Tag Archives: Pittsburgh DUI Lawyer

Getting Ready: How to Fight Your DUI Arrest

Frank Walker Law DUI Attorney Criminal Lawyer

After a night of drinking, you drive home, and on the way you see flashing red and blue lights in your rear view mirror. Its your worst fear: a police officer is pulling you over under suspicion of DUI.  After a field sobriety test, breathalyzer, and /or blood draw, you find yourself facing DUI charges.  The question on your mind is: what do I do now?

Besides the obvious advice that you shouldn’t drink and drive, there are other things you can do to help your case.  The first thing you need to do is to remember that you have the right to remain silent, and to use it.  The police are doing everything they can to build a case against you, and any statements you make (such as “I only had 2 beers”) can and will be used against you at trial.  Also, remember, that the field sobriety tests as well as breathalyzer tests are evidence gathering tools used by the Commonwealth and are for the most part completely voluntary. Pennsylvania has an implied consent law which mandates that you must consent to a blood draw or face increased penalties, but you are not required to do the field sobriety or breathalyzer tests.

Next step, and probably the most important step is to lawyer up. You need a competent attorney to help you fight the case. Someone who can teach you about the strengths and weaknesses of your case. You need someone experienced in criminal defense and specializes in handling DUI offenses.

Finally, remember to do the work. From here on out you need to comply with court rules and help build a case for a lighter sentence if you are eventually convicted. This means you need to do any counseling that is ordered, show up to your court dates on time, and help present the case that you are a strong contributing member of the community. This may include maintaining a good job, being active in the community, and strengthening family ties.  DUI proceedings are expensive, so you will want to make sure that you can build up some money to contribute towards any future fines or restitution.

If you have been charged with a DUI, getting an experienced criminal defense attorney is the best way to build a strong front line defense. Attorney Frank Walker has years of experience defending those charged with DUI offenses in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as West Virginia.  Call 412-532-6805 to set up a consultation today!

Attorney Frank Walker of Frank Walker Law is a National Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney with offices in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Morgantown West Virginia. Attorney Walker is also a member of the National College for DUI Defense and qualified as a Pennsylvania Death Penalty Defense Attorney.

If you or someone you love are facing criminal charges or seriously injured in an accident in WV or PA, contact Attorney Frank Walker immediately at 412-532-6805, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for aggressive and experienced Criminal Defense or Representation following a serious accident or injury.

Should You Tell Your Job About Your #DUI?

Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Attorney

When someone gets in trouble with the law, one of the first things to cross their mind is “am I going to lose my job because of this?” The answer to that question is a resounding “maybe.” This depends on the nature of your job and the steps you take after you’ve been arrested.

One of the first things to do after hiring a competent DUI attorney to handle your criminal case, is to see if your company’s human resource department has a handbook or guidelines on what to do in cases where you’ve been arrested and/or convicted of a criminal charge. Some workplaces may mandate that you report an arrest within a short period of time of its occurrence. This may be a period as little as one to three days depending on the company. Others may only require that you report a conviction, and that reporting an arrest is unnecessary. For those with professional licenses, your state’s board may require you to report a conviction for DUI or risk facing a suspension or losing your license to practice altogether. Doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, and several other professions all have requirements on what must be reported and when.

If you have employment where driving is an integral part of the job, sooner or later a conviction for DUI is going to come to light. Convictions for DUI or admission into an ARD program are going to come with a driver’s license suspension that may range anywhere from two months up to an entire year.  Those with commercial driver’s license will be facing further consequences to the status of their license. Professional drivers usually have provisions in their contracts requiring the immediate reporting for a DUI arrest.

Your decision to tell your employer about a DUI arrest or conviction requires sensitive consideration.  You need to review contract rules, union rules, professional licensure rules, state laws, and factor in the specter of potential jail time in your future resulting from your conviction. Even if its your first offense, how you handle yourself professionally following a DUI arrest can shape the rest of your professional future.   This is why its important to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney.

Attorney Frank Walker has specialized experience handling DUI cases for professionals from all walks of life.  Attorney Walker can help you figure out your employer and state board’s reporting requirements, and of course help you fight the underlying criminal case.  Its time to trust a true professional! Call Attorney Frank Walker today at 412-532-6805.

Attorney Frank Walker of Frank Walker Law is a National Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney with offices in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Morgantown West Virginia. Attorney Walker is also a member of the National College for DUI Defense and qualified as a Pennsylvania Death Penalty Defense Attorney.

If you or someone you love are facing criminal charges or seriously injured in an accident in WV or PA, contact Attorney Frank Walker immediately at 412-532-6805, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for aggressive and experienced Criminal Defense or Representation following a serious accident or injury.

