You\’re driving home from dinner with friends and suddenly you hear a siren and see flashing lights in the rear view mirror. This scene, or a variant thereof, is replayed thousands of times a year in Pennsylvania. Most of those who find themselves in this situation are not “criminals” experienced with the criminal justice system, but average citizens who may have made an error in judgment or were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 519 allows police to release from custody those charged with a misdemeanor DUI. What this means is that you get to go home rather than to jail. Thus, after the police finish their DUI investigation most people are released and told that they will receive paperwork in the mail. This can be a very confusing time as one does not know what to expect. Many questions may remain unanswered at the time you are released. The most common question is “what happens now?”. I will list the next several steps in the process so that you can begin to plan how you will deal with the situation.

After one is released pursuant to Rule 519 the police officer files a “Criminal Complaint” with the local Magistrate\’s office. The Magistrate\’s Office will send a “summons” package to you containing that complaint and several other items via certified mail. This summons package will usually arrive between two and six weeks after you are released. The summons will generally contain three items.

First, the criminal complaint which contains a list of the charges filed against you and an “affidavit of probable cause”. This is a brief factual summary of what the police officer says happened and forms the legal basis for the filing of the criminal charges.

Second, the summons will usually contain a fingerprint order. The law in Pennsylvania requires that all persons charged with a crime must be fingerprinted. This would normally be done at the County Jail when an arrestee is processed. However, those released pursuant to Rule 519 are not taken to jail, and thus, not fingerprinted on the date of the incident. The order will require you to appear to be fingerprinted at a specific time. In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, most fingerprinting is done at the Bureau of Criminal Identification in downtown Pittsburgh. Failure to appear at the appointed time can result in a warrant being issued for your arrest. It should be noted that some Magistrates do not include the fingerprint order in the summons, but instead, give it to you when you appear before them for your Preliminary Hearing. So do not panic if you don\’t find one with the other paperwork in the summons.

Finally, the summons will contain a “Notice of Preliminary Hearing”. This will list the date, time and place where your first court appearance will take place. This will generally, take place before the Magistrate who sent you the summons within several weeks. Again, failure to appear will result in a warrant being issued for your arrest. I will address what actually happens at the Preliminary Hearing and subsequent court appearances in a future article.

This time frame between the time of your DUI stop and receiving the summons in the mail is crucial. It is during this time that you should begin looking for an attorney. That way by the time the summons comes you will be ready to proceed with the preliminary hearing without delay.

Pittsburgh DUI Lawyer George A. Heym is a former Prosecutor who now defends those charged with DUI in Western Pennsylvania. For additional information visit his site at http://www.pittsburgh-dui-lawyer.com

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The drug known as Meth is not just addictive stimulant drug but also very danger to your health. The substance works by activating certain systems in your brain, which will enhance your mood and physical movement. Meth or Methamphetamine was created early in this century from its relative drug called amphetamine that was used for nasal decongestants and other related products. Similar to the amphetamine, meth can causes increased activity, decreased appetite, and many more hazardous effects. Researchers studies that chronic meth abusers will slowly changes their brain functions to a level which will reduced motor speed and impaired verbal learning as well as emotional and memory problems.

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