Summaries, Misdemeanors and Felonies, Attorney Harper handles them all. 

Attorney Harper is on the legal committee of NORML and has represented dozens of persons arrested for marijuana related crimes, including DUI and PWID violations.

Attorney Harper is also a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers or PACDL, for short.

If you get arrest please do not try to talk your way out of it.  Most people think they can talk the cop out of charging you when, in fact, they are making matters worse, not better.

What do you do if confronted by the police?  Depends on the situation.

Do you have to open the door for the police if they come knocking?  If they have a search warrant, then yes.  If not, then no.  If there's a warrant out for your arrest then the police will do anything to get through the door to arrest you, once they know you are inside the building or behind a gate.

What if the police pull you over?  You have the duty to provide them with your driver's license, registration and insurance cards.  Do you have to any questions as to where you are going or where you have come from?  No.  My standard answer is "I don't answer questions.  Repeat as many time as necessary, unless you like chit-chatting with the police. 

Do you have to get out and do the silly sobriety tests?  No.  You have to get out if they are arresting you and taking you to central booking or the hospital for a blood draw, but not to do physical tests that are designed to make you fail and look inebriated.

What if you fail to allow blood to be withdrawn?  It depends.  PENNDOT will likely suspend your license for refusing to submit to a blood draw.  Even if you hestitate giving persmission the police can say you refused.  I've had cases where we've beaten the DUI charges but my clients lost their licenses due to the refusal.  Nothing I can do about that, in that scenerio.

If you are hit with a marijuana DUI (or any other DUI or crime) call my office immediately so we can prepare a strong defense that will start at the District Magistrate level.  People often delay hiring me and it hurts their cases every time.  In order to file pre-trial motions to suppress the evidence (among other motions) we have to start early and hire our own stenographer and not waive the preliminary hearing.

However, if ARD is a choice for you then we would have to waive the preliminary hearing.

ARD stands for Accelerated Rehabilitive Disposition, which means if you complete every the program, pay your costs, then the charges will be dismissed and expunged from the official records.

Still have questions? Please contact us anytime! We look forward to hearing from you.

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