Don’t Ruin Your Holiday Weekend with a #DUI Arrest! #HappyEaster

DUI Checkpoints
DUI Checkpoints – Morgantown, WV and Pittsburgh, Pa

The law firm of Frank Walker Law would like to wish you and yours a Happy Easter and Holiday weekend! While you celebrate this weekend, please celebrate responsibly and think about your actions: Please don’t drink and drive!

This weekend, millions of drivers will hit the roads and drive home to be with their family and loved ones this holiday season.  Additionally, many college students will enjoy their last days with their family  and friends prior to returning to classes on Monday morning. As such, local and state police will police the heavily traveled roads and highways in an effort identify unsafe drivers and remove them from the road to keep everyone safe.

If you are travelling this weekend, please plan your trip accordingly prior to leaving the house. Designate a safe and sober driver to take the keys in the event you are unable to drive. If you are unable to designate a driver prior to leaving the house, please consider contacting one of the following agencies to safely transport you home.

Thank you for keeping our roadways safe and Happy Easter!

Yellow Cab, Morgantown, WV – (304) 292-7441

Yellow Cab, Pittsburgh, Pa – (412) 321-8100

JB Taxi Service – Beaver County, Pa – 724-658-1444

C & H Taxi – Charleston, WV (304) 344-4902

Greensburg, Pa – Yellow Cab – (724) 838-0700

@DubVSafeRide – Morgantown WV – – 304-777-9996

Attorney Frank Walker of Frank Walker Law is a National Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney with offices in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Morgantown West Virginia. Attorney Walker is also a member of the National College for DUI Defense and qualified as a Pennsylvania Death Penalty Defense Attorney.

If you or someone you love are facing criminal charges or seriously injured in an accident in WV or PA, contact Attorney Frank Walker immediately at 412-532-6805 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for aggressive and experienced Criminal Defense or Representation in a Civil Case.

55th Annual #Pittsburgh #ArtsFestival Opens Tomorrow. View and Download Event Schedule

A sure sign that Summer is on its way to Pittsburgh is the opening day of the Three Rivers Arts Festival at Point State Park and throughout downtown Pittsburgh.

Artists from around the world will flock to Pittsburgh to show their masterpiece work or sell a few items to the Festival Faithful.  The Festival will also include many food vendors, music, theater, poetry and much more.

The festival is said to draw more than 400,000 visitors to the Pittsburgh area to view the sites, purchase artwork or just to enjoy the scenery of beautiful downtown Pittsburgh from the vantage point of the Point.

Here are some helpful links to help you navigate the 55th Annual Three Rivers Pittsburgh Arts Festival:

About the Arts Festival

Artist List

Event List

Event Schedule 

Environmental Responsibility 

Festival Map

Vendors (Food & More)

Whether you are visiting the Arts Festival after work or making the Festival a family weekend outing, please have fun and enjoy yourself throughout the event.

Security and Police Officers will have an increased presence at the festival and all around downtown to assist with crowd control, traffic and to ensure a stress free and safe festival. Officers will also be on the lookout for minors using fake ids, underage drinking and DUI offenders.

Additionally, officers will immediately identify offenders with open containers or those whom are visibly intoxicated in public.

Let’s help make the Festival a safe and family friendly event by enjoying ourselves responsibly.

Attorney Frank Walker of Frank Walker Law is a National Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney with offices in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Morgantown West Virginia.

Superintendent of Local School District Gets Probation after DUI

The superintendent of local school district has agreed to enter into a rehabilitation program after being charged with drunken driving in February.

The superintendent for the Trinity Area School District was admitted into an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program , which is meant to help first time DUI offenders get back on the right track. The superintendent was pulled over by Ohio Township police on February 2, as a result of having crossed the centerline on Mount Nebo Road. After a sobriety test, the man was charged with driving under the influence, and released to his friend, who drove him home. According to police the man’s toxicology test showed that he had been driving with a blood alcohol content which was twice the legal limit.

After completing the ARD program the man must serve one year’s probation, and then will be eligible to have his record expunged. As a result of his arrest he was suspended from his job position with pay.

Attorney Frank Walker of Frank Walker Law is a National Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney with offices in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Morgantown West Virginia.

If you or someone you love are facing criminal charges or seriously injured in an accident, contact Attorney Frank Walker immediately at 412-315-744124 hours a day, 7 days a week for aggressive and experienced Criminal Defense or Representation in a Civil Case.

Share and Save for a Safe #MemorialDay Weekend! #Pittsburgh #Morgantown

Winter is over and another Memorial Day Weekend is upon us!

While you enjoy time with your family, watch the parades, fireworks, take a swim or just relax while enjoying a ballgame, please take a moment to remember the many Men and Women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Please enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend, but do so responsibly: Please Don’t Drink and Drive or Text and Drive!

Many trained officers and law enforcement officials will be out and about searching for signs of impairment or other unlawful activities and will not hesitate to arrest you for a DUI, Public Intoxication, Underage DrinkingFake ID, Public Urination, Disorderly Conduct or other Traffic Offenses.

