Ohio DUI / OVI Blog

The Ohio Court of Appeals recently vacated a portion of a sentence after it was determined the trial court judge failed to inform Defendant of the penalties at a sentencing hearing. In Perrysburg v. Wells, 2019-Ohio-4620, Defendant was originally charged with OVI, but the case was amended to a lesser charge by the prosecutor. Defendant […]

The Tenth District Ohio Court of Appeals in Columbus recently upheld a Franklin County Municipal Court judge’s decision throwing out an OVI case. The Court ruled the officer was not credible during his testimony when he explained why he arrested Defendant for Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence (OVI). The Court found that video evidence […]

Generally, a roommate can give police permission to search the areas of a home or apartment that he or she has control over. This means a person can give police authority to search the bedroom and any common space that he or she occupies. United States v. Matlock, 415 U.S. 164, 171 (1974). OHIO COURT […]

While on patrol, police officers are on the look out for a variety of traffic violations that can lead to a traffic stop. Forgetting to use a turn signal, running a red light, and speeding are some of the most frequent traffic violations that lead to traffic stops and tickets. But what about driving too […]

Written by Anthony Iori, Riddell Law Associate The Ohio Court of Appeals upheld a motion to suppress evidence when it determined officers incorrectly applied Ohio’s turn signal law to stop a driver and then arrest him for operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol (OVI). The Court stated an officer cannot conduct a traffic stop […]

The City of Columbus is introducing a diversion program for people charged with theft offense from larger stores such as Kroger and Walmart. The goal of the new program will be to treat the underlying cause of the theft charge, such as drug or alcohol dependency, to prevent future thefts from taking place. Zach Klein, […]

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 […]