| Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, or “ARD”, | | | | PA DUI law permits each county to establish its own |
| is a pre-trial diversion program in Pennsylvania | | | | policies governing admission into ARD. First DUI |
| “designed to divert first-time DUI offenders from | | | | offenders are often treated differently from county to |
| the criminal justice system.”1 Acceptance into the | | | | county when it comes to being accepted into ARD. |
| ARD program will suspend the prosecution of a case | | | | One should not assume that acceptance into ARD is |
| before trial (in other words place the case on hold) as | | | | guaranteed just because he or she is a first-time DUI |
| long as the defendant complies with certain conditions | | | | offender. The Erie County District Attorney is known |
| imposed by the court.2 | | | | for taking a hard-line stance against drunk drivers. |
| A defendant accepted into the ARD program is | | | | For instance, a first DUI offender may be denied |
| placed under supervision for a specified period of | | | | acceptance into ARD on the basis that the offender |
| time. ARD supervision is a lot like probation. If the | | | | had a high blood alcohol content (BAC) or that the |
| defendant successfully completes the ARD program, | | | | underlying DUI offense resulted in an accident involving |
| the DUI charges will be dismissed and the defendant | | | | injury or property damage. |
| may apply for an “expungement,” which is a | | | | There are several benefits for seeking admission into |
| court-ordered deletion of the arrest record and the | | | | the Erie County ARD program. By accepting ARD, a |
| ARD disposition.3 | | | | first DUI offender avoids the possibility of jail time and |
| Pennsylvania DUI law requires each county to establish | | | | a criminal conviction. Also, the period of license |
| and maintain an ARD program for first DUI | | | | suspension is drastically reduced from a period of one |
| offenders. In Erie County, eligibility for the Erie County | | | | year to a period of thirty to ninety days. For these |
| ARD Program is solely determined by the Erie County | | | | reasons it is critically important to consult with |
| District Attorney. The Erie County District | | | | knowledgeable criminal attorneys experienced in |
| Attorney’s Office enjoys broad discretion in | | | | handling PA DUI cases. Let the DUI Defense Group |
| deciding which cases will be accepted into ARD and | | | | help you determine your eligibility for ARD. Only |
| has established guidelines for this purpose. Under | | | | experienced attorneys like those found at the DUI |
| Pennsylvania DUI law, a first-time DUI offender has no | | | | Defense Group can give you an informed opinion |
| right to be accepted into the Erie County ARD | | | | about your chances of being accepted into the PA |
| program and eligibility is determined on a case by case | | | | DUI first-time offender’s program. |
| basis. | | | | |