Recent Posts in DUI Category

What is the Difference Between a DUI, DWI and OVI in Ohio?

In the state of Ohio, there are certain charges a person can receive if they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Generally, these are distinguished by the acronyms DUI, DWI and OVI. It is important to know what these means and the differences between the charges. What is a DUI? A DUI is also known as driving under the influence. It refers to a person being behind the wheel while under the ...

Do Accidents Increase During the Holidays?

The holidays are here with us. As you may have already noticed, more people are traveling on the roads. Statistics for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that the holiday season is the deadliest on the roads. Holidays normally account for the largest number of deaths and injuries due to traffic accidents. For example, statistics show that an average of about 500 people died ...

What to Do and What Not to Do at a DUI Checkpoint and How a Lawyer Can Help You

Getting stopped at a DUI checkpoint can be a frightening and unnerving experience. Such checkpoints are usually set up at night and they are especially common on Friday and Saturday nights. There are some rules of thumb—a few things that you should and should not do—to make your experience at a checkpoint pass without incident. What Are Your Rights at a DUI Checkpoint? Knowing your rights before ...

Ohio Supreme Court Seeks Clarity in DUI Law

Litigation and laws are inherently laced with legalese, or language that is seemingly intentionally geared towards something only a lawyer or a judge could understand. However, sometimes even legal professionals are left questioning what a piece of legislation is saying, or how it is meant to act. Recently, the Ohio Supreme Court had to make a decision to help bring some clarity to the state’s ...

House Bill 469 - Annie's Law

A few months ago, on July 18, we wrote a blog about Ohio House Bill 469—or Annie's Law. To refresh your memory (without the proper process or necessary foundation), Annie's Law was introduced to the Ohio Legislature in early March of 2014. This bill will affect those who are convicted of OVI, specifically alcohol OVI, for the first time. This new law would require first-time OVI offenders, if ...

Open Container & 4th Amendment Car Search

Typically, when law enforcement sees some type of open container of alcohol in someone's vehicle, they can then search the rest of the car—with or without consent—as long as the officer has a reasonable and articulable suspicion that he or she will find something else that is connected to the original offense—here, an open container of alcohol. The Way the Alcohol is Typically Packaged & Used A ...

Update on Implied Consent Laws

Last week, on November 11, 2014, I wrote a blog on implied consent in a few states—including Ohio. However, the other day, a Channel 7 news commercial (out of Detroit) came on the TV and started talking about a "new breathalyzer device that detects marijuana—much like alcohol." Cue the record stopping or screeching sound! A big light bulb went off in my head and I wondered—"what happens when Ohio ...

Ohio Implied Consent Laws & Fourth Amendment Protection

Under ORC 4511.191, the law states that by driving a car on a public road, this person automatically consents to a blood draw or other chemical test to determine the person's intoxication level. In short, as long as the law enforcement officer believes that you are under the influence of intoxicating drugs , he or she can take your blood or test you. Bottom line, if you get pulled over for ...

Pilots and DUI/OVI

Pilots and DUI/OVI Being charged with a normal (vehicular) DUI or OVI can be troublesome, however if you are an airplane pilot and are charged with a DUI or OVI, things can get much worse in a hurry. If you are charged with a pilot's OVI, or an "FUI," you not only get a normal DUI/OVI, but you also have to send mandatory reporting and notifications to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). ...

Navarette v. California- Anonymous Tips and Drunk Driving

You are driving down the road—completely sober—and all of the sudden, you accidently cut off another car. Oooops, sorry about that buddy. You get honked at, and you drive like you did on your driver's exam the rest of the way home—10 and 2 you tell yourself. However, while you are driving home, the car you just cut off is on the phone with the police telling them how you cut them off, and you must ...

Annie's Law-House Bill 469

A new bill, named Annie's Law, was introduced to the Ohio Legislature in early March of 2014. This bill will affect those who are convicted of OVI, specifically alcohol OVI , for the first time. Generally, the old OVI law states, as a consequence of an OVI conviction, that a court can suspend an offender's driver's license. After a specific amount of time under suspension, the offender could then ...

Penalties of Felony OVI-§ 4511.19(A) & (G)

DUI—as it used to be called—laws are on a path of constant change in Ohio. Now days, they are called OVI. OVI simply means— O perating a V ehicle under the I nfluence of drugs or alcohol. However, there is a more severe form of OVI called a Felony OVI. The Ohio Revised Code §4511.19(A) & (G) (Felony OVI) tells us what the penalties are if someone is convicted of more than one OVI, has past ...

Client Facing 3rd OVI Receives Alcohol Treatment Program

Attorney Meranda was retained to represent a client who received her third OVI offense in the past six years. Because the client had two prior OVI offenses on record within such a short period of time, they were facing heightened mandatory penalties. Fortunately, Attorney Meranda was able to work out a plea deal where the high results of a chemical test were dismissed and the client was placed ...

Another OVI DISMISSED, Another Happy client - ORC 4511.19

Client was stopped by Highway Patrol. Trooper alleged that when Defense Attorney's Zachuary Meranda's client drove past his vehicle that he saw the client drive over the center line in his side view mirror. This was allegedly seen with two vehicle traveling in opposite directions at speeds of 50 mph, in the dark. Defense Attorney Zachuary Meranda filed a motion to suppress based on no reasonable ...

Poor Police Work Gets Client a Reckless Operations Plea Deal

Client was stopped for OVI , a misdemeanor of the first degree. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 180 days’ incarceration, a $1,075.00 fine, license suspension, and reinstatement fees. After studying the evidence, defense Attorney Zachuary Meranda was able to point out the holes in the case to the prosecutor and, as a result, helped the defendant secure a Reckless Operation plea offer. The ...