Source: http://www.pennsylvaniaduilawyerblog.com/category/case-results/
Timestamp: 2016-09-28 15:18:49
Document Index: 428623740

Matched Legal Cases: ['§1543', '§1501', '§1543', '§1501', '§1501', '§1501', '§1543', '§1543', '§1543', '§1543', '§1543', '§1501']

Case Results Archives — Pennsylvania DUI Lawyer Blog
Articles Posted in Case Results	February 12, 2015
Posted in: Case Results and Criminal Law	October 27, 2014	Updated:
Posted in: Case Results, Criminal Law Non-DUI, Delaware County News, Hung Jury and Trial	May 20, 2014	Updated:
Posted in: Case Results and Delaware County News	February 10, 2012	Updated:
Disorderly Conduct Citation Dismissed by Oxford District Court Judge: The Importance of the “Cooling Off Period” or the “60-90 Day Continuance” in Pennsylvania Preliminary Hearings and Summary District Court Hearings Involving Fights, Assaults, Harassment
Last week, I had a Disorderly conduct citation dismissed by Judge Farmer in Oxford District Court in Chester County. I wanted to write about the strategy used to get this citation thrown out. This same strategy can be applied to Pennsylvania Simple Assault cases at preliminary hearings. The facts are as follows*: my client, a prevalent executive at a marketing firm, was cited for Disorderly conduct stemming from an incident that occurred while he was picking up his daughter from her boyfriend’s house. The short version of the story is that the boyfriend’s father was drunk and shouting obscenities at my client’s wife who was sitting in the car. My client approached the boyfriend’s father, pushed the father, the two shouted obscenities back-and-forth and eventually got the boyfriend’s father in a choke hold before being jumped by other members of the family. The boyfriend’s father and my client were cited for disorderly conduct. I was prepared to take this case to trial based on the premise that my client was defending his wife. Just as you are allowed to defend yourself in a self-defense case, you are allowed to use the same force to defend 3rd parties from harm. My client stated that the boyfriend’s father was pointing at his wife and “going after her.” His daughter and her boyfriend told police that this was not true. The attorney representing the boyfriend’s father approached me in the hallway and we decided to request a cooling off period to have the charges dismissed. I spoke to the Pennsylvania State Police Trooper and he was alright with this disposition to the case. My client was obviously happy that the charge would be dismissed. Rather than going through a trial, my client agreed to this disposition. Continue reading
Posted in: Case Results, Criminal Law Non-DUI and Preliminary Hearing	October 5, 2011	Updated:
My Legal Opinion: Always Plead Not Guilty to 1543(a) or 1543(b) Driving While Suspended Citations
Section 1543(a) of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code penalizes driving on a suspended driver’s license. Section 1543(b) penalizes driving on a suspended license because of a DUI conviction or ARD admission. Driving on a DUI suspended license carries a mandatory jail sentence of 60 to 90 days. If you get caught driving on a DUI suspended license and you are lucky, the police will cut you a break and write you a citation for a Â§1543(a) which carries no mandatory jail time, but an additional license suspension of one year. Many people are ecstatic about this because they avoid the jail time. However, when the novelty wears off and they begin serving their one year license suspension, they are not as ecstatic. My advice is to always plead not guilty to these citations. The goal of a criminal lawyer in these type of cases is to have the case plead to 75 Pa.C.S. Â§1501 Driver’s required to be licensed. My firm has had a lot of success having Â§1543(a) cases plead down to Â§1501. Â§1501 carries no license suspension and no points. If convicted of Â§1501, you will merely be required to pay a fine. Some of my clients get nervous when I tell them it is possible for the officer to amend his citation to a Â§1543(b) from a Â§1543(a) if they plead NOT guilty and request a hearing. Some clients do not want to go forward because of the risk involved. My advice is still the same: plead NOT guilty and do not worry about it. In my experience as a prosecutor and defense attorney, the police have never amended to a Â§1543(b) and even if they did, at that point you could probably back down and plead guilty to a Â§1543(a). Earlier this year I had a Â§1543(b) case plead down to Â§1501 and my client was driving on a DUI suspended license for a third offense DUI. If you use finesse with police officers, they can be very accommodating. It is important to have an attorney that is good with people and has experience dealing with police officers. I worked with police officers on both sides of the aisle: as a defense attorney and as an Assistant District Attorney. I know it pays to be polite and appreciative. Continue reading
Posted in: Case Results and License Suspension	September 30, 2011	Updated:
Antoine Firm has Theft Charges and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle Charges Tossed Out by Linwood District Judge
I wanted to write about a preliminary hearing in Linwood, Pennsylvania that was held last week that is worth noting.
A lady from Camden, New Jersey dropped her 1999 Kia Sephia off at a Leonard’s Body Shop in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania in March of 2010. She paid $1500 to have her car repaired. My client who was the shop owner’s girlfriend, worked the front end of the business. She took the customer’s cash and wrote out a receipt for the$1500. Her boyfriend owned the shop and performed all body work. After she dropped the car off months went by and no work was ever performed on the car. Subsequently, the owner was forced out of the shop and was forced to put the building up for sale. The customer could not locate her car. The police found out that the owner/boyfriend moved the car to his residential garage, never gave the car back and never contacted the customer. The shop owner basically kept the woman’s car and never told her where it was. The Marcus Hook Police charged the boyfriend/owner and my client with Theft by Unlawful Taking, Theft by Deception, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and Disorderly Conduct. Continue reading
Posted in: Case Results, Criminal Law Non-DUI and Preliminary Hearing	September 23, 2011	Updated:
District Judge Tosses Domestic Assault Case in Radnor, PA
Today, I went to District Court in Radnor, PA, Delaware County for a preliminary hearing to defend a domestic assault case at the preliminary hearing that occurred between husband and wife at the Radnor Hotel. My client had been accussed of assaulting his wife, spitting on her and pulling her hair.
This was our second court appearance. At the first listing of this case back in June, I noticed the Commonwealth did not subpeona the victim or the 3rd party witness to the alleged assault. I found this out by going to the front desk at the Radnor courthouse and speaking to court staff. Though no subpeonas were sent out, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office requested a continuance on the basis that the witness didn’t show. I strongly objected to this continuance request. I argued to the Radnor judge that the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure state that continuances should only be granted for “good cause.” I didn’t feel that the Radnor Police forgetting to subpeona its witnesses constituted “good cause.” I explained my position ot the judge. Nonetheless, the District Judge granted the Commonwealth’s continuance request. I expected this. It is normal for judges to grant a continuance at the first listing of the case, especially in domestic cases. Typically, the judge’s will play it safe in these situations and give the victim an opportunity to appear at court. Judges take domestic violence seriously and want to protect victims and give them the opportunity to testify against defendants.
Many times female victims can be bullied or “sweet talked” into not testifying against their male counterparts. As a former prosecutor I know how frustrating this can be: on Friday night he would be beating the crap out of her and on Monday she would be nibbling his ear on the courhouse steps. No joke, I used to see this all the time.
Posted in: Case Results and Domestic Violence	July 13, 2010	Updated: