Drivers who have two or more drunk driving convictions in Pennsylvania will no longer be able to skirt a law requiring them to have an ignition interlock device on their car, thanks to a ruling by the state Supreme Court last week.

The court's decision closed a loophole in state law that allowed repeat offenders who had entered an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, which allows offenders to have their DUI conviction expunged from their criminal record, to avoid having a mandatory interlock device installed. The device is required for anyone who has two or more DUI convictions within a 10-year period.

The loophole stems from a 2009 case in which a man completed the ARD program and then got a second DUI, requiring him to have an ignition interlock device on his car. He argued that since the ARD program had wiped the first conviction off his record, he technically had only one DUI to his name. A judge agreed with him, as did a state Commonwealth Court judge.

The state Supreme Court acknowledged that DUI convictions cleared through the ARD program are, in fact, cleared, and should not appear on a record. But it ruled that ARD completion is the equivalent to a conviction, in certain circumstances, when it comes to counting convictions in determining a sentence for subsequent DUI convictions.

The ruling was applauded by anti-drunk-driving groups and lawmakers pushing for harsher sentences for repeat DUI offenders. It means that those who successfully complete the probation program must be certain the program worked for them, and that they won't get behind the wheel again if they've been drinking. If it didn't, they may want to see extra professional help to ensure their driving privileges aren't compromised in the future.

Source: The Times Leader, "Closing of DUI loophole draws applause," Terrie Morgan-Besecker, Nov. 29, 2011

Category: ARD program