Emmett Madden is excited to have been appointed to the Montgomery County Public Defender advisory board. He is hoping to contribute to building a strong public defender office, and helping to raise the standards county wide for public service and criminal defense.
Below is a multi-page article from The Pottstown Mercury:
Advisory-boardBecause of the seriousness of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charges, there are certain mandatory minimum penalties that are established by the legislature. And when it comes to drugs in a person’s system, such mandatories can be lengthy.
For instance, with a second offense DUI that is in the highest rate category—this means any drugs in a person’s system—such an offense carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 90 days to 5 years’ incarceration, an 18-month driver’s license suspension, and a number of other serious penalties.
One of our clients, Cynthia (name changed for privacy), came to us with exactly that situation—a highest tier 2nd offense DUI. So to Cynthia, her case appeared hopeless. She believed she would have no other choice but to accept the mandatory minimum jail and license suspension penalties. And for Cynthia this would have meant that she would have been separated from her teenage daughter, terminated from her job, taken from her family, and removed from her home.
As soon as we were retained to represent Cynthia, we began working on her case. We did not just accept the “mandatory” penalty. Instead, we thoroughly investigated her case to figure out how to improve her position.
What we first determined was that her aggravating prior offenses, which made this a 2nd offense, was almost outside of the 10-year lookback window. This created an opportunity for us to challenge the offense number.
Next, we studied all of the discovery in the case and determined that the reason she was pulled over was due to very minor driving imperfections. That is, based on our review of the evidence and the videos, we were able to show that her driving was not unsafe, and did not justify the police stopping her car.
Finally, we analyzed the laboratory blood results, which at first glance “proved” she was DUI under Pennsylvania law. But we did not stop there. After our thorough study and challenge to the lab report, we established that her blood alcohol level was actually below the legal limit, she had no active drugs in her system, instead, only inactive drug metabolites were present.
We also performed what’s called a mitigation investigation. That is, we investigated and learned about Cynthia’s personal story. We learned about how she cares for her sick parent and is a great mom to her teenage child. We looked into her educational and employment history as well as a number of other aspects of her life, which are unique to her. With all of that information, we were able to help explain what had occurred and why she did not deserve the otherwise mandatory penalties. In criminal defense representation, mitigation investigation is a very important tool to help effect the best possible outcome for the accused.
While the above is only a snapshot of our efforts, the most important part is that we were able to secure a result for Cynthia that included no jail time and no license suspension. Because of this result, Cynthia was able to hold onto, and continue in, her relationship, her job, and her home and family life.
The way we practice—as we share through Cynthia’s story—is the way that we are proud to defend our clients against criminal charges. All our clients have a story, a story which they deserve to be told.
Freedom is the most precious gift in life. When freedom is threatened, or lost, due to criminal charges, the person charged needs a lawyer with experience who will invest the time, energy, creativity, and resources necessary to defend the accused.
