- May 24, 2018 |
- Category: DUI and Courtroom Process
Ohio Courtroom Procedure in DUI Cases Part One : Arraignment
The first stage in the courtroom process of a DUI case is the period of time immediately after the citation is filed with the court. The court will normally have an initial hearing within five days of the DUI incident. Your DUI lawyer will file paperwork with the court informing all interested parties that he is handling your case. In addition, the lawyer will enter a not guilty plea on your behalf, request discovery material from the prosecuting attorney, and ask the court to schedule a pretrial.
In addition, this is the point in the courtroom process when your lawyer will file paperwork appealing the administrative license suspension and requesting driving privileges. In Ohio DUI cases, some of these things must be done at the very beginning of the DUI case or you will lose the ability to do so later. In some jurisdictions, the aforementioned process must be done in person at the courthouse. In other jurisdictions, it is done simply by sending in paperwork to the court. In either event, you DUI lawyer will handle all the paperwork and let you know if you need to be present at court.
Ohio Courtroom Procedure in DUI Cases Part Two : Pretrial
The second hearing in an Ohio DUI case is generally a pretrial. The pretrial is typically held approximately thirty days after the DUI incident. The pretrial is an excellent opportunity for the defense attorney and prosecutor to meet to discuss the case. In an ideal situation, the defense attorney will contact the prosecutor before the pretrial to begin a dialogue. However, many municipal court prosecutors are extremely busy and they don’t have adequate time to engage until the pretrial date. In either scenario, the DUI defense lawyer is trying to present favorable information to the prosecuting attorney in an effort to persuade the prosecutor to dismiss the case.
Also at the pretrial, if not before, the prosecutor will provide defense counsel with discovery material in the case. Discovery material will generally include a citation, BMV 2255 form-notice of administrative license suspension, police reports, police narratives, witness statements, standardized field sobriety testing reports, breath, blood and urine testing reports, pictures, automobile inventory reports, the defendant’s lifetime driving record and a defendant’s criminal record, if any. In addition, virtually all police agencies in Ohio utilize recording devices on their police cars that record most of the DUI incident, investigation and arrest. This is probably the most crucial piece of evidence in any Ohio DUI case. If a video exists, the prosecutor is required to provide a copy to defense counsel upon request. The discovery process is crucial from a defense perspective because it illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of the prosecutor’s case. Utilized properly, it is the basis from which defense counsel can potentially convince the prosecutor to dismiss the DUI charges.
Ohio Courtroom Procedure in DUI Cases Part Three : Motion Suppress
If the defense attorney can’t convince the prosecutor to dismiss the DUI charges against his client at the pretrial, the attorney will often file a motion to suppress. In filing this type of motion, defense counsel is trying to get some of the prosecutor’s evidence thrown out by applying scrutiny to the way it was collected. For example, sometimes police officers stop drivers without a valid reason. If that happens, the court should be willing to dismiss any evidence the police obtained after they committed the illegal stop. This is an obvious and blatant example, however, there are many other situations where a good DUI lawyer can obtain similar relief. A DUI lawyer experienced with motion hearings will likely file a motion to suppress challenging many things in a DUI case. Some of the items to challenge would be the reason for the traffic stop, the reason the officer ordered a driver out of the car to take field sobriety testing, the manner in which the officer administered field sobriety testing, whether the officer had probable cause to arrest a DUI suspect, whether the chemical test (blood, breath or urine) was administered in accordance with Ohio Department of Health regulations, and much more. A motion to suppress is a vital component of a good DUI defense strategy. Sometimes a motion to suppress can be effective in getting an entire case dismissed or a portion of the evidence thrown out. Even if that doesn’t occur, a motion hearing may also be a good opportunity to prepare the case for trial by narrowing down issues, locking in officer testimony and getting a feel for the state’s witnesses.
Ohio Courtroom Procedure in DUI Cases Part Four : Trial
A trial is the culmination of months, even a year, of work by a good DUI defense lawyer. The trial takes place in open court and could be a jury trial or a bench trial. If it’s a jury trial, the jury will decide the defendant’s guilt or Innocence. If it’s a bench trial, the judge will make that decision. A DUI defendant gets to make the decision on whether to utilize a bench trial or a jury trial and the decision should be made in consultation with his defense attorney.
At a DUI trial in Ohio, a DUI suspect enjoys certain constitutional rights given to anyone charged with a criminal offense. Those rights include the right to confront all witnesses against him by being present in the court room when they testify. In addition, his defense attorney can cross-examine the witnesses and in doing so try to expose any weaknesses or lies in the witness testimony. The DUI suspect enjoys the right to compulsory process, which means that the defense attorney has the power to issue a subpoena and compel a witness’ attendance at trial. Therefore, if there are witnesses available that could help a defendant’s case, it is crucial to get those witnesses to court. A subpoena gives the defendant the power of court order to force those witnesses to appear, even if they don’t want to. Finally, the DUI suspect enjoys the right to have the choice whether to testify or remain silent throughout trial. A defendant can tell his side of the story at trial or choose not to. If he chooses not to, nobody can force the defendant to testify against his will. These are generally the rights that defendant’s enjoy in the Ohio criminal justice system.
In misdemeanor DUI cases, trials will usually take place approximately five or six months after the DUI incident occurs. The primary components of a trial are: (a) jury selection; (b) opening statements delivered by both attorneys; (c) testimony of state witnesses; (d) cross-examination of each state witness by defense counsel; (e) testimony of defense witnesses; (f) cross-examination of each defense witness by the prosecutor; (g) closing arguments delivered by both lawyers; (h) jury instructions; and (i) after all that has taken place, the jury will deliberate and return a verdict.
These are the basic hearings involved in most DUI cases. Of course, there are many other hearings that could become part of the record in an Ohio DUI case. These might include an ALS appeal hearing, a hearing on a motion in limine, a final pretrial, a hearing on driving privileges, a Daubert hearing to test the scientific reliability of evidence, and in some cases, a sentencing hearing.
If you’re facing a DUI charge in Cincinnati or one of the surrounding areas, it’s important to utilize the counsel of a good DUI lawyer. There are over a million laws in the United States and thousands in the state of Ohio alone. I am a top DUI lawyer who focuses his entire practice on just one. Because of my considerable experience and concentrated practice, I understand the Ohio DUI laws better than most attorneys in the state. I am passionate about DUI defense and I get results. If you have a Cincinnati DUI case and want a top DUI lawyer on your team, please give me a call.
