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Military Serviceman’s Open Container Conviction Dismissed

Posted On: January 28th, 2015

A serviceman in his early 30s was attending an OSU football game and decided to stop in at a tailgate prior to heading to the stadium. Unfamiliar with the OSU tailgating rules, he was told to grab a beer out of a cooler and no sooner had he done so when he was approached by two Ohio State University Police Department officers. Instead of telling him to pour the beer into a cup, or dump it out, the officers wrote the young man an open container citation. His case was scheduled in Franklin County Municipal Court.

The open container citation is a minor misdemeanor. It is not punishable by jail time. It is punishable by a maximum $150 fine. However, being in the military, the young serviceman did not want any blemishes on his background. After speaking with attorney Ben Luftman, the Columbus Criminal Defense team was hired to try and get the case dismissed.

Attorneys with LHA represented our client on the open container case. We entered a not guilty plea at our client’s arraignment. Thereafter, we negotiated a dismissal of the serviceman’s case for his payment of court costs.

The dismissal and subsequent expungement or sealing of the case record will remove the open container case from the Franklin County Municipal Clerk of Court’s website and his criminal background. Crucially, we were able to represent our client through all 3 court dates without him ever having to appear in court.

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.



★★★★★
I can FINALLY breathe easy now. I want to thank Mr. Bowen and all the attorneys that helped me with this case.

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