Before you leave the house or hit the road to meet friends at a bar, please take a moment to designate a driver for a SAFE evening.  Also, please SAVE these Taxi Service numbers into your cellphone before you start the festivities:

Yellow Cab, Morgantown, WV – (304) 292-7441

Yellow Cab, Pittsburgh, Pa – (412) 321-8100

JB Taxi Service – Beaver County, Pa – 724-658-1444

C & H Taxi – Charleston, WV (304) 344-4902

Greensburg, Pa – Yellow Cab – (724) 838-0700

@DubVSafeRide  – Morgantown WV – – 304-777-9996

If you plan to remain home this weekend to relax and this message really isn’t for you, please SHARE with your contacts or repost with your network so that others will have the information before hitting the town this weekend.

 

Pittsburgh Man Held in Fatal Hit and Run

A Pennsylvania man is facing several charges, including driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle, accident involving death or injury while not licensed, and driving with an invalid license, after a hit-and-run accident early this week left a pedestrian dead.

The accused, a 25 year old man of Beechview, is alleged to have hit and killed a pedestrian in Brookline early Sunday morning, and then left the scene of the accident.  According to police, the man was driving a blue Ford Explorer in the 2300 block of Pioneer Avenue at about 2:20 a.m. when he struck the victim, who is also 25 years old. The victim was transported to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where he was pronounced dead just before 3:00 a.m.

Police used crime scene evidence to help identify the make and model of the vehicle involved in the accident. After putting out an alert for a blue Ford SUV or pickup with a broken bug shield, police were able to locate the vehicle parked at a home on the 900 block of Tropical Ave. Police were then able to locate the driver of the car and its three passengers inside the home where the car was found. After conducting interviews, law enforcement arrested the alleged driver of the vehicle and took him to Allegheny County jail for processing.

Attorney Frank Walker of Frank Walker Law is a National Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney with offices in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Morgantown West Virginia.

If you or someone you love are facing criminal charges or seriously injured in an accident, contact Attorney Frank Walker immediately at 412-315-744124 hours a day, 7 days a week for aggressive and experienced Criminal Defense or Representation in a Civil Case.

Pittsburgh City Officer Arrested On DUI Charges

Court documents have shown that an officer with the Pittsburgh police department was arrested early Monday morning after being involved in a crash in the West End, following the Super Bowl telecast Sunday evening. The crash occurred while the officer was off-duty, and resulted in the four-year veteran from Westwood being charged with two counts of drunken driving and one count of careless driving.

According to the off-duty officer, he was driving his Ford pickup truck on South Main Street in the West End when he lost control of the vehicle. His fellow officers said in their report that the truck crashed into an oncoming vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle suffered a concussion but no other injuries were reported. The incident occurred just after 3am Monday morning. The officer was given two subsequent breathalyzer tests, upon which he registered blood-alcohol levels of 0.195 and 0.199 respectively.

The officer has no record of previous DUI or DWI arrests. Regina McDonald, Pittsburgh Police Acting Chief, said in a recent statement that the officer has since been assigned to the department’s warrant office doing various administrative duties while the investigation is being conducted. It is unknown at this time whether or not the driver of the other vehicle will press charges or bring litigation against the officer. As of yet there have been no witnesses questioned and no one has come forward claiming to have been a witness to the incident. The Pittsburgh Office of Municipal Investigations is conducting the investigation.

Attorney Frank Walker of Frank Walker Law is a National Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney with offices in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Morgantown West Virginia.

If you or someone you love are facing criminal charges or seriously injured in an accident, contact Attorney Frank Walker immediately at 412-315-744124 hours a day, 7 days a week for aggressive and experienced Criminal Defense or Representation in a Civil Case.

Pittsburgh Area Father Arrested on DUI in Accident that Killed Daughter

A Pittsburgh area man has been arrested for drunk driving following a devastating freak accident which killed his 12 year old daughter.

The man and his family had returned home after dropping off a boy with whom his 12 year old daughter had just gone on her first date. Upon pulling into the driveway, the man exited his vehicle in order to take a photo to commemorate the moment. As his daughter began to exit the vehicle, it began to roll backward, and the girl became entangled in the seatbelt. As the car rolled backwards it rolled over the girl, and then dragged her down the road until it struck a tree.

The incident, which occurred at about 8:00pm, killed the girl. The officer on the scene said that the father refused to submit to a Breathalyzer, but was subsequently arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.

Attorney Frank Walker of Frank Walker Law is a National Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer and Personal Injury Attorney with offices in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Morgantown West Virginia.

If you or someone you love are facing criminal charges or seriously injured in an accident, contact Attorney Frank Walker immediately at 412-315-744124 hours a day, 7 days a week for aggressive and experienced Criminal Defense or Representation in a Civil Case.