James A. “Jamie” Barton, whose candidacy for the state Legislature ended after he was charged with driving under the influence, decided Wednesday in Schuylkill County Court to withdraw his guilty plea to the DUI charge.
Barton, 50, of Orwigsburg, had agreed to a plea that would have resulted in house arrest instead of any prison time.
However, he changed his mind, meaning his case will now be scheduled, at least temporarily, for the April criminal court term.
After conferring with Barton and his lawyer, Stephen T. Carpenito, Pottsville, President Judge William E. Baldwin gave the defendant until March 27 to change his mind again.
Prosecutors have charged Barton with DUI, disregarding traffic lanes, failure to drive at a safe speed and careless driving.
State police at Schuylkill Haven had alleged Barton was DUI to the extent that he was incapable of safe driving about 11 p.m. Feb. 24, 2014, on Reddale Road in West Brunswick Township. Prosecutors alleged Barton refused to take a blood-alcohol test.
Police said Barton lost control of his Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicle and, when found at the scene, had slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol. Barton admitted he had drunk a few beers, police said.
Barton, an East Brunswick Township Republican, had sought to challenge state Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-124, in the May 20, 2014, primary election before dropping out of the campaign after the incident. Knowles went on to win both the primary and general elections unopposed.
Baldwin gave Barton a chance to reconsider his decision not to plead guilty because he and prosecutors had thought he would have had the right to a jury trial.
However, Baldwin said a change in the state’s DUI laws did not go into effect until after Barton’s incident and cannot be applied retroactively. As a result, the maximum possible prison term Barton faces still would be six months, meaning he has the right to a nonjury, or bench, trial, in which the judge rather than a jury would decide his guilt.
“I’m quite certain of the law on this,” Baldwin said.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, which Baldwin would have had the right to reject, Barton would have pleaded guilty to DUI, spent 25 days on house arrest with electronic monitoring, 35 days on strict supervision and four months on probation, and paid costs, a $300 fine and $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund. Prosecutors would have withdrawn the three other charges against Barton as part of the agreement.
On March 18, 2014, Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier, Orwigsburg, dismissed all charges against Barton, ruling prosecutors had failed to prove the alcohol Barton drank impaired his driving ability.
District Attorney Christine A. Holman refiled the charges against Barton. Ferrier recused himself from the case, which was transferred to the office of Magisterial District Judge David J. Rossi, Tremont.
State law allows the refiling of such charges even without new evidence.
On May 1, 2014, Barton waived his right to another preliminary hearing and Rossi bound over all four charges for the county court.
“It’s over a year old” and should not be delayed any longer, Baldwin said of the case.
Defendant: James A. “Jamie” Barton
Age: 50
Residence: Orwigsburg
Charges: Driving under the influence, disregarding traffic lanes, failure to drive at a safe speed and careless driving