Driving Under the Influence of Drugs in Pennsylvania
When people are arrested for drunk driving, drugs are sometimes found in their system when a blood or urine test is used. While urine tests are not very reliable in DUI cases, they can detect metabolites that indicate the presence of drugs in your system. In the state of Pennsylvania, when drugs are detected in a person's system, they are automatically subject to the most severe tier of DUI penalties. Practically, speaking, this means that if methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, or enough marijuana is found in your system, you will be charged as if you were driving drunk with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .16% or higher. Penalties for this third tier of drunk driving include fines up to $10,000, one to five years in jail, and the loss or your driver's license.
At the Law Offices of David S. Shrager, we defend people accused of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) as a result of a DUI stop or arrest. As in DUI cases, there are several issues that must be considered in DUID arrests. If you've been charged with DUID, contact the Law Offices of David S. Shrager today.
DUID Cases in Pennsylvania
The issues that arise in DUID cases are similar to those in DUI prosecutions. The prosecutor will use results from any chemical test you took as well as testimony from the arresting officer regarding your behavior and performance on the field sobriety test. In some cases, when a breathalyzer indicates a person is driving under the legal BAC limit, they may shift their focus to a possible DUID arrest.
To assist officers in this regard, more and more Pennsylvania police departments are using Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) to check a suspect's pulse rate, pupil size, or blood pressure. There are a number of controversial issues associated with DREs, the least of which is the reliability of their "observations." Using our own experts, our attorneys can often poke holes in the claims of a DRE, calling into question any hard conclusions offered in regard to whether or not the presence of drugs in our client's system affected his or her driving.
Arrested for DUID? Contact the Law Offices of David S. Shrager
Depending on the circumstances of your DUI car stop and DUID arrest, we may be able to have the charges against you dismissed or, at the very least, have your sentence reduced. Don't wait until your license is suspended - contact Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania DUID defense attorneys at the Law Offices of David S. Shrager today.