Student Avoids 20 Days Mandatory Jail Time on Second Offense OVI / DUI Case

An OSU student was driving one evening recently and was stopped by a London Police Officer for speeding and committing a marked lanes violation. The officer approached the vehicle and asked the young man for his license, registration and proof of insurance. The young man gave him his license and registration. The officer noted his eyes were red and glassy and he appeared to be confused. The officer asked if he had been drinking and the driver admitted to a couple. He was then asked to step out of his vehicle to perform the standardized field sobriety tests. The driver took a long time to get out of the vehicle and had to use his vehicle to maintain balance.

After performing on the field sobriety tests, the driver was arrested. Because he had already been convicted of a first offense OVI / DUI, the driver was charged with a second offense OVI / DUI in six years. He was taken back to the London Police Department and asked to submit to a breath test. He refused. As a result, his car was impounded. He was placed under an administrative license suspension. His second offense OVI / DUI case was then scheduled for arraignment in Madison County Municipal Court.

The young man was very scared. He was facing significant jail time. He researched hiring an OVI / DUI attorney.  After speaking with attorney Ben Luftman, the Columbus Criminal Defense team was retained to represent him on the case. The client’s main goal was avoiding as much jail time as he could for the second offense OVI / DUI.

Initially, attorney Luftman represented our client at his arraignment and, due to an error in the police paperwork, was able to get his client’s vehicle released rather than relocated and immobilized. This saved the young man the additional cost of towing his vehicle.

Thereafter, attorneys with LHA represented our client at court. The case went through the OVI / DUI court process. While scheduled for a suppression hearing, the prosecutor agreed to reduce the second offense OVI / DUI charge by stipulating to first offense penalties. Instead of 20 days, the young man would only be required to spend 3 days in jail, or 3 days at a 72-hour driver intervention program. His license suspension would be 6 months, instead of 1-5 years and he would not be required to have the mandatory yellow plates on his vehicle. This resolution was acceptable to our client and he resolved his second offense OVI / DUI case on the motion hearing date.

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.