Allentown Criminal Law
The leading criminal defense lawyer in the Lehigh Valley. Experienced and long-winning record. Aggressive defense of all criminal cases. Call (484) 695-7023
Criminal Law Defense Attorney Lehigh Valley. Dui Defense PA. Pennsylvania Federal Court. Aggravated Assault Attorney Allentown Pa. Expungement Lawyers In Allentown Pa. It generally means getting your record wiped clean.
To be more specific, it means the clearing, extraction and isolation of all records on file within any court, detention or correctional facility, law enforcement agency or criminal justice agency concerning a person’s detection, apprehension, arrest, detention, trial, or disposition of an offense within the criminal justice system by removal, deletion, erasing, sealing, destroying and other processes. DUI Expungements are not seen as a right.
It is a privilege granted to the petitioner only after the proper paperwork has been filed (correctly). More important, you have to meet the conditions to be eligible. Most of the time, if you meet the conditions, the District Attorney won’t fight the expungement. Effect of an Expungement Once your record has been expunged, the law allows one to say it never happened. Why should you seek expungement: 1) job applications ask about a criminal record. Dui Offense In Pennsylvania. Driving Under the Influence(DUI) / Driving While Intoxicated(DWI) There can be significant consequences if you are convicted of a DUI offense in Pennsylvania.
A DUI can cause a loss of license (or even a loss of your job), incarceration, lengthy probation, hefty fines and court costs, complex obligations for completing probation and getting your license back. If it is not your first DUI offense, or if the DUI involved an accident with damage to property, or injury to people, the case is even more complicated. Federal Court Allentown Pa. The federal court that covers the Lehigh Valley is the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
It covers 9 counties of Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia. The main court is in Philadelphia, with courts also in Allentown and Reading. My office is located in Allentown, but I travel weekly to Philadelphia to handle federal cases there. The main differences between federal court and the state/county courts is that the federal sentencing guidelines are generally much harsher and the federal authorities (ATF, FBI, Homeland Security, etc) have much greater funding and resources to investigate and then prosecute cases. If you have been charged with a crime in federal court, or you fear that you may be charged, you should consult an attorney immediately. Lawyers For Drug Charges Cases In Allentown Pa. Allentown Local Criminal Defense Lawyer. Criminal Defense Lawyer Allentown Pa. Lawyers For Charges Cases In Allentown Pa. Child Support Allentown. Immigration Lawyers In Pennsylvania.
Terroristic Threats Defence Lawyer Pennsylvania. These cases frequently arise out of domestic violence, but not always.
Occasionally, they result from bar fights, fights among neighbors, or arguments over child custody. They often overlap with PFA court, which are civil proceedings held before family court judges. In assault cases, it is very common for police to file charges without conducting much investigation, especially if the police observe visible injuries on someone. Police often are not witnesses to the actual crime, and therefore, the credibility of non-police witnesses becomes crucial to the case. Sefl-defense is a common defense raised in such cases. Burglary Lawyer in Allentown Pa. Homicide And Attempted Homicide Pennsylvania. Homicide and Attempted Homicide are arguably the most serious charges.
In Pennsylvania, the charge of homicide includes 1st, 2nd & 3rd degree murder, as well as manslaughter. Prosecutors in different counties take very different views as to what charges should be pursued in such cases. Criminal Attorney Allentown PA. Dui Lawyers In Allentown Pa. Lehigh County Court. If you have a case pending in the Lehigh County court, you can visit www.LehighCounty.org for the county’s website.
On the site you’ll find information on various court offices, individual judges and the legal opinions from cases published by those judges. The structure of Lehigh County courts is the same as all other counties in Pennsylvania, with the exception of Philadelphia, which has its own municipal court and is structured separately from all other counties in Pa. Pennsylvania Federal Court. Bail Bonds in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Dui Laws. The law on DUI in Pennsylvania changed substantially in February 2004.
A significant change is that now the DUI statute is broken into 3 tiers (whereas previously the level for intoxication was .10% and higher). Now there are 3 tiers for blood alcohol levels, as explained below. Lehigh County DUI. Criminal Attorney Allentown PA. Pennsylvania DUI Penalties PA. 1) 3rd offense DUI’s are now a felony in Pennsylvania if the BAC was .16 or higher. 2) A person convicted of killing another during a DUI can now expect to face a 5-year mandatory jail sentence if he had a prior DUI and 7-year mandatory jail sentence if he had 2 prior DUI’s. 3) Driving under suspended license (suspended due to a DUI) now has graduated penalties.
