On December 26, 2014, Pennsylvania DUI laws changed. The law was changed to "close the DUI loophole." The loophole would close the previous issue where an individual would get "back to back" DUI's. The old law prior to Dec. 26, 2014 allowed an individual who had two or more pending DUI's face penalties for a first offense. Effectively, the person would not be exposed to the increasing penalties that a 2nd and 3rd offense could bring. The theory was that a person had not been fully availed of the rehabilitative opportunities of probation so they shouldn't be penalized beyond their first case.
Naturally, prosecutors and the public were not happy. A person could get 5 DUI's in a month and still only face a weekend in jail if their sentences were run concurrently. So, the law changed, but with unexpected consequences. The new law said that the new calculation included,
§ 3806. Prior offenses.
(a) General rule.--Except as set forth in subsection (b), the term "prior offense" as used in this chapter shall mean a conviction, adjudication of delinquency, juvenile consent decree, acceptance of Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition or other form of preliminary disposition before the sentencing on the present violation for any of the following:
(1) an offense under section 3802 (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance);
(2) an offense under former section 3731;
(3) an offense substantially similar to an offense under paragraph (1) or (2) in another jurisdiction; or
(4) any combination of the offenses set forth in paragraph (1), (2) or (3).
What this did was change the 10-year look back period. Before, when it was offense date/conviction back to conviction, it now became the sentencing date. This means that a person who delays the process long enough could then be sentenced outside the 10 years. Given this new loophole (thank your General Assembly), people could bench warrant and disappear as they bide their time.
Given the motivation for a defendant to delay, expect new legislation to correct this issue.
So, for example, if you get a DUI in Upper Bucks County, you would want your Quakertown DUI lawyer to know whether you are facing a 1st offense or an aggravated case as the difference could result in just a few days in jail to a minimum of one year.