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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 97-1944

THE COURTS

LEHIGH COUNTY

Order establishing Uniform Costs for Driving Under the Influence Prosecutions; File No. 638-M of 1997

[27 Pa.B. 6328]

Order

   And Now, this 12th day of November, 1997, It Is Ordered that the Administrative Order establishing uniform costs for driving under the influence prosecutions, be, and the same is, promulgated herewith, to become effective thirty (30) days after the publication of the Administrative Order in the Pennsylvania Bulletin; that seven (7) certified copies shall be filed with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts; that two (2) certified copies shall be filed with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin; that one (1) certified copy shall be filed with the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee; and that one (1) copy shall be filed with the Clerk of Courts of the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County.

Order

   And Now, this 12th day of November, 1997, the District Attorney of Lehigh County having informed the Court: (A) that the County of Lehigh has obtained a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation grant enabling it to establish a centralized location (''D.U.I. Center'') for the testing and initial processing of driving under the influence cases1 ; (B) that after said center becomes operational, all police agencies in said County have agreed to utilize said D.U.I. Center in all such cases initiated by the officers of their departments; and (C) that a specific condition of said grant is that the Court enter an Administrative Order establishing a uniform cost to be assessed against each defendant convicted of, or admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (''A.R.D.'') Program for Driving Under the Influence, which will insure that after the first six (6) months of operation under the grant, the D.U.I. Center will be self-supporting.

   It Further Appearing That the District Attorney has estimated that in order to meet this self-supporting requirement, an appropriate cost for each defendant convicted of, or admitted to the A.R.D. Program for Driving Under the Influence would be One Hundred Twenty ($120.00) Dollars.

It Is Therefore Ordered and Decreed That:

   1.  The District Attorney shall file a certification to the above File Number, in the Office of the Clerk of Courts Criminal, immediately upon the opening of said D.U.I. Center, indicating the date when it became operational.

   2.  Effective as to all cases where the charges of Driving Under the Influence were initiated on or after the date so certified by the District Attorney, the sum of One Hundred Twenty ($120.00) shall be assessed as costs in each such case against every Defendant convicted of Driving Under the Influence2 or admitted to the A.R.D. Program.3 This charge shall be in addition to all other authorized costs and supervision fees not duplicitous4 of the processing, booking and testing costs herein authorized.5

   3.  The funds so collected as costs for the D.U.I. Center shall be paid into the General Fund of the County of Lehigh, but separately identified in the County's records and accounts so that the amounts collected during any period can be readily determined. The District Attorney shall maintain appropriate records of all cases processed through the D.U.I. Center, including the dates of processing and the final dispositions and dates thereof as well. These records shall reflect the number of defendants whose cases are processed by the D.U.I. Center, including the number of defendants released without filings, the numbers charged, convicted, admitted to A.R.D., discharged and acquitted of such charges initiated through the D.U.I. Center, and the dates of all such processings, filings, and dispositions. The District Attorney shall also keep complete and accurate records of the actual costs of personnel, equipment and materials expended in the operation of the D.U.I. Center, and correlate such expenses to the cases processed and disposed of. The District Attorney shall account to the Court on an interim quarterly basis with these figures, and shall annually submit to the Court a complete calculation based upon actual experience so that the costs assessed for said D.U.I. Center can be reviewed and adjusted, if necessary, to reflect, as accurately as possible, the actual costs of its operation distributed equally among the defendants convicted and admitted to A.R.D.

   4.  The Court directs, in accordance with the District Attorney's agreement to do so, that personnel employed at the D.U.I. Center will be rotated into and out of the D.U.I. Center, so that no one other than the supervisor becomes a regular employee. The District Attorney in the interim quarterly accounts to the Court shall supply the names, qualifications, capacities, and hours worked by the personnel employed at the D.U.I. Center, and further the District Attorney shall annually submit to the Court a complete summary of the operations of the D.U.I. Center, including, but not limited to, information on personnel utilization and rotation, the costs of operation information as required in Paragraph 3, above, and a general evaluation of the operation of the D.U.I. Center from the perspective of the District Attorney, the various police agencies using the D.U.I. Center and in terms of its efficiency and effectiveness in serving the public.

   It Is Further Ordered That the Administrative Order dated November 26, 1991, and filed to No. 84-M of 1992, relating to Costs for Municipal Police in A.R.D./D.U.I. Cases, shall be inapplicable to any cases initiated by municipal police agencies on or after the date the D.U.I. Center is certified operational by the District Attorney of Lehigh County pursuant to Paragraph 1 herein.6 No costs shall be assessed, and no reimbursements made to any municipalities under that prior Administrative Order in any case instituted after the D.U.I. Center is certified operational.

By the Court

JAMES KNOLL GARDNER,   
President Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 97-1944. Filed for public inspection December 5, 1997, 9:00 a.m.]


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