On April 26th, 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that prosecutors may no longer prosecute defendants in Municipal Court for more serious crimes, such as DUI, separately after they have been adjudicated in Traffic Court for offenses stemming from the same incident. Practically, this ruling means if you were already adjudicated on a traffic crime, […]
Articles
Article Categories
ARD suspensions now immediately qualify for Ignition Interlock Limited License in PA
Are you likely to get have your driver’s license suspended for a DUI for which you can get ARD in Pennsylvania? Senate Bill 553 in the Pennsylvania Legislature has been signed into law amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. What does this mean for you? This change applies if you get ARD or […]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Provide Further Guidance on Birchfield
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has allowed an appeal to determine whether Birchfield principles (that criminal sanctions can’t be applied to warrantless or involuntary blood draws) apply to cases that were not yet finally resolved at the time the Birchfield decision was arrived at. This might help those whose cases have been thrown out of court […]
Consent to blood test after improper warnings
The Pennsylvania Superior Court found that a warrantless blood draw was proper, despite improper implied consent warnings being read, because the suspect consented to the test before receiving the improper implied consent warnings. In Commonwealth v. Moser, two troopers were dispatched to a one motor vehicle crash. The vehicle had hit a stump that was off […]
PA DL-26B Satisfies Birchfield and Puts Citizens on Notice – or does it?
In June 2016, PennDOT created a new implied consent form DL-26B, which police officers are required to read to motorists before requesting a chemical test for alcohol or drugs when DUI is suspected. This form was created to comply with the Supreme Court holding in Birchfield v. North Dakota as the prior form was clearly […]
