Court Opinion

ID: 9652437
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 17:23:42.923005+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:51.369288
License: Public Domain

CIRILLO, President Judge,
concurring:
I join in the comprehensive opinion of the majority because it is a correct application of the present state of the law. However, I write separately to voice my belief that the law should be altered to permit those individuals who are convicted of the offense of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) to receive credit toward their prison sentences for time which they have voluntarily spent in inpatient alcohol rehabilitation programs since their arrests.
As the majority agrees, it is clear that had the court ordered the appellee to participate in the inpatient rehabilitation programs which he attended, he would be entitled to credit for his time there. Our holding in Commonwealth v. Jones, 211 Pa.Super. 366, 236 A.2d 834 (1967), supports this conclusion. In Jones, the appellant was charged with arson *379and committed to prison in default of bail. Subsequently, the court ordered the appellant to undergo an examination pursuant to the provisions of the Mental Health Act of 1951. Following the examination, the appellant was committed to Embreeville State Hospital. Subsequent to his release from the hospital, he pleaded guilty to the charge against him and was sentenced. Ruling that the appellant was entitled to credit on his sentence for the time spent at the hospital, we stated:
It seems too clear for argument that this appellant has been in custody from the date of the arrest to the present time. He has at all times been under the jurisdiction and subject to the authority of the court; he has been restrained of his liberties during the entire time of his confinement; and if he had violated this custody by “walking away” he would have been apprehended by the authorities and either returned to the hospital or to the county jail.
211 Pa.Super. at 370-71, 236 A.2d at 836. See also Commonwealth v. Usher, 264 Pa.Super. 435, 399 A.2d 1129 (1979) (appellant entitled to credit on his sentence for time spent at a comprehensive residential drug and alcohol treatment program).
In the instant case, the appellee, Mr. Conahan, did not wait for the court to order him to enter an inpatient rehabilitation program. Instead, he took it upon himself to seek treatment for his drinking problem. He voluntarily enrolled and participated in three inpatient alcohol treatment programs, at his own expense. Since completing these programs, Mr. Conahan has attended Alcoholic Anonymous meetings regularly and managed to maintain his sobriety. He has confronted his drinking problem and opted to secure treatment for it. By doing so, he has taken responsibility for his alcoholism and made headway to insure that he will not be driving on the road again while drunk.
If our ultimate goal is to prevent the tragic fatalities and wasteful destruction that is caused by drunk drivers, the *380legislature should make it possible for our courts to reward those individuals who enter inpatient alcohol rehabilitation programs of their own volitation and make a concerted effort to combat their alcoholism. By treating and curing their alcoholism, those DUI offenders who are alcoholics will gain control over their lives and thus, over their decision to drink and drive. Only when that happens will those individuals cease to be a danger to our society because of their drunk driving. It is within the best interest of our society, then, for us to encourage and reward the effort of those DUI offenders who voluntarily seek treatment for their alcoholism. Moreover, because those individuals who are convicted of DUI and make no effort to seek treatment for their alcoholism until ordered to undergo treatment by the court receive credit towards their prison sentence for their time in treatment, it is illogical that those individuals who are convicted of DUI and voluntarily seek treatment go unrewarded for their endeavor.
Consequently, I would urge the legislature to consider giving our courts the discretion to grant those individuals who voluntarily enter inpatient alcohol rehabilitation programs credit toward their prison sentences for time which they spend in those programs. With this change, those DUI offenders who suffer from alcoholism may be motivated to seek help for their problem instead of waiting for the court to require them to get help. Our courts, meanwhile, will retain the authority to determine for each individual whether the time he or she has spent voluntarily in an inpatient rehabilitation program is time for which that person should receive credit.