Wilmington DUI Lawyer: Counseling Clients on Penalties for DUI conviction
If a person pleads guilty to a drinking and driving charge in Clinton County Municipal Court, with or without a Wilmington DUI lawyer, they face the following potential penalties: (a) mandatory jail time; (b) mandatory fines; (c) substance abuse counseling at a Wilmington DUI treatment center or a Weekend Intervention Program (DIP); (d) mandatory license suspension; (e) probation with the Clinton County Municipal Court; and (f) the possible imposition of DUI license plates and an ignition interlock device to be used if the Clinton County Municipal Court grants the DUI suspect driving privileges during their suspension. While top Wilmington DUI lawyers can often prevent their clients from going to jail on a first offense, the better route is to keep a DUI conviction off the client’s record altogether. Thus, experienced Wilmington DUI lawyers generally try to get the DUI charge dismissed or reduced to a lower level traffic offense like physical control or reckless operation.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer: Counseling Clients on Long-Term Collateral Consequences
DUI Defendants who are convicted of a DUI in Wilmington will face a number of collateral consequences, in addition to the sentence imposed by the Clinton County Municipal Court. They are considered collateral consequences because they are not imposed by the court, at least not directly, and the court isn’t required to inform the DUI defendant of these potential penalties. That being said, a Wilmington DUI lawyer can explain many of the collateral consequences of a DUI conviction and the impact they can have on a person’s life. For example, most misdemeanor convictions in Ohio, and many felonies, can be sealed and expunged. However, drinking and driving convictions cannot. That means a Wilmington DUI conviction will stay on a person’s criminal and traffic record forever. Period. An experienced Wilmington DUI lawyer understands this issue and tries to get DUI charges dismissed or reduced to a lower-level traffic offense.
In addition, it’s not uncommon for employers to do background checks on potential employees. If they find a criminal conviction, they may deny the applicant employment. This is one of the reasons that the primary goal for a good Wilmington DUI lawyer is to get the DUI dismissed or reduced. Yet one more example of a collateral consequence associated with a Wilmington DUI conviction is increased cost of automobile insurance. While every insurance company is different, they will often raise a driver’s insurance rates for a Wilmington DUI conviction. The insurance company can also cancel the insurance policy and require the driver to post a bond to obtain a new policy. An experienced Wilmington DUI lawyer can help to prevent these types of consequences or at least educate their clients so that it’s not a complete surprise when it occurs.
An additional collateral consequence of a Wilmington DUI conviction is the six points that the Ohio BMV assesses on the driver’s record. Six additional points may trigger a license suspension, separate and apart from the Wilmington DUI suspension. Fortunately, most Wilmington DUI lawyer knows that a reduced charge of physical control brings no points and no additional suspension. Finally, some DUI defendants believe if they are convicted in their first DUI case, they deserve a break on their second, if that unfortunate event ever occurs. Unfortunately, top Wilmington DUI lawyer will explain the opposite is more likely true. The courts impose much more serious consequences for a second or third DUI, when compared to a first. The tougher penalties include a longer jail sentence up to six months, higher mandatory fines and longer mandatory driver license suspensions. Contact a top Wilmington DUI lawyer if you’re facing a second or third DUI charge to get more details.
If a person pleads guilty to second Clinton County Municipal Court DUI in six years, with or without a Wilmington DUI lawyer, they face extremely serious consequences: (a) mandatory ten days in the Clinton County Jail, up to six months; (b) a mandatory fine of $525, plus other costs, up to $1625; (c) mandatory drug and alcohol treatment at a Wilmington DUI treatment facility that may include in-patient treatment; and (d) mandatory driver license suspension of one year, up to a maximum of five years. While top Wilmington DUI lawyers can often keep their clients from going to jail on a first DUI, it’s extremely challenging to do so on a second.
