Case Results

Not long ago, a man in Hatboro who makes a living as an Uber driver was visiting some friends when they began arguing, eventually gaining the attention of the police. While the officers were dealing with the two people arguing, the man attempted to leave in his car. However, the police approached him and claimed to smell marijuana. This led to a search of his car, where they discovered a few roaches, a small amount of marijuana, and assorted paraphernalia.

Although this would amount to little more than a citation in Philadelphia, the Hatboro officers filed charges and aggressively pursued the case. The man retained experienced defense attorney Michael Fienman, who pushed hard for the best possible outcome. While the prosecutors would not budge on dismissing the drug charge, attorney Fienman prevailed and secured his client’s admittance into Pennsylvania’s Section 17 probation program. Otherwise known as Probation Without Verdict or a Section 17 plea, this option is written into the Commonwealth’s Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act and allows first-time offenders with dependency issues the chance to avoid the negative impact of a drug conviction.

Having represented many clients admitted to the Section 17 program, attorney Fienamn arraigned for his client to plead guilty to the offense in question and be admitted to the program. By participating in the program and upon completion of the requirements, the judge will forego entering the guilty plea onto his client’s record. Therefore, once the probation period is fulfilled, the case becomes eligible for a dismissal and expungement, essentially erasing it completely from your record.

The outcome of an individual case depends on a variety of factors unique to that case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any similar or future case.