Del. Cnty. Pa. 316(c)
Comment: See Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Administrative Guidelines and Program requirements published from time to time as needed by the District Attorney's Office
The primary purpose of the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) Program is to promptly dispose of charges and to eliminate the need for costly and time-consuming trials and other court proceedings. This program is available to certain carefully screened defendants. It is designed primarily for first-time offenders who lend themselves to treatment and rehabilitation and who are unlikely to commit another crime. The District Attorney's Office of Delaware County, upon application of a defendant, may request the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County to accept a case for placement in the Program.
A defendant may be considered for participation in the ARD Program if the defendant has no history of prior delinquency or criminal activity or has led a law-abiding life for a substantial period of time before the commission of the present crime. Prior to the District Attorney's request for admission into the program, the police officer involved with the case will have an opportunity to offer comments on whether the defendant should be considered for the program. The victim of the crime will also have the opportunity to offer comments to the District Attorney. This opportunity will include the submission of a written victim impact statement detailing the physical, psychological and economic effects of the crime on the victim and the victim's family. The District Attorney's Office may also determine that there are other circumstances concerning the case or the defendant which disqualify the defendant from participation in the ARD Program. There is no right to participate in the ARD Program. Eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis and is solely within the discretion of the District Attorney.
Acceptance into and satisfactory completion of the ARD Program offers the defendant an opportunity to earn a dismissal and potentially a purging of the offense from his/her criminal history. This procedure must be initiated by the defendant after the defendant's successful completion of the ARD Program and does not automatically occur merely upon a defendant's placement into, and successful completion of, the Program. Failure to satisfactorily complete the Program will result in removal from the Program and prosecution of the pending charges.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL ARD CANDIDATES
THE APPLICANT MUST HAVE AN ATTORNEY
No application for admission to the ARD Program will be considered unless the defendant is represented by an attorney. This is required in order to assure that the applicant's rights are protected. If the applicant is without adequate financial resources to retain an attorney, the applicant should immediately contact the Office of the Public Defender of Delaware County at (610) 891-4100.
THE APPLICANT MUST WAIVE ARRAIGNMENT
In order to be considered for admission into the ARD Program, the applicant and the attorney must complete the Entry of Appearance and Waiver of Arraignment Form, except for the Common Pleas Transcript Number. The Magisterial District Judge docket number and Common Pleas arraignment date are stated on the Subpoena for Arraignment form which is received from the District Court. THE ENTRY OF APPEARANCE AND WAIVER OF ARRAIGNMENT FORM, ARD 600 WAIVER FORM AND THE ARD APPLICATION FORM MAY BE COMPLETED AND DOWNLOADED FROM THE DELAWARE COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS WEB SITE OR PROVIDED TO YOU BY THE MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGE.
THE APPLICANT MUST BE FINGERPRINTED
The name of the fingerprinting agency and the date the applicant was fingerprinted must be stated on the Entry of Appearance and Waiver of Arraignment Form. If the applicant has not been fingerprinted, s/he must be fingerprinted by the arresting agency. The applicant must take a copy of the Criminal Complaint in order to be fingerprinted.
CONDITIONS OF THE PROGRAM
The length of participation in the Program may not exceed two years. Failure to comply with any requirement imposed shall result in immediate removal from the Program and the case shall proceed to trial. An important part of the ARD Program is the requirement that a defendant perform community service. The number of hours of community service will be determined by the District Attorney's Office. Additional conditions may be imposed before acceptance into the Program, including but not limited to, restitution. You must pay all restitution deemed appropriate to your case by the District Attorney's Office or you will be removed from the Program.
COSTS FOR ALL ARD CANDIDATES
The defendant must be prepared to pay the costs of the Program on the day of the ARD hearing unless there has been an agreement to the contrary with the District Attorney's Office prior to the hearing date.
The costs of the program alone are APPROXIMATELY $1200.00 for Non-DUI cases and APPROXIMATELY $1400.00 for DUI cases. In addition, state law mandates payment of a monthly probation supervisory fee. This charge must be paid over the period of supervision, however, it may be paid in full on the day of the ARD hearing. By Order of Court, payment must be by cash, money order, Mastercard, Visa or MAC.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL ARD APPLICANTS:
-WAIVE FORMAL ARRAIGNMENT
14 DAYS BEFORE THE SCHEDULED ARRAIGNMENT THE APPLICANT MUST SUBMIT:
TO: DELAWARE COUNTY COURT ADMINISTRATOR COURT HOUSE, MEDIA, PA 19063(610) 891-4550
-ACCEPT A DELAYED PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE DATE THAT WILL BE APPROXIMATELY SIX (6) MONTHS AFTER THE FORMAL ARRAIGNMENT DATE
-WAIVE 600 AND SPEEDY TRIAL RIGHTS FROM THE DATE OF FORMAL ARRAIGNMENT THROUGH THE PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE DATE
MINIMUM DISPOSITIONS FOR DUI APPLICANTS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
TIER I: BAC 0.08 %-0.99%: 12 months probation, 16 hours Community Service work, no license suspension
TIER II: BAC 0.10 %-0.159%: 12 months probation, 32 hours Community Service work, 30-day license suspension
TIER III: BAC OVER 0.16 %,: drugs, accident with bodily injury or refusal: 12 months probation, 64 hours Corrrmunity Service work, 60-day license suspension
MINOR (UNDER 21 YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF THE OFFENSE): 12 months probation, Tier-appropriate community service hours, 90 days license suspension
THE FOLLOWING REDUCTION IN COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS MAY BE AVAILABLE ONLY FOR DUI CASES COMMITED ON OR AFTER FEBRUARY 1, 2004 IF ALL ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS ARE COMPLETED WITHIN SIXTY (60) DAYS AFTER THE WAIVER OF THE PRELIMINARY HEARING:
TIER I: Possible reduction from sixteen (16) hours to eight (8) hours
TIER II or Minor: Possible reduction from thirty-two (32) hours to sixteen (16) hours
TIER III: Possible reduction from sixty-four (64) hours to thirty-two (32) hours
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR REDUCTION IN COMMUNITY SERVICE:
Del. Cnty. Pa. 316(c)
This data is incomplete.