There is yet another collateral consequence for Wilmington College students who are charged with DUI because of Wilmington College’s code of student conduct. Wilmington College has the power to bring a disciplinary complaint against Wilmington students charged with drinking and driving by charging them with a violation of the code of student conduct. Potential penalties can include probation, suspension and even expulsion. This is yet another reason why Wilmington College students charged with drinking and driving are best served by speaking with a top Wilmington DUI Lawyer before they go to their first court appearance in Clinton County Municipal Court.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer: Counseling Wilmington DUI clients on a Towed Car
Most Wilmington DUI cases start out with the police arresting a DUI suspect and towing their car. Wilmington DUI lawyers can tell you that when a Wilmington police officer or Clinton County Sheriff deputy arrests an individual at the side of the road and take him back to the police station or county jail, the DUI suspect’s car is usually left at the point of the initial traffic stop. Typically, the Wilmington police officer will contact a tow company to tow a DUI suspect’s car to a tow yard or impound lot. The Wilmington DUI suspect is then charged $100-$150 for the tow and a daily storage fee as well. If it’s not apparent by the phrase, daily storage fees accumulate with the passage of time. Experienced Wilmington DUI lawyers will tell you stories of DUI clients who have gone to pick up their car and handed a bill for many hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
As a result, one of the first questions an experienced Wilmington DUI lawyer will ask you is whether you’ve retrieved your car from the tow lot. If not, it’s important to immediately contact the tow company to do so. In some Wilmington DUI cases, the tow company won’t let you get your vehicle until the court “releases” it. In such a case, a Wilmington DUI lawyer can file a motion to release the DUI suspect’s vehicle. If this is the DUI suspect’s second Wilmington DUI, the Wilmington Police Department or Clinton County Sheriff’s Department may place an immobilization order on the vehicle. Ohio law requires the vehicle to be immobilized for ninety days on a second Wilmington DUI charge. However, an experienced Wilmington DUI lawyer will try to convince the Clinton County Municipal Court to release the vehicle so that it can be stored at the DUI suspect’s home during the immobilization period. Wilmington DUI lawyers know that this is a good way to avoid the daily storage fees related to immobilization a DUI suspect’s vehicle.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer: Counseling Wilmington DUI clients on Suspensions
When initially talking with new clients, Wilmington DUI lawyers usually have a lot of questions about the DUI suspect’s driver license. Hence, the client’s license is usually another of the most important topics to discuss with a Wilmington DUI lawyers in any new Clinton County DUI case. In most Wilmington DUI cases, the Wilmington police officer or Clinton County Sheriff deputy assesses a DUI administrative license suspension on the driver. Why does this occur? Ohio law requires Wilmington police officers to impose a one-year DUI administrative license suspension if the DUI suspect refuses to take a breath test. Ohio law further requires the officer to impose a ninety-day DUI administrative license suspension if the Wilmington DUI suspect takes the test and blows above the legal limit. In either case, most Wilmington DUI clients want their license back as soon as the law allows. Top Wilmington DUI lawyers have a number of strategies available to try to make this happen.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer: Counseling Wilmington DUI clients on ALS Appeal
The first thing an experienced Wilmington DUI lawyer will explore is an appeal of the DUI administrative license suspension. Ohio law sets forth very specific, but limited, reasons that a Wilmington DUI lawyer can appeal the ALS. Among them are: (a) Whether the Wilmington Police officer or Greene County Sheriff Deputy had reasonable grounds to believe the Wilmington DUI suspect was drinking and driving; (b) Whether the Wilmington DUI suspect was placed under arrest; (c) Whether the Wilmington police officer or Greene County Sheriff Deputy requested the Wilmington DUI suspect to submit to a blood, breath or urine test; (d) Whether the Wilmington DUI suspect was read the informed consent information, including the consequences of a refusing or failing the test; and (e) Whether the Wilmington DUI suspect refused the test or failed the test. While these are the only permissible grounds for appeal, top Wilmington DUI lawyers can appeal on other grounds as well by framing their argument into one of the five categories above.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer: Counseling Wilmington DUI clients on Stay of ALS
Wilmington DUI lawyers can fight a Wilmington DUI administrative license suspension by filing a motion to stay the administrative license suspension. A motion to stay an ALS is something that a Wilmington DUI lawyer may file along with an ALS appeal and other motions applicable to the ALS. If the Clinton County Municipal Court grants the request to stay the suspension, the DUI suspect will have his driving privileges restored immediately. However, if the Clinton County Municipal Court denies the stay, the DUI suspect will have to wait until his full appeal is heard or the court grants limited driving privileges for work, school, and other major events allowed by law. For a refusal, the waiting period is thirty days and for a high test, the waiting period is fifteen days.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer: Counseling Wilmington DUI clients Driving Privileges
