Vellon v. Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court squeezed in two crucial holdings regarding driver's license suspensions resulting from DUI convictions. Vellon was arrested for DUI and was accepted into ARD. But he violated the terms of ARD by picking up another DUI arrest. He was kicked out of ARD and subsequently pled to…
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court squeezed in two crucial holdings regarding driver’s license suspensions resulting from DUI convictions. Vellon was arrested for DUI and was accepted into ARD. But he violated the terms of ARD by picking up another DUI arrest. He was kicked out of ARD and subsequently pled to both charges. He was sentenced… Continue reading Vellon v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing
The Pennsylvania Superior Court reviewed an order denying the defendant’s first PCRA petition after being convicted of DUI and sentenced as a second-time offender. The first DUI was based on his acceptance into the ARD program. The Court held that its decision in Commonwealth v. Chichkin was a new constitutional procedural that applies to future… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Gill
The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief for a defendant who made allegations of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The case was a pre-Birchfield blood-draw DUI. The defendant claimed counsel was ineffective for failing to object when a police officer opined why there were exigent circumstances for a warrant. The Superior Court… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Hand
In Commonwealth v. Vela-Garrett, the Pennsylvania Superior Court addressed the defendant’s argument that his conviction for endangering the welfare of a child (EWOC) was not supported by sufficient evidence. The defendant was convicted of driving under the influence of marijuana under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(d)(1)(iii), a strict-liability offense, and EWOC after he was stopped for… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Vela-Garrett
In Commonwealth v. Dirosa, the defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence for his DUI conviction, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(c). The defendant argued that the evidence did not establish he drove his car to a Wawa or that he was in actual physical control of the car while sitting in it at the Wawa parking… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Dirosa
The Pennsylvania Superior Court began the opinion in Commonwealth v. Given by letting the appellant know all the ways in which he waived his claims and filed a bad brief. But the Court sua sponte addressed a sentencing issue. The appellant was convicted of two counts of DUI, one count for having marijuana in his… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Given
In Commonwealth v. Donoughe, the defendant was charged with DUI and accepted into the ARD program. Pursuant to a written policy, ninety days after the defendant was accepted into ARD, the Pennsylvania State Police destroyed the mobile recording video of the arrest. But the defendant got kicked out of ARD and proceeded to trial. He… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Donoughe
In Commonwealth v. Clemens, the Pennsylvania Superior Court was asked to decide whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain convictions for DUI-General Impairment and Resisting Arrest. Given the challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, the opinion covered the facts in great detail. The Court held that, even though the officers never explicitly stated to… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Clemens
In State v. Faber, the NJ Appellate Division held that, as part of the defendant’s sentence for DWI, the Law Division failed to include mandatory participation in the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center. Because this omission rendered it an illegal sentence, the case was remanded. Furthermore, when the Law Division granted the defendant’s application to stay… Continue reading State v. Faber
The defendant in Commonwealth v. Brown argued that the trial court erred when it imposed a sentence above the mandatory minimum for DUI, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3802(a)(2), an ungraded misdemeanor and his first such offense in ten years. The PA Superior Court affirmed the sentence, holding that the trial court acted within its discretion when… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Brown