Pittsburgh DUI Lawyer Blog

There are a number of different scenarios that could happen that would lead to an arrest for driving while intoxicated in Pennsylvania. Failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign, swerving or speeding are all reasons that a police officer could have for pulling a vehicle over. However, these are not the only reasons. In fact, police can be alerted to possible drunk driving from other citizens.

Recently, a 55-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested on suspicion of DWI, among a number of other alleged offenses, after police received a call regarding two people who appeared to be intoxicated getting into a motor vehicle and driving away.

In Pennsylvania, accidents involving a driver who was supposedly under the influence at the time of the crash are taken quite seriously. These charges can lead to a person having their driver's license suspended, expensive fines and in some cases can even mean jail time.

Recently, one Clearfield, Pennsylvania, woman waived her right to a preliminary hearing where she is accused of being under the influence of alcohol at the time of an accident. According to witnesses, she was driving a vehicle eastbound when she crossed the center line and crashed into two other vehicles head-on. The accident resulted in all three drivers and two passengers requiring medical attention.

Earlier last month we posted on the fact that when Rima Fakih, the first Arab-American to be crowned Miss USA, was arrested on suspicion for driving under the influence in December it made national headlines due to her celebrity status. Now, about a month after claiming that she was innocent on the DUI charge, a judge has sentenced her to probation and community service. She will not serve any time in jail.

When looking at what happened, police claim the 26-year-old had been speeding and swerving in and out of traffic without using a turn signal. Once pulled over, police claim a bottle of champagne was found behind her seat.

Back in July we posted on the fact that the Pennsylvania budget secretary's wife, Georgina Zogby, had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after taking police on a car chase where speeds reached between 40 mph and 50 mph. After finally being pulled over, she refused to take a breath test and said she did not understand what the implied consent warnings meant.

Recently, in relation to that incident, the 48-year-old of Fairview Township woman pleaded guilty to DUI. Additionally, she also entered a guilty plea for driving under suspension with a blood alcohol content of 0.02 percent or higher.

Recently, the breath test results from a suspected driving under the influence stop were not considered in court based on the fact that the woman who took the test had a tongue ring. The claim was that going by the state law in which the woman was stopped; a person is not allowed to have any foreign materials in their mouth at the time of a blood alcohol test.

The charge against the woman stemmed from a January arrest. At the time, the 29-year-old woman had taken field sobriety tests before submitting to the blood alcohol test known as a Breathalyzer. The breath test supposedly registered a blood alcohol content of 0.21 percent, which is more than two times the state's legal 0.08 percent limit.

Being charged with a crime as a college student can be quite frightening. There's the fear of facing not only criminal consequences, but also the academic repercussions that could end up happening. College students often wonder if their lapse in judgment will end up affecting them for some time to come.

Recently, one college student ended up being arrested after she drove through the front of a restaurant. And while no one was injured, not even her passenger, the 21-year-old is still facing rather serious property damage and driving under the influence charges.

Police have to actually see suspicious activity or a violation of the law in order to legally justify pulling a person over and questioning them. Without first having a reason, in some cases, charges related to driving under the influence can be fought and later end up being dropped.

Recently, a DUI charge against a county commissioner was voluntarily dropped. The charge was dismissed by a judge on the grounds that an officer had violated the man's constitutional rights.

The 48-year-old fire chief of Wilkes-Barre Township pleaded not guilty to two counts of driving under the influence and one count of careless driving. His attorney also wants any evidence against him to be thrown out as the claim is that the traffic stop that led to the charges was an illegal DUI stop.

The case stems from a November traffic stop. At the time, police had pulled him over near a home where a woman lived who had a protection-from-abuse order against the fire chief. However, nothing in that order prohibited him from driving past her home, and later he was found not guilty of violating that order.