Bucks County DUI

Arrest

In Bucks County, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is a criminal offense. The Bucks County court process begins with an arrest. Drivers arrested for DUI are normally released on their own recognizance (R.O.R.) or with nominal bail requirements. The police typically send a complaint for DUI charges by mail and a summons to appear in a district court within 2-4 weeks after the arrest.

Contact With The Officer

An experienced DUI attorney, such as Kevin Leckerman, will contact the arresting officer immediately in order to get information about the case. This can be done in order to convince the arresting police officer to not file certain charges. In circumstances concerning a refusal, contact is made in order to ask the officer to forego sending notification to PennDot of a refusal. This notification is otherwise known as the DL-26. Time is of the essence concerning refusal charges. If contact with the officer is made quickly, a lengthy license suspension may be avoided.

Preliminary Hearings

The initial court appearance is called the preliminary hearing. At the preliminary hearing, the arresting police officer testifies about the alleged DUI and other criminal violations. The district court justice then decides whether there is sufficient evidence for the DUI and accompanying charges to proceed to the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. At the preliminary hearing, an experienced DUI attorney should be able to point out any weaknesses in the Commonwealth’s case, which could lead to the district justice dismissing some or all the charges.

If any of the DUI and accompanying charges are not dismissed, then the remaining charges are sent to the Court of Common Pleas where an arraignment takes place. The Bucks County Court of Common Pleas is located in Doylestown. At the arraignment, the process of evidence discovery begins. A specific period of time is available to request discovery and to present legal motions to the Court.

Discovery

For DUI prosecutions, requests made to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office for evidence relating to blood, breath or urine testing must be narrowly tailored. Otherwise, information concerning alcohol or drug testing may never be obtained. After the information is received, Kevin Leckerman carefully analyzes the data and may subsequently advise a client that a DUI expert witness be retained to review this scientific data. Those experts may be able to aid in obtaining a favorable resolution of the case.

Once the discovery process is completed, a trial date is scheduled. Mr. Leckerman will make the client aware of all the options available prior to going to court.

ARD (Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition)

An alternative to taking a case to trial can be found through the ARD program. The Bucks County ARD program is available to persons charged with DUI who have never been convicted of a previous criminal offense. The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is the only agency that can offer this program to a defendant charged with DUI. If a person is successfully admitted to the program through an application process, then a DUI charge can be ultimately dismissed and expunged with successful completion of the program.

No matter what the case, Kevin Leckerman and Leckerman Law will aggressively and creatively defend their clients in order to get the best possible outcomes.

Serving The Following Areas In Bucks County:

Bensalem, Bedminster, Bristol, Buckingham, Chalfont, Croydon, Davisville, Doylestown, Dublin, Fairless Hills, Falls, Hilltown, Hulmeville, Langhorne, Lower Makefield, Lower Southampton, Morrisville, Middletown, Newtown, Northampton, New Britain, New Hope, Plumstead, Penndel, Perkasie, Quakertown, Richland, Solebury, Sellersville, Springfield, Telford, Tinicum, Upper Southampton, Warminster, Warrington, Warwick, Wrightstown.