Ohio DUI / OVI Blog

The Tenth District Court of Appeals in Columbus upheld a Franklin County Municipal Court judge’s decision to throw out an OVI arrest where the officer’s testimony about the field sobriety tests was not supported by the dash cam video. Thus, the court held that the officer lacked probable cause to arrest the driver. State v. […]

The U.S. Supreme Court recently found that states can not impose excessive fines in criminal and traffic cases. The Court ruled that the Excessive Fine Clause of the Eight Amendment applies to the states, and punishments deemed to include excessive fines are now unconstitutional. Timbs v. Indiana, 586 U.S. ____ (2019). The Minnesota Court of Appeals, […]

The Ohio Court of Appeals recently overturned an OVI conviction because the officer incorrectly used Ohio’s turn signal law as a reason to stop a driver. State v. Trout, 2019-Ohio-124. The officer testified that he believed he pulled the driver over because he honestly believed the driver committed a traffic violation. However, the law says […]

According to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, more than one million residents of Ohio have their driver’s license suspended. A major hurdle to getting a valid license is paying a reinstatement fee to the Ohio BMV. The reinstatement fee can often be more than one hundred dollars. A new amnesty program in 2019 will […]

CAN I WITHDRAW OR TAKE BACK A GUILTY PLEA? Are you thinking about pleading guilty? Or have you already pleaded guilty and want to know if you can take it back? In Ohio, you can withdraw a guilty plea, but its harder if the case if further along.  Ohio Criminal Rule 32.1 says that a […]

CAN YOU BE CONVICTED OF OVI OR DUI IF YOU REFUSE A BREATHALYZER? When an officer pulls someone over and suspects the driver may be impaired by alcohol, the officer can ask the driver to take a breathalyzer.  Depending on your local court, it may be in your interest to refuse to take the test. […]

DRIVING FOR UBER OR LYFT WITH OVI / DUI OR TRAFFIC CONVICTIONS ON YOUR ON YOUR RECORD Many drivers in Ohio have signed up with companies like Uber and Lyft as a way to earn additional income. The questions we often most often from potential Uber / Lyft drivers are these: Can I drive for […]

POLICE CANNOT DETAIN DRIVER PAST THE TIME TO ISSUE A TRAFFIC TICKET UNLESS THERE IS REASONABLE SUSPICION OF OTHER CRIMINAL ACTIVITY The Ohio Court of Appeals recently held that when an officer stops a driver for a traffic violation, but finds no other evidence of further illegal activity, then the officer may not stop the […]

ONCE FIRE IS EXTINGUISHED, POLICE CANNOT ENTER A HOME TO COLLECT EVIDENCE WITHOUT A WARRANT – EVEN IF FIREFIGHTERS SAW MARIJUANA INSIDE WHILE PUTTING FIRE OUT  The Ohio Court of Appeals recently held that police may not search a house without a warrant unless police show that evidence they believe is in the house is […]