When a Wilmington police officer or Clinton County Sheriff deputy issues a DUI ALS, a Wilmington DUI lawyer cannot immediately file for driving privileges for his client. That’s because the Ohio DUI law includes what Wilmington DUI lawyers refer to as a “hard suspension.” The hard suspension period of an ALS is the part of the suspension when the DUI suspect cannot drive at all. Period. For example, an experienced Wilmington DUI lawyer will generally counsel his DUI clients that a breath test refusal includes a thirty-day hard suspension. For clients who tested above the legal limit, the hard suspension is cut in half to fifteen days. During the hard suspension, the Wilmington DUI suspect simply cannot drive for any reason whatsoever. After the period of hard suspension terminates, the Wilmington DUI lawyer will file a motion for driving privileges. Earlier if possible. The Clinton County Municipal Court, like most Ohio courts, requires proof of employment and proof of automobile insurance.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer: Counseling Wilmington DUI clients on Renewing License
When a Wilmington DUI lawyer is retained by a new client with a DUI pending in Clinton County Municipal Court, one of the questions that the lawyer should ask is when does the client’s license expire? It’s important to figure this out at the very beginning of the case because if an Ohio driver allows his license to expire, he is required to start over as if he never had a license before. That means going through the driving test and paying applicable fees to do so. Normally one would simply look at their license to figure out when it is scheduled to expire. However, when Wilmington DUI suspects are charged with drinking and driving, the police officer or sheriff deputy almost always confiscates the person’s license. Top Wilmington DUI lawyers can contact the BMV to figure out when their client’s license will expire. The Wilmington DUI lawyer can then determine whether the license is going to expire during the ALS. If so, a good Wilmington DUI lawyer will file a motion with the Clinton County Municipal Court that allows the driver to renew their license during the ALS suspension. Client find this helpful because the BMV will not permit a suspended driver to renew their driver’s license without an order from the court.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer: Counseling Wilmington DUI clients Temporary ID
Another topic that most experienced Wilmington DUI lawyers will discuss with their clients is the necessity for getting a new picture identification. When a Wilmington police officer or Clinton County Sheriff deputy charges a suspect with DUI in Wilmington, they generally impose an administrative license suspension (ALS) along with it. When that occurs, the DUI suspect’s driver license is typically confiscated and they are left without a valid form of picture identification. This can be an issue for virtually any client because of the basic need for picture identification. For example, going to the airport typically requires some type of government-issued identification like a passport or driver license.
In addition, federal courthouses, state schools and many private-sector businesses require picture identification to go on the premises or engage in certain business activities. An experienced Wilmington DUI lawyer will instruct new DUI clients to go to their local licensing agency and get a temporary identification card. However, it’s important that they specify they want a temporary identification because other types of ID—like an Ohio identification card—will cancel your driver license. Experienced Wilmington DUI lawyers understand that a DUI suspect who gets the wrong form of picture ID will face some problems driving privileges from the Clinton County Municipal Court. Again, a temporary identification card will give you a picture ID without causing you any collateral problems.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer Reviews
Jeremiah Denslow, Wilmington DUI Lawyer Review: “Jeremiah is the go to DUI defense attorney anywhere near Dayton, Cincinnati, or Columbus. If you want results, he’s the guy you should call first.”
Wilmington DUI Lawyer Review: “I’ve seen Jeremiah work and I know why he gets results. He’s intelligent, focused and devoted to his clients. Jeremiah is my top recommendation for a DUI defense lawyer anywhere in the Cincinnati or Dayton area.
Wilmington DUI Lawyer Review: “….There’s no doubt in my mind, he will continue to obtain successful results for his clients in the future. If you need a DUI lawyer in Cincinnati or Columbus, I highly recommend Jeremiah.”
Wilmington DUI Lawyer Review: “…a very gifted attorney. He’s reliable and extremely smart.”
Wilmington DUI Lawyer Review: “Jeremiah is a one of a kind attorney. I’d highly recommend him. He has a reputation for helping college students on alcohol related charges. He’s compassionate, educated, and he gets results.”
Wilmington DUI Lawyer Review: “Jeremiah is experienced, smart and a top attorney in the courtroom. A couple of my college buddies hired him for DUIs and other alcohol-related charges. He got most of the charges dismissed.”
