Criminal FAQ

I've been arrested, or believe I'm about to be charged with a crime. What should I do?

1. You have the right to remain silent. Use it! Do not speak to the police or anyone about your case. It's absolutely true that anything you say can and will be used against you. 
2. Contact an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately. The earlier you have an attorney working for you, the more legal defense options you will have. And you need to have that buffer between you and the government so that you case can move forward without you risking implicating yourself over and over. Anytime you speak about your case without your attorney present, you risk giving the government evidence it can use against you.

What are the stages of the Pennsylvania Criminal Judicial process?

1. Preliminary Arraignment - The defendant is provided with a copy of the arrest/complaint, advised of his rights, and ordered to appear at the scheduled preliminary hearing.
   
2. Preliminary Hearing - The Commonwealth must establish that a crime was committed, and the defendant is likely to have committed it.
   
3. Formal Arraignment - Defendant is advised of his rights for pretrial pleadings. Motions and discovery must be issued within 30 days.
   
4. Pretrial Conference - Defendant, his attorney, and the DA appear before the judge. Pretrial matters are resolved. Defendant may plead guilty or move forward with a trial.
   
5. Trial or Plea Disposition - Defendant may elect for a jury or non-jury trial, and a disposition will be arrived at.

What happens at a preliminary hearing?

A preliminary hearing is typically the next step after a preliminary arraignment in the Pennsylvania criminal process.

At the preliminary hearing, the state must establish that they have enough evidence to proceed with a criminal prosecution. If the government cannot meet it's prima facie evidentiary burden to support the elements of the crime, and can't supply the necessary witnesses, then the case should be dismissed.

It depends on the facts of your case, and the advice of your attorney. There may be advantages to simply waiving it, but you may not want to give in without getting something in return.

If I think the hearing can help us, then the goal is to aggressively defend against the charges at the hearing. We don't put on any evidence, but go on the offensive and attack the government's case and witnesses in both fact and law.

If we are successful at the hearing, then the case should be dismissed. But even when that doesn't happen, there are positive benefits that can come from the hearing. It it a chance to lay the foundation for the defense, by attacking the government's case, and the witnesses credibility and reliability. What we learn from the witness testimony and evidence can be used to help us at trial.

And, worst case, if I determine that the Commonwealth does have a strong case, at least we know that, and can look to work out the best deal possible to plead out.

It would probably be in your best interest, yes. A good attorney can be an advocate for you in plea cases, too.

I consider myself an extremely effective negotiator, and the fact that you want to accept responsibility can help get a reduced and arguably more fair sentence. Getting a charge reduced down from a aggravated assault to a simple assault, for example, or working out a deal for the bottom range or minimum penalty can save you potential jail time or significant fines.

In many cases the best offer comes near the end of the case when the prosecution realizes how weak their case is, and that they are likely to lose at trial.

Yes, PennDOT allows for an Occupational Limited License, or OLL. You must serve 2 months of your license suspension period before you are eligible for an OLL. (or 12 months out of an 18 month for a second offense or breath test refusal suspension). See the PennDOT OLL fact sheet for more info.

It is an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, or ARD for short. It is a common plea agreement in first offense DUI cases, and is a possible alternative to discuss with your attorney. License suspensions for accepting an ARD are 30 days for a .10-.16 BAC, and 60 days for .16 and above, or a refusal.