First Offense DUIs in Chester County, Pennsylvania

If you or a loved one has been charged with a first offense DUI in Chester County, PA, it is critical that you seek the advice and counsel of a Chester County DUI Defense Attorney that knows the local rules, practices, people, courts, and options to try and fight your case. If you have no prior criminal record of any kind and have never before completed a first offender program to get charges dismissed, then you may be eligible for ARD, the first offender program in Chester County. ARD stands for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition.

First Offense DUIs in Chester County: Understanding  The Case

First, it’s important to understand that the Chester County District Attorney’s Office has discretion over who gets into the program. Nobody is entitled to ARD, and a Common Pleas Judge cannot force the DA to put someone on the program unless the denial is deemed a constitutional violation. In other words, you need a DUI Lawyer who knows the local people and procedures to be able to get you the best opportunity of being accepted. In Chester County, DUI Defendants will almost always get denied ARD if any of the following exists:

1. Minor Under 15 in The Car
2. Invalid Driver’s License
3. An Accident with Damage or Injuries
4. Prior Criminal Record or Prior Diversionary or First Offender Program
5. Car Not Registered or Insured
6. Speeding in Excess Of 99 Mph
7. Driving Recklessly
8. Fleeing Police
9. Resisting Arrest
10. Leaving the Scene of an Accident 
11. Anything Else the DA Deems Unacceptable Conduct for Admission to ARD

Just because you’re denied ARD doesn’t mean the fight for ARD is over. An experienced DUI Attorney can always file for reconsideration and take it up the chain of command to provide any mitigating evidence in order to see if the DA’s office will reconsider or reverse the initial denial. However, if you are ultimately denied ARD, then you are left with the choice of negotiating some kind of plea deal or going to trial.

First offense DUIs have a mandatory minimum jail sentence of three days and a maximum of six months if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is over 0.16 or if your DUI involves narcotics or prescription medications, or a mixture of either with alcohol, even if the alcohol alone is not over the limit. BACs between 0.01 and 0.159 have the same maximum, but the minimum is dropped to two days. BACs under 0.10 have no mandatory minimum, but again, the maximum remains the same.

First Offense DUI Attorney in Chester County

An experienced Chester County DUI Defense Attorney, like the team at Benari Law, will ultimately provide you with three pieces of information before you decide whether to go to trial. First, the Attorney will negotiate the best possible plea deal for you and have it on the table. Second, the Attorney will review all of the evidence with you and explain what arguments could be made at trial, along with an assessment of the strength of those arguments. Third, and finally, the Attorney needs to provide you with her or his best estimates about what the judge might do at sentencing if you went to trial and lost; this will help you to understand the risks involved.

There are many ways to fight the evidence in a DUI proceeding and, unfortunately, these skills are not taught in law school. In fact, there are many instances of attorneys claiming to be DUI attorneys who have never tried a single DUI case in front of a judge or jury. Make sure your lawyer knows what they’re doing. The attorneys at Benari Law have successfully fought hundreds, if not thousands, of DUIs. With over one hundred years of combined experience, we know the right way to handle each case in order to get the best possible result for you.

If you or someone that you love is fighting a first offense DUI in Chester County, seek legal representation as soon as possible. Call Benari Law Group at 610-566-1006.