When an individual has been arrested for DUI in Montgomery County and they have no prior criminal record they are presumably eligible for the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, known as ARD. The acceptance into the program, and the successful completion of it, results in a dismissal of the DUI charge and entitles the client to an expungement of their criminal record.
Be forewarned that, even though a client may have no criminal record at the time of the DUI, there exists circumstances that may result in a denial of acceptance into the program. The most common reasons are:
- Extremely high blood alcohol level
- An accident involving personal injury
- Children in the car at the time of the offense
- Impairment due to drugs rather than alcohol.
This list is not exhaustive, but the question for the client who has been denied then becomes, “what recourse do I have now that I have been denied”? The answer is that the client will have the opportunity to file what is know as a “Motion for Reconsideration of ARD Denial” to the newly minted Montgomery County ARD Chief, Lauren McNulty. This motion must meet two specific requirements: It must be filed within ten (10) days of the ARD denial letter AND it must present additional evidence that was not submitted in the original application.
Many individuals who are arrested for DUI attempt to gain entrance to ARD on their own without the help of an attorney. Some are successful, some are not. Those that are not should, if possible, forego the desire to save money and hire a skilled Montgomery County DUI Lawyer to file that motion for them in the hopes of getting them in. Many individuals in this position have come to me and I have been able to get them into ARD upon my filing of the motion. While hiring an attorney does not guarantee that you will get into ARD, it is well worth the effort to explore legal representation for that second bite at the apple.