Jones on DUI Sentencing in Pennsylvania

Rachel A. Jones has posted Driving Under the Influence: How the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Can Encourage Liberal Approval of ARD for Deserving First-time Offenders While Allowing an Enhanced Sentence for Subsequent Offenses by Returning to Chichkin (32 Widener Commw. L. Rev. 187 (2023)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

The purpose of this Comment is to provide a way to sustain the ARD program for DUIs in Pennsylvania. After first presenting the background and purpose of ARD, Section II further explains the statutory change between what constituted a “prior offense” before and after Chichkin. It then discusses the two United States Supreme Court cases on which the Pennsylvania Superior Court based its Chichkin rationale. Finally, Section II provides a full case analysis of Chichkin, Richards I, Richards II (withdrawn), and Richards III. Section III addresses a February 2023 Pennsylvania Supreme Court opinion that leads the author of this Comment to believe that the court will return to a Chichkin-like approach. Section IV describes the unintended disadvantages to defendants posed by a decision like Chichkin, as well as the threat to the entire Pennsylvania ARD program for DUIs. Section V asserts that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania should return to a Chichkin-like rationale, while upholding the procedure employed in Richards I as consistent with the Chichkin rationale. This argument is based on an interpretation and explanation of the statutes and caselaw surrounding DUIs. Finally, this Comment addresses and responds to counterarguments from within Richards II.