Hello everyone, sorry for the delay. Things have been really really hectic, which is good, but stressful. I am so blessed that this law firm is growing incredibly rapidly but yikes, it’s hard to keep up sometimes.
At any rate, here I am and I figured today would be a good day to talk about DUI. Criminal defense attorneys love this time of year for two main reasons: Browns tailgating, and Christmas Ale. Need I say more?
DUI has a lot of divisions:
High tier vs low tier. Low tier is .08-.169. Anything above .17 is high tier, and hence higher penalties. Even on a first DUI, if you are a high tier, you have doubled your penalties.
Refusal of breath test vs not refusing. Refusing increases your penalties because Ohio has something called implied consent meaning that all drivers are implied to have consented to breath testing (and blood testing, etc) since as a matter of policy, we don’t want a bunch of drunks on the roads.
1st DUI vs. Subsequent. You really start to get into some strict penalties here. With a second DUI, you are looking at at least a couple days of jail time. Your ALS (Administrative License Suspension) through the BMV is also going to be longer. And you are going to have to wait longer to apply for driving privileges.
Here is where it gets interesting and you can build fun scenarios (or maybe I’m the only one that enjoys that game). Start to mix and match. Second DUI, high tier test, with a prior refusal. Oh boy.
For the record, I’m not going to get into the whole, “Should I do the tests, Should I blow thing” and also for the record, if you ever see me out, don’t come up to me in the bar and ask me that when you are hammered. There are arguments for blowing, not blowing, doing field sobriety and not doing field sobriety. If there was one right answer, then so many people would not continue to be getting slammed with DUI’s and the penalties that come with. It depends on the person, and their circumstances and many time it depends on just what I have been talking about: Do you have a prior DUI, prior refusal, do you know for sure you are going to blow way over and get the high tier?
So it ends up being what it always is: KNOW A GOOD CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY.
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