PENNSYLVANIA 1st-time drunken-driving offenders will get 2nd chance under new law

Defense attorneys like the break for first-time offenders.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The new lower blood-alcohol limit -- .08 instead of .10 -- made headlines last fall when lawmakers passed a new drunken driving law. But experts say that when the full bill takes effect Feb. 1, Pennsylvania will see wholesale changes from a "draconian" law to a more humanitarian one.
Law professionals say there are numerous provisions in the measure that many law enforcement personnel -- and even state legislators -- may not be aware of. The Pennsylvania DUI Association has held almost 60 classes statewide the last two months to educate 4,000 criminal justice personnel and law officers on the changes.
No more huge penalties
Defense attorneys say they like that the new bill's provisions don't hammer first-time offenders with huge penalties.
"The draconian, nasty things that as a defense lawyer I used to spend a great deal of time scheming to get around no longer apply," said Scott Bennett, an attorney in Honesdale. "It was a wonderful, wonderful example of some pragmatic, common sense."
The .08 blood-alcohol content regulation has been enforced since Oct. 1, but these provisions go into effect Feb. 1:
UFirst-time offenders whose BAC is less than .10 will not lose their license if the person has no prior offense. All first-time offenders did under the previous law.
UFirst-time offenders whose BAC was above .10 still lose their license for a year, but can now apply for a special work-related license after 60 days, a new option.
UMaximum prison/probation penalties for first-time offenders are lowered from 24 months to six months. Minimum imprisonment is raised for high-end offenders.
URepeat offenders must get an ignition interlock, a device that drivers must blow into before they can drive to measure their BAC. Previously, offenders could avoid the device by taking longer suspensions.
UThe new law will divide penalties into three classes, for offenders with BAC levels of .08 to .099, from .10 to .159, and .16 and higher. Penalties rise substantially for higher BAC levels.
Stephen Erni, executive director of the Pennsylvania DUI Association, said the new bill is a "holistic approach" and looks at repeat offenders as the core problem.
Trade-off
One prominent DUI attorney said lowering the maximum sentences gives judges less leeway to supervise an offender through imprisonment or probation. He said the trade-off was that those cases now will go straight to a judge instead of a jury.
"One of the biggest problems I see is that it takes much of the discretion away from the judge," said John Mancke, an attorney in Harrisburg. "Some judges are concerned that there's only going to be a six-month hold on the person."
Bennett said the one-year suspension of driving privileges for all DUI offenders under the old law was an "economic death sentence" for those in rural areas. Those offenders often would not be able to get to work after a DUI conviction, he said.
Rebecca Shaver, the executive director of Pennsylvania's Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapter, said her organization supports the new provisions.
"We like the tiered effect because it says to the .08 driver, 'OK, you are being given an opportunity to change,'" she said. "But to the high-risk driver, the repeat offender, it says 'Now the law is going to get tough.'"
The Legislature lowered the DUI threshold in part to remove the prospect of losing $11 million in federal transportation money.