Philadelphia Summary Offense Charges
What is a summary offense?
Pennsylvania law categorizes criminal offenses as misdemeanors and felonies. Aside from criminal offenses, there are violations known as summary offenses. In some circumstances, these include acts involving:
- Obstruction of the highway
- Speeding
- Disorderly conduct
- Underage drinking
- Public drunkenness
- Open lewdness
- Violation of certain dog laws
- Unauthorized sale or transfer of tickets
While these are less serious than misdemeanors, it is still important you take these charges seriously. They break down into traffic and non-traffic offenses and the latter do appear in criminal history checks. They may therefore inhibit your ability to obtain employment, housing or other civil benefits. Although a fine is the usual punishment, they can also result in jail time. It is important to have a Philadelphia criminal defense attorney working to keep the impact of a summary offense minimal or to help you avoid it entirely.
Defending Summary Offenses
With over 40 years of combined experience, the tenacious lawyers at The Benari Law Group will defend your case energetically. If you have no criminal history, we may be able to keep your record clean by negotiating an agreement in which you participate in community service or approved classes relating to your type of offense.
We may also be able to show that your arrest was unwarranted and have your case dismissed. Perhaps you were a witness to police behavior in which their treatment of a suspect was questionable. If you happened to be recording this on your cell phone, the police would be able to access this if they were to arrest you for a summary offense, such as disorderly conduct. Similar situations as this may occur and we will investigate to combat any rights violations when necessary . Our skilled attorneys are ready to help you with a defense in your summary offense case.
Contact a Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer for help addressing summary offense charges.