A person who has been convicted of driving under the influence, pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S. Section 3802, not only faces the direct criminal penalties one normally associates with a criminal conviction (i.e. a monetary fine, imprisonment or probation), but also faces a lot of collateral civil sanctions. Some of these consequences happen immediately and others take some time to come to fruition. A Chester County DUI lawyer must explain to their clients who are charged with a Chester County DUI that there are civil penalties related to the DUI, even if they are accepted into an ARD program.
These potential civil penalties include, but are not limited to: 1) Suspension or revocation of your license, 2) Disqualification of the person's commercial driver's license, 3) Suspension of the person's operating privileges as a consequence of a chemical test refusal, 4) Disqualification of the person's commercial driver's license as a consequence of a chemical test refusal, 5) Being subject to the ignition interlock restriction upon restoration of the operating privilege, 6) Higher premiums for motor vehicle insurance; and 7) Professional and employment consequences of being convicted of a DUI.
If, for example, you don't see the potential for professional and employment impacts, look no further than Zelno v. Lincoln Intermediate Unit No. 12 Bd. of Dirs., 786 A.2d 1022 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2001). In this case, a teacher (who was tenured!) was dismessed for "immorality and intemperance" following the teacher's three drunk driving convictions. The court ruled that it was "willful misconduct" and made the teacher ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits.