District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer explains how a new bill (HB 1615 which was passed by Senate and House and signed by Governor) will help District Attorneys enforce the DUI statute while offering sentencing alternatives for some first-time DUI offenders. 

A few court decisions have greatly impacted DUI sentences in Pennsylvania. One of the tools prosecutors have is the ARD program (or Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition). ARD is a program that allows prosecutors to offer a probationary sentence for most first-time DUI offenders with a focus on treatment by identifying first-time DUI offenders who are at low risk of reoffending.  The probation allows the first time DUI offender  to receive a sentence that does not include jail or house arrest and requires minimal license suspension. An appellate court decision greatly impacted the ARD program in Pennsylvania.

The court declared that a DUI for which an offender received ARD would not count as a prior offense if the offender were to receive another DUI – which was a departure from the prior law where ARD was counted as a prior offense if a subsequent DUI occurred. This court decision caused ARD to become non-existent in many counties, and, in McKean County, the District Attorney has limited the ARD program to those with no infractions in their history.

Prosecutors attempt to seek justice in any case to promote victim safety and offender accountability. She explains: “Some DUI offenders have a single run-in with the law, take accountability for it, and are never arrested again.  Other DUI offenders cause a crash where a victim is killed or seriously injured.  Prosecutors need to be able to seek a fair sentence for both types of cases. The ARD program allowed us to identify those with a low risk of reoffending and offer them a sentence to focus on treatment rather than incarceration. Many see this as a “break” but, if the person received a 2nd DUI, they were treated as a 2nd DUI offender with harsher penalties.

The detriment to the ARD program posed by that recent case is that a DUI offender who received the benefit of ARD would no longer be able to face the enhanced penalties of a 2nd DUI if one were to occur. The worst-case scenario would be for an offender to have a DUI fatality where the offender was previously given ARD but, because of that recent case, would be treated as if he had no prior record.”

The bill signed by the Governor, passed by both the Senate and the House, and advocated for by the Pennsylvania District Attorneys’ Association fixes this problem and, with it, will allow prosecutors to feel comfortable once again offering ARD to most first time DUI offenders – a break for those with no record – but a sentence that will now, once again, be considered a prior offense if they are charged with another DUI and, therefore, deserving of a stricter penalty. The bill creates a new DUI subsection – “DUI within 10 years of completion of ARD.” 

A violation of this section will be treated the same as a 2nd offense DUI allowing prosecutors to both continue to offer ARD for those who, with their lack of prior record, are good candidates for a program focused on treatment rather than jail, but with the ability in the prosecutors to pursue a subsequent DUI with the same vigor as all other 2nd offense DUIs and the punishments that go along with 2nd offense DUIs. The bill addresses other matters as well including fixing the sentencing provisions for Driving While Suspended-DUI related which were deemed unconstitutional in recent appellate decisions.

Sourced via CRIMEWATCH®: https://mckean.crimewatchpa.com/da/136029/post/recent-legislation-will-help-district-attorneys-enforce-duis-while-focusing-treatment