• 02
  • December
    2011

Some DUI offenders in Pennsylvania are eligible to have their records expunged of their latest offense, provided that they effectively fulfill probation terms set out by an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program. These programs allow offenders to avoid various sentencing terms traditionally associated with DUI convictions, such as jail time.

However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ruled that ARD completion does not exempt offenders from a mandate requiring them to install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles before regaining their driving privileges.

Pennsylvania law requires certain DUI offenders, including those who have been convicted of intoxicated driving more than once within 10 years, to install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles before they can legally drive again.

A repeat offender recently challenged this requirement, citing that acceptance into an ARD program does not technically constitute a conviction under state law. Therefore, he argued, his successful completion of an ARD program should exempt him from the ignition interlock requirement.

The Supreme Court agreed that entrance into an ARD program is not considered a conviction for most practical purposes. However, acceptance of the ARD terms by an offender is considered an acknowledgement of the offense that he or she enters into probation for.

Admitting that an offender committed a DUI offense by accepting the terms of probation, the Court reasoned, subjects the offender to the terms of the law governing the offense.

In Pennsylvania, certain DUI offenders are required to install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles before they can legally drive again, whether or not they have been technically convicted of a DUI offense or have admitted to an offense by accepting terms of probation. The state Supreme Court has reaffirmed this reality, and it seems unlikely to change any time soon.

Source: The Times Leader, "Closing of DUI loophole draws applause," Terrie Morgan-Besecker, Nov. 29, 2011