DUI arrests happen every day and they can happen to anyone. OVI cases are some of the most complex cases in our criminal justice system, with a potential for a lifetime of consequences if not defended correctly. Many lawyers handle DUI cases, but few have the reputation, knowledge, and experience to properly defend a case.
Who We Are
McCarthy Lebit’s OVI defense attorneys have a hard-earned reputation of preparing every case as if it is going to trial. To negotiate and win an OVI case requires more than negotiation skills, it requires the attorney to fully analyze every facet of the case to point out the weaknesses of the State’s case.
Our successful litigation of countless OVI cases in Ohio has earned the respect of prosecutors and judges throughout the state. Supported by our documented history of our success, our evaluation of OVI cases often carries significant weight with prosecutors – a critical component in negotiating favorable resolutions for our clients.
How We Help
Many potential defenses can be raised in an OVI case. McCarthy Lebit’s attorneys will challenge the procedures taken during the traffic stop, such as the following:
- Improper Administration of Chemical or Field Sobriety Tests
- Inaccurate Breath Test Reading
- Blood Test Administration Issues
- Lack of Probable Cause or Reasonable Suspicion During Stop
- Absence of Proper Miranda Warnings Before a Custodial Interrogation
- Improper Plan or Execution of Sobriety Checkpoints
If you are arrested for OVI, your driver’s license will be suspended if you refuse a test or test at or over the legal limit. That suspension is called an Administrative License Suspension (ALS). The length of the ALS depends on the number of OVI convictions you have had or the number of times you refused to submit to a chemical test in the past six years. The more OVI convictions or test refusals in the past six years, the longer the period of the ALS and the longer the waiting period for limited driving privileges during the ALS.
There are several different ways that you can be charged with OVI:
- Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them without failing or refusing a chemical test.
- Operating a vehicle at or over the legal limit in Ohio (0.08%). This means that at the time of operation, you are accused of having a concentration of alcohol, certain controlled substances, or metabolites of certain controlled substances, in your blood, breath, or urine.
- Operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them and refusing to submit to a chemical test when you have had one or more OVIs within the past 20 years.
- If you are under 21 years old, you can be charged with Operating a vehicle under the age of consumption. This means that at the time of operation, you are accused of having a concentration of alcohol in your blood, breath, or urine which is at or over the under 21 legal limit in Ohio (0.02%).
There are many laws concerning the punishment that results if you are convicted of OVI and some penalties are more severe if you have prior OVI convictions. Types of punishment, include:
- Mandatory minimum jail sentence of three days (many courts permit a 72-hour driver intervention program in lieu of jail) up to a maximum of six months in jail,
- Mandatory fine, and
- Mandatory license suspension.
Who We Represent
McCarthy Lebit’s criminal defense attorneys represent individuals charged with various types of traffic offenses, including OVI, speeding, weaving, failure to control, stop-sign, and traffic control signal violations. Most traffic violations fall into one of the four following categories: moving violations, license violations, equipment violations, and vehicle registration violations.
For most convictions for moving violations and license violations, two points are assessed against your license. For speeding offenses, zero, two, or four points will be assessed depending on how many miles over the limit you were driving. Reckless driving is a four-point offense. The most serious traffic violations, like OVI, operating under an OVI or a 12-point suspension, fleeing and eluding, drag racing, and some types of “hit-skip” offenses result in six points being assessed.