DUI/OVI license suspensions

December 7, 2013

Is Ohio’s Implied Consent Law For DUI/OVI Unconstitutional?

Blood draw.jpg

A recent vehicular homicide case in Wisconsin triggers the question of whether Ohio’s implied consent law is constitutional. In that case, a former Lutheran bishop is accused of what Ohio calls Aggravated Vehicular Homicide; causing the death of another person by operating a vehicle under the influence. The bishop was told that he would lose his license if he did not consent to a blood test, so he submitted to the test. His attorney argued that the threat of a license suspension amounts to coercion, and that makes the implied consent law unconstitutional. In Ohio, this issue has been decided.

November 23, 2013

Driver’s License Suspended For Inability To Urinate On Cue

by Shawn Dominy

Imagine that you are arrested for DUI (called OVI in Ohio), and the officer takes you to a police station to take a urine test. You want to comply, because you’re sure the test will prove you are under the legal limit, but you don’t need to go. In fact, you can’t go. You drink a bunch of water and wait a while, but you still can’t go. The officer then says you refused the urine test, so your driver’s license is suspended for one year.

November 13, 2011

Blood Test Thrown Out In Ohio OVI Case Because Defendant’s Consent Was Invalid

by Shawn Dominy

Occasionally, evidence in Ohio O.V.I. (D.U.I.) cases comes from a blood sample taken at a hospital. When the blood sample is obtained in a hospital setting, issues arise regarding the admissibility of the blood test. One issue is whether the suspect’s consent to giving the blood sample is valid. For the second time in a year, a court of appeals has concluded that a defendant’s consent to a blood draw was not valid because it was not made knowingly and voluntarily.

October 9, 2010

Ohio Administrative License Suspension Requires Arrest

by Shawn Dominy

R.W. lay in the hospital bed waiting for his injuries to be treated. A police officer came in the room and said she wanted to talk with him about the accident. The officer read to him the B.M.V. 2255 form regarding the consequences of taking and refusing the blood test. She asked him to submit to a blood test, and he refused. The officer wrote him a ticket for O.V.I. (D.U.I.) and imposed a one-year Administrative License Suspension (A.L.S.); the consequence for refusing the blood test.