Montgomery County ARD Program
Specific requirements for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program eligibility vary from county to county. To be eligible for the Montgomery County ARD Program generally you must be facing only a minor misdemeanor and be a first-time offender. First offense DUIs are typically eligible for ARD. As of November 2023, Montgomery County requires that a candidate for ARD waive his or her Preliminary Hearing. The DA’s Office may make exceptions, but you should not count on them.
Certain other circumstances may preclude participation in the program. These include an accident that injured another person, a prior DUI offense (especially within the last ten years), a child under 14 years of age in the car, a victim who objects to ARD, or other aggravating circumstances at the District Attorney’s discretion. If you don’t meet the criteria for acceptance into the ARD program, or the District Attorney’s ARD Chief chooses to deny your application, you can ask for reconsideration of that decision. If the Chief of the ARD unit refuses to reconsider his decision then you can appeal to the First Assistant District Attorney and then to the elected District Attorney.
We have experience with this process and have successfully advocated for a change of decision where the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office initially rejected an application for ARD. Fairlie & Lippy, P.C. attorneys have represented hundreds of clients through the Montgomery County ARD process and are intimately familiar with the program – we will maximize your chances of being accepted into the Montgomery County ARD program, assuming that is the best resolution for your particular case.
