FACING A CRIMINAL CHARGE?

If you are pulled over and arrested on suspicion of DUI in Philadelphia or elsewhere in Pennsylvania, it helps to understand your rights and how to assert those rights as well as other legal issues that may factor into your case. But this doesn't mean you need to go out and get a law degree.

At The Law Offices of John Della Rocca, attorney Della Rocca has 20 years of experience handling DUI and other types of criminal cases. He understands that you don't have the time, resources or legal know-how to manage your case. By working closely with you, he can step in, review the details of your arrest and go through all the evidence.

An important factor in any criminal case is the process of discovery. This is the process by which the commonwealth turns over information and evidence like the results of blood or breath tests, recordings of witness statements and other evidence that will be used by the prosecution to establish guilt. In summary, the defense has a right to review the evidence and the commonwealth has an obligation to provide it.

One reason reviewing evidence is so important to a defense is the unreliability of technology and the preponderance of human error. What if the lab made a mistake when running the test results? Or perhaps the sample was mishandled in transit and the results were compromised? Or maybe the evidence sample was discarded and all that remains is a written or digital record kept in the lab?

Your lawyer will ask questions, file discovery motions and review the evidence to determine if these or other issues have bearing on your case. You can help by taking some time to write down everything you remember from the moment you took a drink of alcohol to the moment you got home. A lot may have happened in that time and the details may not come to you right away. However, anything that you can remember may be an important piece of information your attorney can use to help you.