.117 OVI / DUI Breath Test Reduced to Physical Control

One recent evening, two Columbus Police Department officers were dispatched on a report of a male asleep in his vehicle on a downtown street. The officers arrived and found the vehicle stopped at an angle, head in and blocking the curb lane. The keys were in the ignition.

The officers woke up the driver, who was completely disoriented. He was unable to get out his vehicle with ease, was unaware of the time or his location. One of the officers began administering the roadside field sobriety tests. After completing the field sobriety tests, the young man was arrested and charged with a first offense OVI / DUI.

He was then transported to the Columbus Police Department and asked to submit to a breath test. He agreed. The .117 result was above the .08 Ohio legal limit. As a result, the young man was charged with an additional OVI / DUI breath test violation. He was placed under a 90-day administrative license suspension. His case was then scheduled for arraignment in Franklin County Municipal Court.

Initially, this seemed to be pretty hopeless situation for the young man, who really needed to try and avoid the OVI / DUI breath test conviction on his record for career advancement. After reaching out to attorney Ben Luftman, the Columbus Criminal Defense team was hired to represent our client and try to make the best out of a bad situation.

Initially, we were able to get our client limited driving privileges. The driving privileges allowed our client to keep his job. Thereafter, attorneys with LHA represented our client and the OVI / DUI breath test case went through the court process. While set for a suppression hearing, the prosecutor offered to dismiss the OVI / DUI breath test charge and reduce the remaining OVI / DUI impaired charge to a physical control violation. The physical control violation is a 0 point, non-moving offense. Our client was more than happy to resolve his case and keep the OVI / DUI charges off his record.

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