How are sanctions to be imposed for violations of Ohio’s discovery rules? That question was the subject of a recent decision by the Ohio Supreme Court. In a previous post, this blog described the changes to the rules for discovery (exchanging evidence) in Ohio criminal and D.U.I./O.V.I. cases. In a…
For the first time, an appellate court in Central Ohio addressed whether evidence from an Intoxilyzer 8000 is admissible in an O.V.I./D.U.I. trial. The court of appeals ultimately decided that the defendant is prohibited from challenging the general reliability of the Intoxilyzer 8000, so the results of that machine’s breath…
There are rules for blood testing, and they aren’t new. If the prosecution wants to admit a blood test as evidence in an Ohio O.V.I./D.U.I. case, the prosecution has to prove certain procedures were followed for the blood test. A few days ago, an Ohio court of appeals held that…
Those 160 characters could cost you 150 dollars. If you are under 18, driving and texting could also cost you your license. Ohio’s statewide ban on texting while driving became effective yesterday. Ohio revised code section 4511.204, effective August 31, 2012, prohibits driving a motor vehicle ‘while using a handheld…
Ordinarily, this blog discusses issues related to Ohio D.U.I./O.V.I. law, but today I want to tell you about Jason. Jason had good grades, and he expected to get a good job when he graduated from The Ohio State University. His expectations changed when he was arrested at an O.S.U. football…
Kerry Kennedy recently ran her vehicle into a truck and continued driving. She was soon found slumped over the steering wheel, and she was unable to remember what happened, as reported by ABC News. Kennedy said it was possible she accidentally took Ambien that morning rather than a thyroid pill.…
The Confrontation Clause of the United States Constitution has been the subject of a series of modern cases decided by the United States Supreme Court. Last month, the Court issued its latest interpretation of a defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him. The new case, Williams v. Illinois, leads…
After three weeks of trial and nine days of deliberation, the jury found John Edwards Not Guilty on one charge and could not reach a unanimous verdict on the other five charges involving campaign finance fraud. Similar to the O.J. Simpson trial, the verdict and the jurors have been the…
Like so many times before, officers responded to a call about a suspected drunk driver. The officers approached the driver and noticed the driver had the usual indications of intoxication: slurred speech and the odor of alcohol. Like most D.U.I. cases, the driver failed field sobriety tests and a breath…
Every television-watching American knows about Miranda v. Arizona, and most have the following misunderstanding about criminal law (including O.V.I./D.U.I. law): “The officer never issued Miranda warnings; doesn’t that mean they have to dismiss my case?” No. That’s not what it means. Here is what Miranda says: To summarize, we hold…