It used to be between 60-90 days in jail no matter how many times it happened. Now, the 2nd time carries “at least” 90 days in jail (and could be higher) and a 3rd time carries up to 6 months in jail. Fines have gone up also. 4) The ignition interlock system was greatly expanded to both allow for and in many instances require that DUI offenders in PA install the device on their vehicles. The bottom line is that the DUI laws, plus PENNDOT regulations, have gotten so complicated that you really need an attorney to guide you. Driving Under Influence (DUI) Penalties in Pennsylvania BAC is .08% to .099%. BAC is .10% to .159%. Lehigh county courthouse allentown.
Bail Bond Lawyer. Attempted Homicide. Knowledge of the law and court process: I am well-versed with the Pennsylvania DUI laws and procedures followed in courtrooms.Much of this isn’t written in any book—an experienced attorney learned it by many years in practice and observing closely how things differ from county to county.More important, I have had numerous jury trials in Pennsylvania—THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR AN ATTORNEY’S ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OF DOING JURY TRIALS.
While you may not be seeking to have a trial in your own case, the way to get the best deal is by hiring an attorney with experience in trials, because he or she will have a reputation for not shying away from a difficult case, and hopefully, a reputation for winning. This is what makes prosecutors offer you a better deal. When you are considering which attorney to hire, ask him or her how many jury trials he or she has had, and how many were won.
Knowledge of DUI defenses: People often think that they can talk their way out of DUI charges. Pennsylvania DUI Charges. 20 years of experience in criminal defense.
Strong background in family law issues. Practicing primarily in Lehigh and Northampton Counties, and in federal courtAdmitted to Practice in: All counties of PennsylvaniaPA Superior CourtPA Supreme CourtUS Supreme CourtUS District Court for the Eastern District of PAUS Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit List of Additional Qualifications. Federal Court Lawyer. DUI Defense Attorney. An experienced criminal defense attorney knows there are numerous defenses available in a DUI case. Here are just a few examples: • Were the machines used by police to test your blood alcohol level properly calibrated and maintained? Sometimes people charged with a DUI think that those machines are foolproof—they aren’t.
Machines break and malfunction. Criminal lawyers in Allentown PA. Simple Assault Lawyer. Child Support Allentown. DUI Penalties Pennsylvania. DUI Expungement. Federal Court pennsylvania. Protection from Abuse order. DUI Defense Attorney. DUI Penalties Pennsylvania. Criminal law lawyers. Protection from Abuse order Pennsylvania. Bail Bond Lawyer. First Offense DUI in pa. Burglary criminal law. Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Attorney. Attempted Homicide. Protection from Abuse order. Bail Bond Attorney. Burglary criminal law. Local Criminal Defense Attorney. Forgery laws. Bail Bond Lawyer. Criminal Attorney Allentown PA. Welcome to The Law Office Of Kathryn Roberts My main office is located in Allentown (Lehigh County). The focus of my legal practice is almost exclusively on criminal defense, and legal issues related to criminal defense, including Immigration, Child Custody, Children & Youth matters, and Protection from Abuse (PFA).
I am a solo practitioner and when you call me, you won’t have to go through multiple people to get to talk to me. I am very prompt in returning phone calls (unless I am in trial, when my focus is solely on the client whose life is on the line), and you’ll find that I respond back to clients even on evenings, weekends and holidays. That’s a big issue that many people have with the lawyer they hire—that the lawyer is not accessible and doesn’t keep in regular communication. Please note that I also keep a paralegal, private investigator, and translators (in Spanish and Arabic) available to me if needed.
First Offense DUI in PA. Burglary Criminal Law. Attempted Murder Law. Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Lawyer. Criminal Defense Lawyer. Pennsylvania DUI Laws. Being charged with a DUI/DWI in Pennsylvania can be devastating. Many people don’t envision themselves as criminals, and then, one day, they use bad judgement and wind up in criminal court with a DUI. If you are, you’ll be prosecuted under the Vehicle Code (Title 35) in Pa, in whichever county the incident occurred in. Although state law on DUIs is uniform to the whole state, punishments and treatment alternatives vary widely in different counties. For example, in Berks County, people charged with 2nd offense DUIs may be eligible for the STOP program.
In contrast, Lehigh County has no such program for 2nd offenses, but it does have a general formula for how 2nd offenses are handled. If you have a DUI case, and you want to have a lawyer, it’s imperative that you find a criminal defense attorney. For people who are seeking to work out a “deal” in their cases, the biggest hindrance they face is often the driver license suspension. Federal Court Pennsylvania. Federal Court pennsylvania. Attempted Murder Law. DUI Penalties in Pennsylvania. Bail Bond Attorney. Criminal Defense Law Firm. Protection from Abuse order Pennsylvania. Bail Bond Lawyer. Allentown Criminal Defense Lawyer. Local Criminal Defense Attorney. Allentown Criminal Defense Lawyer. Criminal Lawyers in Allentown PA. Protection from Abuse Order Pennsylvania.
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