District Attorney Risa Ferman explained that about a year ago, Judge Cheryl Austin was appointed to sit on the bench for the DUI court. She said the court was established after finding DUI cases were not given the priority they should be given.
An issue that the district attorney’s office found was that while offenders were awaiting court hearings, they would pick up another DUI.
PennDOT does not take away an offender’s license until he or she is convicted and sentenced. As a result, hundreds of offenders would ignore the court’s orders and re-offend.
Because of these offenders, Assistant District Attorney Bradford Richman, created an alphabetical list of all those who have a DUI case pending in Montgomery County.
Having names go into a specific DUI list of bench warrants made it easier for the office to bring them in. One such offender was located working in a casino on a reservation in Florida, and within an hour was arrested by Seminole police.
The Sheriff’s Department will keep looking for the offenders that have not turned themselves in.
Arrested for a DUI? Contact the Law Offices of Michelle A. Fioravanti at 484-876-1543 or visit www.fioravantilaw.com for an experienced DUI lawyer.