and 2009, car accident deaths associated with drunk driving dropped 20%.
While great success has been achieved in reducing the number of drunk-driving car accidents and fatalities, impaired drivers are still to blame for nearly one-third of all car accident deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 32 people in the U.S. die every day in car accidents caused by an alcohol-impaired driver. That is over 11,000 drunk-driving fatalities each year.
MADD continues to advocate for the passage of tough drunk driving laws, push for stronger enforcement of existing laws, as well as remind Americans that it is not okay to drink and drive.
Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. of Saile & Saile LLP is a Bucks County DUI lawyer. He does not promote driving under the influence or believe it is in any way acceptable behavior. Mr. Saile's goal is to educate his clients so that they understand the grave consequences of driving under the influence so that they will never drive impaired again. Read more...
Another horrific Bucks County DUI accident kills two and injures two
August 16, 2010
This past weekend, a car full load of teenagers were speeding down in Route 1, in Middletown Township, lower Bucks County, PA. Middletown Township police actually clocked the case at speeds of over 90 m.ph. in the posted 55 m.p.h. zone on Route 1. Middletown Township police attempted to stop the vehicle but could not catch up and called off the chase. While exiting Route 1 in Penndel, the vehicle collided with a brick wall of a building. Two passengers were tragically killed and the driver and another passenger are injured. The driver of the vehicle was able to walk out of the car and walk away until police apprehended him.
Police found alcohol, empty bottles, and controlled substances in the vehicle. If the investigating police officers can prove that the driver was driving under the influence (DUI), chances are he will be charged with the death of two and injuring a third person. The jail sentence in these types DUI death cases should be well over two years in a Pennsylvania State Penitentiary. Perhaps the worst sentence will be that the driver will have to live with killing two of his friends and injuring another.
The families of the two fatal victims of this Bucks County DUI accident would have a wrongful death case against the driver, whether he was drunk or not. The other injured person would have a strong Bucks County personal injury case against the driver of the car. Unfortunately, in many of these types of tragic accidents, there is not adequate insurance coverage to cover all injury or wrongful death claims.
The attorneys at Saile & Saile LLP are not currently representing the individuals involved in this accident. The source of this information is from the Bucks County Courier Times. If you have been involved in this incident it is important to contact an experienced Bucks County injury lawyer or DUI lawyer before your rights are compromised.
Bucks County may own its own DUI testing lab…
June 1, 2010
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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