Commonwealth v. Hyde

OPINION PER CURIAM:

Appellant, Blair R. Hyde, was convicted by a jury of driving with a blood alcohol level of .10 percent or greater. Posttrial motions were denied and appellant was sentenced to forty-eight hours to eighteen months imprisonment. This direct appeal followed. We affirm.

Appellant asserts three issues for our review: (1) whether the district attorney abused its discretion by not approving appellant for the Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition program; (2) whether the evidence was insufficient; and (3) whether the prosecutor engaged in misconduct.

Appellant first claims that the district attorney abused its discretion by not approving appellant for the ARD program. It is within the district attorney’s discretion which defendants qualify for an ARD program. A defendant’s admission into an ARD program is not a matter of right but rather a privilege. Commonwealth v. Lutz, 508 Pa. 297, 495 A.2d 928 (1985). The areas of concern, when implementing criteria for an ARD program, are the protection of society and whether the defendant is the type of person who can benefit from ARD. Commonwealth v. Lutz, supra; Commonwealth v. Stranges, 397 Pa.Super. 59, 579 A.2d 930 (1990).

The emphasis in Bedford County appears to be on the protection of society. The district attorney determined that anyone with a blood alcohol level in excess of .230% may not qualify for ARD. This criteria does not amount to an abuse of discretion. Commonwealth v. Knowles, 373 Pa.Super. 203, 540 A.2d 938 (1988) (A cut off point of .250% was not an abuse of discretion and serves the purpose of ARD). Appellant’s blood alcohol level was .245%, and thus the district attorney did not abuse his discretion by not admitting appellant into the ARD program.

Appellant’s next two claims are that the evidence was insufficient because the Commonwealth failed to relate the results of the blood alcohol test back to the time appellant was operating his vehicle and that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct and went beyond the bounds of propriety in his closing argument. Appellant has the responsibility of providing a complete and comprehensive record to the reviewing court. Commonwealth v. Feflie, 398 Pa.Super. 622, 581 A.2d 636 (1990); Commonwealth v. Williams, 357 Pa.Super. 462, 516 A.2d 352 (1986); Pa. R.App.P. 1911.

In the instant case, appellant has failed to provide this court with a complete trial transcript, and thus the trial record is inadequate. The record reveals that appellant only ordered isolated excerpts from the trial. Therefore, we are unable to meaningfully review appellant’s claims. Absent an adequate record, there is no support for appellant’s arguments that the evidence was insufficient or that the prosecutor’s remarks were prejudicial and not a fair commentary on the evidence presented.. Commonwealth v. Williams, supra.

Judgment of sentence affirmed.

POPOVICH, J., files a concurring opinion.