ARD and Expunging Your Criminal Record — ARD/Will I Have a Criminal Record?
The Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program is a pretrial program that provides a way to avoid severe punishment and costly attorneys fees for first-time offenders. ARD allows first-time DUI offenders to resolve their criminal cases through rehabilitation and the completion of several court-agreed requirements. ARD participants also avoid jail time and the necessity of entering a guilty plea or taking the case to trial.
Successfully fulfilling the ARD program, though, doesn't mean your record will be automatically cleared. You will still need to seek an expungement of your criminal record. Without this step, potential employers and others running background checks will have easy access to your criminal record, where they will view your DUI records. DUI records can even affect attempts to volunteer in churches, coach little league and help charitable organizations.
Do I Still Have a Record?
Even if DUI charges were dismissed through ARD, your DUI arrest remains on your record unless you seek an expungement.
I am Henry Hilles, a criminal defense and DUI defense lawyer with an office in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in Montgomery County. For the past 16-plus years, I have practiced criminal law, either as a prosecutor or as a defense attorney. I stand squarely on the side of my clients, supporting them at each step of their legal proceedings from case evaluation to the decision to apply for ARD through clearing of the criminal record and the expungement records throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
Clear DUI Record in Pennsylvania
As your expungement lawyer, I will track down every state and federal agency that has your record on file and make sure that it is destroyed. It is important to hire a lawyer who will aggressively follow up with these agencies because unless they physically destroy the records, an expungement order itself means very little. To further discuss the Pennsylvania ARD program and expungement, call 610-270-8800 or send a secure and confidential e-mail.
