Recently a Pennsylvania judge found a defendant guilty of DUI even though the jury in the case acquitted her. Twelve members of the jury sifted through the evidence and arrived at a unanimous decision- only to have the judge completely ignore their autonomy: DUI defendant who lost license acquitted by jury, convicted by judge Jessica…
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Pennsylvania Police Officer Admits to Lying in DUI Cases
We all want to trust the police and see them as upright protectors of justice. While many police officers are very professional and take their responsibility very seriously, there are others who are corrupt and use unscrupulous tactics that harm the common citizen. Bad cops exist everywhere and there is no shortage of them in…
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Smartphone Apps Means Your Criminal Record in Everyone’s Pocket
A new smartphone app called “Docket in your Pocket” allows users to access Pennsylvania criminal records from their smartphone. The description from their website: In today’s increasingly loose-knit society, we encounter people we barely know almost daily. Have you ever asked yourself how many of those people – maybe your new roommate, your next blind…
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DUI Cases in Philadelphia to be Re-tried Due to Bad Breathalyzer
[Blogger’s note and update 3/23/2011: We have been up-to-date on this developing story. The issue as far as we see it is going to effect literally thousands of convictions. The “issue” goes back to the switch over to the Intoxilyzer 8000 which occurred in September 2009.] When I tell people that I am a PA…
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Tougher Penalties for repeat Pennsylvania drunk drivers
A lot of politics surround the issue of DUI in PA. There are many powerful lobbies like MADD and the Pennsylvania DUI Association that are pushing for harsher penalties for DUI and have even proposed some legislation that, in essence, assumes that a suspect is guilty before they have had a chance in court. I…
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Do More DUI Arrests Mean Better Enforcement?
Central PA Town Sees Growing DUI Arrest Numbers but is this a Result of Better Enforcement? I have blogged before about the statistics game police play with PA DUI arrest numbers. An increased number of arrests does not mean that there is an improvement in DUI enforcement because- “More” does not always mean “Better.” Take…
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Pennsylvania State Police Violate Our Rights While Fishing for DUI
As a Pennsylvania DUI Lawyer and resident of this great state, just like everyone else, I too wish there were no DUI drivers on Pennsylvania roadways. In my opinion, better education and training for Pennsylvania state and local police is the key to saving lives. As it stands, the training police officers receive on drunk…
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Pennsylvania is Letting Criminals Walk
One popular "solution" to the DUI problem is to toughen the laws and make harsher penalties. Here in Pennsylvania, that still wouldn’t work because of shoddy police work. All it will do is lead to more truly factually or legally not guilty citizens among us being convicted and punished. Here is an investigation from last…
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Record Number of Pennsylvania DUI Arrests: A lot of Unanswered Questions
A recent report from The Republican-Herald: Pa. State Police make record number of DUI arrests HARRISBURG, Pa.—Pennsylvania State Police say they made a record number of DUI arrests last year while the number of alcohol-related fatalities dropped more than 10 percent. Commissioner Frank Pawlowski says troopers made 16,900 DUI arrests in 2009, a 4…
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DUI Hypocrisy: Guilty Before Being Proven Innocent
Drunk driving is a serious problem in Pennsylvania and across the country. Like most of us, I also wish that people would not make the choice of getting behind the wheel while they are drunk. To battle this, many people are willing to adopt “any means necessary” to eliminate the DUI problem. However, sometimes these…
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