- April 10, 2018 |
- Category: DUI and Courtroom Process
In 2017, I represented a client who was facing a DUI case in a suburban Cincinnati court. My client was facing two counts of DUI, one for driving while impaired and the second for driving with a blood alcohol content of .161. She was also facing a marked lanes violation and an administrative license suspension for the high breath test. From a defense perspective, the facts were fairly challenging and showed that a good Samaritan had contacted the police to report her for suspicion of drunk driving. When the police arrived, they pulled her over, put her though standard field sobriety testing and arrested her. They took her to the OSHP where she submitted a breath sample just over twice the legal limit in Ohio.
When I initially spoke to the client, she was worried about the impact that a DUI conviction would have on her future. She has an educator’s license with the Ohio Department of Education and a conviction could mean dire consequences for her license. In addition, she currently works as a teacher in Cincinnati and an Ohio DUI conviction could put her employment in jeopardy.
Fortunately, there were some flaws in the government’s case against my client, and we were able to utilize those weaknesses to get a favorable offer from the prosecutor on the case. We worked out a deal to dismiss both of the DUI charges as well as the marked lanes violation. In exchange, my client plead guilty to Reckless Operation, a low-level misdemeanor traffic violation. Because it was a “wet reckless,” the court had wide latitude when it came to sentencing. In this particular case, the court was kind enough to give my client a very reasonable sentence that did not include jail time or probation.
This was my client’s first time being charged with DUI and she had an excellent driving record. Further, she was educated and worked in one of the world’s most admirable professions, education. Thus, the prosecuting attorney agreed that she deserved a break. Needless to say, my client was thrilled with the results of the case, but she also learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of drinking and driving. For me, it was personally rewarding to be able to help my client and friend through a troubling time.
Every case is different so it’s extremely important to understand that past results are not a guarantee of future success. Government attorneys are reluctant to dismiss/reduce a case with a breath sample as high as this one. However, many DUI investigations include at least a few mistakes made by law enforcement that can lead to a dismissal or reduction of an Ohio DUI charge. A good Ohio DUI lawyer can identify the mistakes and leverage them to get the charges dismissed or reduced to a lower level traffic offense. If you want an experienced Ohio DUI lawyer who focuses his entire practice on Ohio DUI defense, consider calling me for a free consultation.
