Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has decided the matter of Commonwealth v. Perfetto. This establishes that Philadelphia prosecutors may not prosecute more serious misdemeanor or felony charges against a defendant who has already been tried in traffic court for offenses arising from the same incident.
For example: If police conducted a traffic stop and charged you with a DUI and you received traffic tickets and resolve your traffic tickets, you cannot be prosecuted for the DUI. In Philadelphia, this happens often because traffic court cases usually go to trial more quickly than criminal trials. The Supreme Court ruled that, as a matter of fundamental fairness, prosecutors should not be allowed to charge a defendant in multiple different courts for the same conduct. This decision could result in many cases being dismissed.
If you have a matter where you received a traffic violation in addition to misdemeanor or felony charges make sure you contact ThePhillyLawyers for a consultation and have the support of a team of attorneys that know the correct motions to file to win your case.
