Judge Finds DUI Defendant Guilty of Lesser Offense After Jury Acquittal

A Pennsylvania judge convicted a woman of a lesser DUI charge after a jury acquitted her of more serious DUI charges.

2012-04-13

April 13, 2012 (Press-News.org) Judge Finds DUI Defendant Guilty of Lesser Offense After Jury Acquittal

A Pennsylvania judge changed what normally would have been a happy moment for a woman facing charges for allegedly driving under the influence -- a "not guilty" verdict from the jury -- into a defeat. The judge used his authority to find the defendant guilty of a lesser DUI charge despite the fact that a jury of her peers acquitted her after a trial.

Not the Driver

The defendant was a 25-year-old Pennsylvania woman facing her second DUI charge stemming from an incident that occurred in July of 2011. Police approached the defendant's car because they saw it was double-parked, and they claimed they found the defendant drunk in the car. At trial, she testified that she had not been the driver of the car that day. She said she was only in the car getting some bags while the designated driver unlocked the house to which they were going.

After hearing all of the testimony at trial, the 12-person jury returned a "not guilty" verdict.

Pennsylvania Law

The judge, however, said he "did not believe" the defendant's story and found her guilty of general impairment DUI, a lesser DUI charge the defendant was facing. General impairment DUI is an ungraded misdemeanor in Pennsylvania, with a potential penalty of five to 60 days in jail for a person who has one DUI conviction in the past, as did the defendant in this case. Penalties also include:
-A 12 month driver's license suspension
-A fine of $300 to $2,500
-Alcohol highway safety school
-Required ignition interlock use

Under Pennsylvania law, a person does not have the right to a jury trial if the potential punishment a person faces for the charges is not at least six months in prison. As such, the judge had the authority to find the defendant guilty of the lesser DUI charge, despite the fact the jury acquitted her of the more serious DUI charges.

Consult an Attorney

The defendant and her attorney have vowed to fight the conviction, hoping they will overturn it on appeal. However, this judge's actions show how seriously Pennsylvania authorities take drinking and driving offenses and the importance of having an attorney who will help protect the rights of the accused.

Article provided by The Law Office of Henry S. Hilles, III
Visit us at http://www.hilleslaw.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Hybrid copper-gold nanoparticles convert CO2

2012-04-13

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Copper — the stuff of pennies and tea kettles — is also one of the few metals that can turn carbon dioxide into hydrocarbon fuels with relatively little energy. When fashioned into an electrode and stimulated with voltage, copper acts as a strong catalyst, setting off an electrochemical reaction with carbon dioxide that reduces the greenhouse gas to methane or methanol. Various researchers around the world have studied copper's potential as an energy-efficient means of recycling carbon dioxide emissions in powerplants: Instead of being released into ...

Imposing trade restrictions on parallel imports can motivate a firm to export, study finds

2012-04-13

Imposing trade restrictions on parallel imports has the surprising effect of motivating a firm to export, according to a new study using game theory economic analysis. Economists Santanu Roy, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, and Kamal Saggi, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, found that diverse parallel importing policies among countries today make it possible to analyze for the first time how competition between firms and allowing or banning parallel imports can influence competition in foreign and domestic markets. "Our research is the first to look at the consequence ...

A Changing Legal Landscape: Pill Mills in Florida

2012-04-13

A Changing Legal Landscape: Pill Mills in Florida A few years ago, Florida was the epicenter of the illicit trade in prescription pain medication in the United States. One year after new legal measures were established to crack down on the illegal prescription drug market in Florida, the pill mill scene in the state has changed, but some observers question whether the new law enforcement measures go too far -- in some cases, catching innocent bystanders in the crossfire. Two years ago, before the recent prescription drug crackdown began, arrests for prescription drug ...

Stress contributes to cognitive declines in women with breast cancer, researcher says

2012-04-13

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Women undergoing treatment for breast cancer can experience cognitive declines, such as decreased verbal fluency or loss of memory and attention. Often experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy, the declines have become known as "chemo brain." However, a health psychologist at the University of Missouri says "chemo brain" isn't always to blame. Stephanie Reid-Arndt, an associate professor and chair of the Health Psychology Department in the MU School of Health Professions, found that women who had undergone surgery for breast cancer but who had not ...

Feinger LLC Announces Mobile Security Accessory Line

2012-04-13

Feinger LLC, developer of innovative tech accessories, today announces the pre-order availability of its new Feinger system, an accessory that secures your mobile devices to your hand, keeping them secure from dropping while on-the-go. Part of the proceeds from all pre-orders before April 30 will benefit the Indiana Tornado Relief Fund. Comprised of three main components - the Knuckle, the Sleeve, and the Unimount (with and without lanyard) - the Feinger easily attaches to any smartphone, cell phone, portable gaming systems and many other handheld devices. A comfortable ...

EzPaycheck Software Makes Payroll Processing Fast, Easy and Stress Free For Start-ups

2012-04-13

Choosing the right payroll software is an important decision for start-ups. For this holiday season, the small business owners can ease the headaches of payroll tax processing with the new ezPaycheck payroll software from http://www.Halfpricesoft.com now available in a no cost, no obligation trial version. Designed with simplicity in mind, the new edition of the already popular product was updated according to the suggestions from customers including: - New Form 941 (Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Form) - New custom tax withholding feature to handle deductions ...

Mafic melts, methane seeps, 2 million waves, foreign magma, and the invisible hand

2012-04-13

Boulder, Colo., USA – Highlights from the 10 April Geology posting include studies of mafic volcanics from the SW Japan arc; Holocene stromatolites from Walker Lake, Nevada, USA; ammonite habitats in the U.S. Western Interior Seaway; differences in ocean wave size versus geographic variability; deep-water formation in Earth's oceans; a question of mass methane release and the end-Triassic mass extinction; and "foreign" magma in early eruption deposits of the world's youngest super-eruption at Taupo volcano, New Zealand. Highlights are provided below. Representatives of ...

aShell Launcher: New Launcher for Android with Innovate Docbar and 3D Effects

2012-04-13

aShell Launcher is a beautiful and convenient alternative to default home screen of Android phones. Its key advantages are speed, stability, elegant Android 4 style and an innovative docking bar. The launcher has been designed with the users´ convenience in mind: the docking bar provides quick access to your call log, text messages, task manager and device settings. Another useful feature of aShell Launcher is the animated widget preinstalled on the main screen. It consists of two panels that represent current date and time, and in future versions it will display ...

Don't assume the sand is safe

2012-04-13

CORAL GABLES, FL (April 11, 2012)--On warm days, the beach seems an ideal destination for family rest and relaxation. Who hasn't built a sand castle or been buried up to the neck in sand? However, that family fun has a dark side -- sand can harbor illness-causing microbes. Unfortunately, there are no guidelines for sand quality at recreational sites. Now, environmental scientists at the University of Miami (UM) and at Northern Illinois University have created a reference guide for potentially harmful germs in sand, similar to the guidelines set by the US Environmental ...

Brian Emerick, President and CEO of Micropulse, Inc, Reveals his Secrets to 20 Years of Business Growth, in Manufacturing Digital

2012-04-13

In an interview with Manufacturing Digital, Brian Emerick, President and CEO of Micropulse, Inc discusses how the company's symbiotic relationship with its local community has led to 20 years of growth. The key to Micropulse's success is its business model, which is rooted in integrity and values. "Before profits or anything else, I want to be personally and corporately known for integrity; everything else will take care of itself. We're doing well as a company because we have a great bunch of people working here. It's not just me or some execs; it's a team of ...