For approximately the last five years, York County, Pennsylvania has been imposing special bail conditions when someone is arrested for a second offense for driving under the influence. Normally, an individual charged with DUI is released after being formally arrested and submitting to a blood draw and they would go home and subsequently receive charges in the mail. In other words, the individual would not have to appear before a Magistrate Judge and there would be no bail set. In one egregious case, the defendant was arrested five times for DUI before he was subjected to bail conditions.
Target 25: The Solution
The York County courts and law enforcement community sought to address this issue with the creation of Target 25. Under Target 25, when the police stop someone suspected of DUI, they are to run their license and see if there have been prior DUI charges. If so, the suspect is detained until seen by a district justice so that bail can be set. As part of bail conditions, a person will be required to wear an alcohol monitor and be on supervised bail through the probation department until the case is concluded.
Real World Application
In practice this sounds fool-proof, however as defendants and defense attorneys in York are finding out, it’s not. In many instances the defendant is released like the old days only to later get a Motion to Modify Bail in the mail from the District Attorney. There could be several reasons why, the police officer could have forgotten to do the search, perhaps the records didn’t reflect out of state charges, or perhaps there was a mistake where the old charges were decades old. Regardless of the reason, this unpleasant development can make a stressful, expensive situation seem a lot worse.
Count on Mooney
While the DA is completely within the law to seek modification of bail under Pennsylvania law, its important to know your rights and what to expect if that happens. You don’t need to figure this out on your own. At Mooney & Associates, we have a deeply experienced team of criminal defense attorneys. It is important you have an attorney on your side that understands individual county rules, such as Target 25 in York County. We stand ready to assist you in your time of need and you know you can Count on Mooney, whatever your legal need.
Mooney & Associates has 15 offices spread throughout Central Pennsylvania including:
We can meet you at the office location most convenient for you. Contact us today for a free consultation or call us at 717-632-4656 or toll free at 877-632-4656.
