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DUI Defense Lawyer in Central Pennsylvania
Jameson Stone Law defends DUI charges across Central Pennsylvania. Ethan Stone leads the criminal and DUI work. Two things decide most first offenses here: which tier the charge falls into, and whether you qualify for the program that ends the case without a conviction. Both get settled early.
The Tiers
The Tier Decides the Penalty
Pennsylvania sorts DUI charges into three tiers by blood alcohol content under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802. General impairment covers 0.08 to just under 0.10. High rate runs from 0.10 to just under 0.16. Highest rate applies at 0.16 and above. A charge can also be brought with no number at all, where an officer says you were incapable of driving safely, and controlled substance cases are grouped with the highest tier for sentencing.
The gap between the tiers is wider than most people expect. A first general impairment offense is an ungraded misdemeanor carrying six months of probation, a $300 fine, and no license suspension. Move up one tier to high rate and the same first offense carries a mandatory minimum of 48 hours in jail, a fine reaching $5,000, and a twelve month suspension. Which tier a case is charged at, and whether the reading behind it holds up, is worth examining before anything is conceded.
Chemical Testing
Refusing the Test Makes It Worse
The most common mistake at a DUI stop is refusing the chemical test on the assumption that no reading means no case. Pennsylvania’s implied consent law is built to remove that incentive, and it works.
- A twelve month civil suspension — imposed by PennDOT for the refusal itself, separately from the criminal case and whatever that produces
- Sentencing at the highest tier — a refusal can place you in the highest rate penalty range regardless of what your actual reading would have been
- The case proceeds anyway — the Commonwealth can prosecute on the officer's observations, so a refusal removes the number without removing the charge
First Offense
ARD Can End It Without a Conviction
Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition is the most consequential option available on a first DUI, and it is the one people most often lose by accident. ARD is a diversionary route rather than a plea. Complete it and the charges are dismissed, with the record eligible for expungement afterward, so there is no conviction at the end of it. On a first general impairment offense the suspension under ARD is typically thirty to sixty days or none at all, against twelve months on a conviction at either of the higher tiers.
Admission is not automatic. ARD sits in the district attorney’s discretion, it is generally limited to first offenders, and the terms include a CRN evaluation, alcohol highway safety school, and a period of supervision. The way it gets lost is straightforward: pleading guilty at an early appearance, before anyone has assessed whether ARD was available. That decision cannot be taken back, which is why the first call matters more here than the tier does.
What We Handle
DUI Defense Services We Provide
Case and Evidence Review
The stop, the police report, the testing procedure, and the paperwork behind the reading, examined for what does not hold up.
ARD and Diversion
Assessing eligibility and applying for the program that ends a first offense without a conviction on your record.
License Consequences
Suspensions, restoration, ignition interlock requirements, and the limited licenses that keep people driving for work.
Hearings and Court
Representation at the preliminary hearing, in negotiations with the district attorney, and at trial where it comes to that.
Our Process
How We Handle a DUI Charge
01
Check the Tier and the Testing
Which tier the charge was brought at, how the sample was taken, and whether the procedure and the paperwork actually support the reading.
Assess ARD Early
Whether you qualify, what your county's district attorney requires, and whether it is the right route, all before any plea is entered.
Deal With the License Separately
The PennDOT suspension runs on its own track from the criminal case, so restoration, interlock, and limited licenses get handled alongside it rather than afterward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your tier is on the paperwork, and it drives nearly everything that follows. Worth finding before anything else, because the step between two tiers is a mandatory minimum and a year of your license.
What should I do after a DUI arrest
Find out which tier you are charged at, because it changes everything that follows, and it is on the paperwork you were given. Keep all of that paperwork, including the citation, the criminal complaint, anything about your license, and anything relating to the test. Write down what you recall about the stop while it is still clear: why you were pulled over, what you were asked, which tests were administered and in what order, and how long the whole thing took. Then get advice before your preliminary hearing and before entering any plea, because ARD eligibility is the thing most easily lost in the first few weeks.
Can I refuse a chemical test?
You can refuse, and Pennsylvania makes it a poor decision. Under the implied consent law a refusal triggers a twelve month license suspension imposed by PennDOT for the refusal itself, which runs separately from the criminal case and applies even where the DUI charge is later dismissed. On top of that, a refusal can place you in the highest rate sentencing range regardless of what your reading would have been. And the prosecution does not disappear, because the Commonwealth can proceed on the officer’s observations with no number at all. One distinction is worth knowing in advance rather than during a stop: field sobriety tests and a chemical test are not the same thing, and they do not carry the same consequences.
Should I plead guilty to a first DUI?
Not before someone has looked at whether ARD is available, because a guilty plea forecloses it. The appeal of pleading early is understandable, particularly on a first general impairment charge where the sentence is probation and a fine rather than jail. But a conviction is permanent and it counts as a prior for ten years, so a second DUI inside that window gets sentenced against it. ARD ends in dismissal with the record eligible for expungement, which is a materially different outcome. There is also the question of whether the charge stands up at the tier it was brought at, since the step from general impairment to high rate adds a mandatory minimum and a twelve month suspension. Both are worth an hour of somebody’s time before you decide anything.
Before You Enter Any Plea
ARD is the difference between a dismissal and a conviction that counts as a prior for ten years, and a guilty plea closes it off. Ethan Stone leads the firm’s DUI work, and the first conversation costs nothing.