A 50-year-old gentleman was driving home one evening when spotted by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper committing a marked lanes violation. The trooper approached the driver and asked for his license, registration and proof of insurance. According to the trooper’s report, he immediately detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot. He was then asked to step out of his vehicle and perform the roadside field sobriety tests. The defendant agreed to take the field sobriety tests, but explained to the trooper that he had surgery on both knees. After performing the roadside field sobriety tests, the driver was arrested and charged with first offense OVI / DUI.
The trooper then transported this gentleman to a local post and asked him to take a breath test. The driver agreed and the .137 result was above the .08 Ohio Legal Limit. He was then charged with an additional OVI / DUI per se violation. He was placed under an administrative license suspension and his license was taken. Finally, his case was scheduled for arraignment in Franklin County Municipal Court.
This gentleman was referred to attorney Ben Luftman and the Columbus Criminal Defense team by a local Columbus attorney. After meeting with attorney Luftman, the Columbus Criminal Defense team was hired to represent this gentleman. Attorneys with LHA represented our client. Initially, we were able to obtain a stay of our client’s administrative license suspension. The stay gave our client his full license while his case was pending.
After reviewing all of the reports and discovery on the case, we were able to point out a potentially big legal issue with the state’s case if they decided to go forward. The prosecutor agreed and offered to dismiss the OVI / DUI breath test charge and reduce the remaining OVI / DUI to a lesser reckless operation charge.
The reckless operation is a non-alcohol related traffic offense. Additionally, there was no license suspension imposed. This was very important for our client’s job. There was no probation imposed by the judge. Our client was extremely pleased with this resolution, he only had to pay a small fine to resolve his case and move on with his life.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case. Individual results may vary based on the facts, injuries, jurisdiction, venue, witnesses, parties, and other factors. The results and client testimonials provided are not necessarily representative of the results obtained by all clients or their satisfaction with the firm’s services.
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