Benefit of a Bucks County Attempts to Elude an Officer Lawyer

It can be stressful to get pulled over by law enforcement while driving, however, it is important that drivers abide by traffic laws and pull over. Refusal to do so could result in an attempt to elude an officer charge. Drivers dealing with an attempt to elude police case in Bucks County should expect a charge as indicated by Pennsylvania law of fleeing a police officer. When dealing with fleeing a police officer charge, motorists should expect a criminal charge as well as a traffic charge when stopped by police. The benefit of a Bucks County attempts to elude an officer lawyer is that they could help set realistic expectations of a case and could work diligently to pursue a positive outcome for those who face charges. If a person has been charged with attempting to elude an officer, they should contact a capable attorney that could advocate for them.

Attempts to Elude an Officer Charges

When dealing with the charge of eluding a police officer, which is when an individual continues to operate the motor vehicle and not pull over in a reasonable time period or fashion after notification through lights and sirens or any other means made by the police to stop, an operator faces criminal charges. Once the operator is stopped and facing a fleeing a police charge, it is graded as a felony of the third-degree or an eluding police charge. The individual faces both charges in traffic court as well as a magisterial justice where they have a preliminary hearing for being charged with a misdemeanor or felony crime.

Potential Defenses

Defenses could be raised challenging probable cause to stop the automobile and whether or not the driver of the vehicle was properly notified to pull over by police. In some cases when lights and sirens are not used and the police gave a verbal command, a radio or other distractions in the car could affect whether or not the operator was able to hear the police officer’s request for the vehicle to be pulled over. With experienced attorneys by one’s side, the right argument, and an understanding of the local courts and justices, a charge which could be a criminal misdemeanor or felony could be negotiated as a summary traffic offense and save the individual thousands of dollars in costs, long periods of probation, and suspensions on their license.

How a Bucks County Traffic Attorney Could Help

The benefit of a Bucks County attempts to elude an officer lawyer is that they could leverage their experience and knowledge of local law to defend someone’s case. Experienced traffic lawyers could help people facing an attempt to elude an officer charge by attempting to negotiate a downward departure from an original sentence charged in the criminal courts and having the matter resolved in a summary traffic citation. When dealing with these cases, the mens rea or the thought process for an individual to elude police comes into effect. With an experienced traffic or criminal lawyer by a person’s side, an argument could be made that the operator did not intend the consequences and the matter should be reduced to a traffic offense because it lacked the mens rea or the person’s intent to commit a misdemeanor or felony crime. If an individual wants to know more about how to defend their case, they should speak with a skilled attorney that could help.