DUI/OVI laws and cases

December 13, 2015

Ohio DUI/OVI Marijuana Law Upheld After Half-Baked Attack

An appellate case decided earlier this month illustrates how not to attack the constitutionality of a law. In the case of State v. Topolosky, the Tenth District Court of Appeals upheld Ohio’s DUI/OVI marijuana law. Coincidentally, just before the case was published, I wrote about this topic in this blog, and I spoke about this topic at two seminars. The defendant in Topolosky did essentially the opposite of what I suggested in the blog and presentations. The defendant used an argument destined to fail…with bad timing…without an expert witness.

November 21, 2015

Court Clarifies Confusion In Ohio Felony DUI/OVI Sentencing

by Shawn Dominy

Interpreting Ohio’s DUI/OVI sentencing law can be complicated. The sentencing statutes take up many pages in the Ohio Revised Code (O.R.C.), and appellate courts have issued many decisions interpreting those statutes. One issue which has led to confusion is how a court is supposed to sentence a defendant convicted of felony OVI and a ‘repeat offender specification’. This issue is complicated enough that different appellate courts in different districts of Ohio have reached different conclusions. The Ohio Supreme Court recently acknowledged the conflict among the appellate courts and issued a decision which resolves the conflict and establishes one rule for the entire state.

September 26, 2015

What Happens When An Ohio Driver Gets A DUI In Another State?

by Shawn Dominy

I’m traveling to another state for a seminar next week. It just so happens the state is Nevada, and the seminar is in Las Vegas. For me, there is no risk of being convicted of DUI in Nevada because the trip is all about education! Sometimes, however, an Ohio driver comes home with the unwanted souvenir of an out-of-state DUI conviction. When it comes to DUI, what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas: there are consequences in Ohio for a DUI conviction in another state.

September 5, 2015

Miranda And Ohio DUI/OVI Cases: To Remain Silent, You Must Talk

by Shawn Dominy

One of the most frequently asked questions for criminal defense attorneys is about the impact of Miranda warnings. A previous article in this blog explained the holding of the Miranda case. After the publication of that article, the United States Supreme Court decided a Miranda-related case which affects investigations in Ohio DUI/OVI cases.

August 29, 2015

Failure To Provide Evidence Impacts Ohio DUI/OVI Cases

by Shawn Dominy

DUI/OVI cases are litigated within a framework of rules. Some of those rules regulate the exchange of evidence between the prosecution and the defense. That exchange of evidence is the ‘discovery’ process. The rules for discovery are found in state and federal law, and the intricacies of the rules are fleshed-out in court decisions interpreting the rules. A prosecutorial violation of the discovery rules may significantly impact a DUI/OVI case.

August 8, 2015

Drink Driving In Scotland Compared To DUI / OVI In Ohio

by Shawn Dominy

My rental car, brilliantly parked outside our B&B in Portree on the Scottish Isle Of Skye.

I thought they were all drunk: they were driving on the wrong side of the road. But they weren’t drunk, they were just driving in Scotland. And so was I. I drove on the left, sat on the right, and shifted with my left on the endless roundabouts and turns. I navigated all the sheep, stone walls, and cliffs as I drove from the English countryside to the Scottish highlands, so I consider my recent holiday a driving success. The trip prompted me to compare the drunk driving laws of Ohio to the ‘drink driving’ laws of Scotland.

June 27, 2015

Stop For Minor Offense Outside Officer’s Jurisdiction Is Unlawful

by Shawn Dominy

Suppose you are driving around Columbus on I-270 and an officer pulls you over for speeding. The officer gets out of his cruiser and walks up to your car. When the officer reaches your window, you see on his uniform he is from the Cincinnati Police Department. ‘That’s odd’, you think, ‘why is an officer from Cincinnati making a traffic stop in Columbus?’ Good question. A better question is this: does that traffic stop violate your Constitutional rights?

May 2, 2015

Supreme Court Addresses Use Of Drug Dogs At Traffic Stops

by Shawn Dominy

This is no police drug dog, it’s my dog Rex. He could be a police dog…if he weren’t so spoiled.

If a police officer stops you for a minor traffic violation, how long should the officer be permitted to detain you? Suppose the officer issues you a ticket or a warning for the minor traffic violation and then says he wants you to wait while he has a drug dog sniff your car? What do you say? If you say no, can the officer do it anyway?

April 18, 2015

Is Drunk Driver Responsible For Killing Drunk Man Lying In Road?

by Shawn Dominy

Steven Anderson was drunk when he passed out on a rural highway. He was wearing dark clothing and went to sleep on the dark road around 1:00 am. There were no street lights in the area, and he was lying where there is a bend in the road. Darryl Saunders was drunk when he came driving around that bend. When he finally saw Anderson lying in the road, Saunders swerved to avoid him, but it was too late. He ran over Anderson, and Anderson died. Saunders’ blood alcohol concentration was tested at .150. Is Saunders criminally responsible for killing Anderson?

April 10, 2015

Blood Tests Thrown Out In Ohio DUI/OVI Cases When Law Enforcement Fails To Follow Rules

by Shawn Dominy

Sometimes rules are not made to be broken. When it comes to cases of alleged driving under the influence, there are rules for drivers, and there are rules for the government. When a driver breaks the rules, there are consequences. There are also consequences when the government breaks the rules. When the broken rules relate to blood tests, the blood tests cannot be used as evidence.