OVI Overview

While Annie's Law may have changed some the sentencing requirements upon conviction of OVI, those changes still require a conviction. But how does an officer work towards obtaining evidence for a conviction?

From the moment an officer suspects you are driving impaired he is attempting to collect evidence against you. An officer may believe you to be impaired when he first notices your vehicle based on your driving (weaving, fluctuations in speed, etc) or during a traffic stop for other purposes (you're driving at 1AM on a Saturday with a license plate light out).

Your driving, your speech, the odor of your breath and clothes, and your ability to provide your driver’s license are all factors the officer will consider when determining whether or to ask you to submit to Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs).  After determining you are impaired based upon the FSTs, the officer will place you under arrest and transport you to a police station. At the station the officer will ask you to submit to another test – usually a breath test.

To blow or not to blow? Put simply, without a scientific test to prove your impairment the State has a harder time convicting you (though a jury can still find a person guilty based upon the FSTs). But there can be additional consequences if you don't blow - increases in driver's license suspension times and there may be professional ramifications for those with professional licenses, CDLs, etc. Additionally, some courts do not generally grant limited driving privileges during the pre-trial phase of the case if there is a refusal on a breath or other chemical test.

But just because the officer says you failed the FSTs or that you have a test result that indicates you over the legal limit, it does not mean you were impaired and guilty. Minor deviations in the FSTs can effect the results the officer observes and breath-testing machines and the officers that operate them have stringent guidelines that must be followed.

What surprises most people that take standardized field sobriety tests and a breath test (or other chemical test like urine or blood) is that they are charged with two OVI offenses. 

Ohio’s OVI laws are extremely specific and technical and it takes trained OVI attorneys to protect your rights. If you, or someone you know, has been charged with an OVI, you must obtain counsel to protect your rights. The Nicodemus Law Office will fully investigate your OVI charge and will protect your rights if you have been charged with an OVI. Call 740-422-9280 or complete the CONTACT FORM to schedule your consultation.