Berks Cnty. C.P. Criminal Rules Rule 301

Minor Judiciary

1. The cost of the ARD program for summary cases is $100.00.

2. The defendant shall make written application to the MDJ for admission into the summary

ARD program.

a. Upon receipt of the application for admission into the summary ARD program, the

MDJ shall forward to the District Attorney a copy of the defendant's application.

b. The District Attorney shall review said application and notify the MDJ of a decision

to either approve or deny the application. If the District Attorney denies the

application, the MDJ shall be notified of the reason(s) for denial.

3. If the District Attorney denies the defendant's application, the MDJ shall notify the

defendant that his/her application has been denied and the case shall then proceed in

accordance with Chapter 4 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. If the

District Attorney approves the defendant's application, the MDJ shall notify the

defendant of such approval and shall set a hearing date for admission into the program.

4. A defendant accepted into ARD may be referred to any of the following programs and

shall pay any costs associated with a program. If a defendant is referred to any of the

following programs, the defendant shall contact the office or agency administering the

program to ascertain the cost of the program and acceptable method of payment.

a. The Underage Drinking Program of Berks County

b. STOPLIFT Adult Shoplifting Intervention Program

c. STOPLIFT Juvenile Shoplifting Intervention Program

d. Adult Probation Community Service Program

e. Juvenile Probation Community Service Program

f. A recommended program subject to approval by the District Attorney.

5. Community service program hours shall be assigned in 4-hour increments and shall not

exceed 40 hours for offenders referred to the Adult Probation Community Service

Program or shall not exceed 20 hours for offenders referred to the Juvenile Probation

Community Service Program.

6. All costs and restitution, if any, must be paid before completion of the ARD program.

7. If the MDJ deems that the defendant has met all of the requirements of the ARD

program, the summary charge filed against the defendant shall be dismissed. In the

MDJS, the summary case appears “ARD Open” while the defendant is on ARD. Upon

completion of the ARD program, the MDJ shall record a “Dismissed by ARD”

disposition to close the case. If the MDJ deems that the defendant has failed to complete

all of the requirements of the ARD Program, the defendant shall be terminated from the

ARD program, and the case shall proceed in accordance with Chapter 4 of the

Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. No summary case shall remain active for

purposes of ARD supervision in excess of six (6) months.

In the MDJS, “ARD Open” and “Dismissed by ARD” shall not be used for any summary

case that is not processed through the District Attorney’s ARD program for summary

cases.

8. Each MDJ shall submit to the District Attorney a monthly report on the disposition of all

cases eligible for ARD, where applications were submitted for admission into the

program. The District Attorney shall compile these monthly reports and monitor the

cases. The monthly report submitted by each MDJ shall include: a record of defendants

who participate in the ARD program; those who were eligible but not admitted to ARD

and the reasons for not admitting the defendant; those who complete the ARD program;

those who do not complete the program; and those defendants that pay in full the costs

associated with the program.

9. The ARD application referred to in paragraph 2 shall be in substantially the following

form:

Effective 9/1/2015

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Magisterial District 23-_________

:

vs. : Docket No.:__________________

:

____________________________ :

________________________________________________________________________

APPLICATION FOR ACCELERATED REHABILITATIVE DISPOSITION (ARD)

FOR A SUMMARY CASE

________________________________________________________________________

Defendant is applying for ARD for a summary case and represents the following:

(Please print the requested information.)

1. Defendant’s present address and telephone number:____________________________

______________________________________________________________________

2. Defendant’s date of birth:___________________________________

3. Prior Arrest(s):(Circle one)________YES____/____NO___________

4. Date citation filed:_________________________________________

5. Law Enforcement Officer:___________________________________

6. Offense:_________________________________________________

COPY OF CITATION MUST BE FILED WITH APPLICATION

I am requesting that my summary case be considered for ARD. I understand that

if the District Attorney denies my application for ARD, my summary case will

then proceed in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal

Procedure.

_________________________ _________________________

Signature of Defendant Date

________________________________________________________

This application for ARD has been _____Approved _____Denied

Reason:__________________________________________________

_________________________ ______________________

Signature of District Attorney Date

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