York County Legal Blog

Many people who live with addiction end up controlled by the disease. You may never have intended for your life to take this path, but all too soon, you lost control over your actions because a drug had taken over. You may have tried to keep your situation as off the radar as possible, but for one reason or another, police officers became suspicious of you.

Now, your addiction has led to you facing criminal charges for drug possession. Though in some sense you likely felt like your life was already out of control, you may now feel as if you have even less of a grasp on your affairs. You may immediately begin to think the worst about your situation, but you may want to remember that you can fight back against drug-related charges.

Summertime is often the season where more police departments set up DUI checkpoints, especially on weekends and holidays when people are more likely to be enjoying an evening out. However, if you see a DUI checkpoint up ahead, are you allowed to avoid it? And how are mandatory checkpoints legal in the first place?

Did you enjoy time with family and friends during the holiday season? Did you partake in alcohol during these festive occasions? Did you take a chance and drive afterwards even though you felt you may be close to the legal limit? If so, consider yourself very lucky if you were not pulled over. Being charged with a DUI in Pennsylvania, even for first time offenders, is a very serious crime and often happens to people who think they are okay to drive.

The consequences of a DUI are in place to deter people from becoming repeat offenders. However, it may be useful to see the penalties for a first-time offender to keep you from ever being convicted at all.

A drunk driving charge is a potentially life-threatening matter that can result in significant fines, a suspension of your driver’s license and even jail time. The most important question you should be asking yourself after an arrest is "what happens next?" This may be your first DUI arrest and you don’t know what you should do in the days following.

Like any charge, a DUI charge can be an unsettling series of events, especially if your ability to understand the true nature of what was happening was impaired at the time of arrest.