Commonwealth v. Hoover, 16 A.3d 1148

Hoover was convicted of two DUI counts and related offenses after trial.
Hoover sought to present character witnesses about his law-abiding reputation.
The trial court denied Hoover's motion in limine pretrial to bar cross-examination about his prior DUI arrest and ARD participation.
As a result, Hoover chose not to present the character witnesses at trial.
Commonwealth cross-examined Hoover about his prior DUI arrest and ARD participation during trial, and the jury heard related testimony.
The Superior Court concluded the trial court abused its discretion and vacated Hoover's sentence, remanding for proceedings consistent with the ruling.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether cross-examination about prior DUI arrest and ARD is admissible	Commonwealth argues such cross-examination tests credibility of witnesses.	Hoover contends ARD is not a conviction and cannot be used to impeach credibility.	Abuse of discretion; ARD not a conviction for impeachment

Commonwealth v. Morgan, 559 Pa. 248, 739 A.2d 1033 (Pa. 1999) (permits cross-examining character witnesses about specific conduct and convictions only)
Commonwealth v. Scott, 496 Pa. 188, 436 A.2d 607 (Pa. 1981) (limits on cross-examining about arrests not leading to convictions)
Commonwealth v. Brown, 449 Pa. Super. 346, 673 A.2d 975 (Pa. Super. 1996) (ARD participation not a conviction for impeachment)
Commonwealth v. Bowser, 425 Pa. Super. 24, 624 A.2d 125 (Pa. Super. 1993) (earlier grant to impeachment using ARD discussed)