QUESTION
charged with simple assault the cop will reduce it to summary harrassment if ARD is completed
Asked on Dec 11th, 2012 on Domestic Violence - Pennsylvania
More details to this question:
i was charged with simple at the first court hearing the cop said if i go through ARD and complete it the charges will be reduced to summary harrassment. Today i went to the second hearing to check up on me and the cop pulled me aside and told me do i want to continue to complete the program or do i want to plead guilty to summary harrassment . which i just wanted it over with so i said ok il plead guilty but when we told the judge he said i wasnt done with my ARD so he postponted it. after i thought about it once i got home i looked up on the computer and seen that with ARD once i complete everything there is no pleading anything the case getting dismissed and thrown out i wasnt sure if that was true but the cop seemed like he wanted me to just plead guilty so it will be over with im from allegheny county pa
1 ANSWER
4 Awards
Your instincts were correct. The cop is trying to get you to plead guilty to a summary offense rather than go through the ARD program. As you read, with ARD you never plead guilty or admit to anything. The court proceedings are done off the record in Common Pleas Court. You were likely in front of a Magisterial District Justice who can take a summary guilty plea, but not a misdemeanor plea. The important thing to remember is that if you enter ARD you will likely be placed on probation for about a year and then the charges will be dismissed and can be expunged if you followed all the rules. If you plead to the summary charge you probably won't get probation but you also won't be eligible for an expungement for five years, and then only if you had no new offenses in the interim. You can read more about ARD here. Best of luck. Steve
Answered on Dec 12th, 2012 at 8:07 AM