Columbus, Ohio DUI OVI Attorneys
Columbus, Ohio
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Eric E. Willison, Esq. (614) 580-4316Eric E. Willison, Esq. My name is Eric E. Willison and I have been defending Ohioans accused of drunk driving for 12 years since 1996, both at the trial court and appellate court levels. I am a 1996 graduate of Capital University Law School and a 1992 graduate of The Ohio State University. I was also a security police officer in the United States Air Force and the Ohio Air National Guard, serving in Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. I have represented clients in drunk driving cases all over the Central Ohio area, including but not limited to Franklin, Delaware, Union, Fairfield, Clinton, Madison, Morrow, Montgomery, Miami, and Clark Counties. |
How I go about analyzing your Drunk Driving Case
Jurisdiction
The first thing I look at in any case is whether the officer was within his jurisdiction when he spotted you and stopped you. Extra jurisdictional stops rarely happen, but I leave no stone unturned in defending my clients. The law of Ohio is that an officer can only arrest you and charge you for violations he sees within his/her jurisdiction.
The Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution gives you the right to be left alone by law enforcement unless there is either a warrant (for arrest or search), reasonable suspicion for a stop, or probable cause for an arrest. Since drunk driving usually happens after 5:00 p.m., the courts are closed and there won’t usually be a warrant. That leaves reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
So I look to see from the police officer’s report why it was that he pulled you over. If what you did was not a crime, then there was no reasonable suspicion and your Fourth Amendment rights have been violated. The remedy for a violation of the Fourth Amendment is suppression of the evidence against you.
Next, if there was reasonable suspicion to stop you, I look to see if there was probable cause to arrest you and take you back to the station to search your blood, breath, or urine for alcohol. I do this by analyzing the Field Sobriety Tests given by the road side, what the police officer says about you in his police report (indicia of consumption of alcohol), and whether there was any erratic driving. If there was no probable cause to arrest you and take you back to the station, then your Fourth Amendment rights have been violated. The remedy for a violation of the Fourth Amendment is suppression of the evidence against you.
The Fifth Amendment
Once you have been taken into custody, you have a right against self-incrimination. Unless you have been read your Miranda Rights, any response you make to law enforcement’s questions while under arrest are inadmissible against you. I check to see when you were Mirandized and when your statements (if any) were made. The remedy for a violation of the Fifth Amendment is suppression of the self-incriminating evidence against you.
Administrative Rules for Administration of Tests
The Ohio Director of Health as enacted various administrative rules governing the administration of alcohol testing. The most prevalent testing method is the breath test. The rules require that the test be given to you within 3 hours of the time you were driving. In one car accidents which were not witnessed by anyone, this becomes difficult to establish so I always check the time of the stop and the time of the test. The officer administering the test must have the proper credentials to administer the test so I always check those back at the police station.
The police must observe you for at least 20 minutes prior to the test so I always check to see if that was done. If you were pulled over near the police station at 1:00 a.m. and tested at 1:17 a.m., then the 20 minute rule has been violated.
The testing equipment must be calibrated every seven days, and calibration logs must be kept for the last three years. The testing device must read accurate to within .005 of the test solution. The test solution must be used within one year of its manufacture and within 3 months of its first use. The police even have to make sure that their radios are not affecting the testing and calibration processes (this is called RFI). I always check to see that calibration has been performed correctly. You would be surprised at how often the ‘I’s are not dotted and the ‘T’s are not crossed.
If any of the Director of Health’s rules have been violated, the results of the test are inadmissible.
Review of Video of the Stop
Many law enforcement vehicles have video cameras and audio recording devices which can capture what happened during the stop. I always review these as some juries have a hard time believing that someone who looks sober is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, especially when there has been either a refusal to test or when the test results have been thrown out.
Motion for Limited Driving Privileges
Once you are arrested and charged with drunk driving in Ohio, your driver’s license is automatically suspended, even though you have not been found guilty yet. The law “makes it fair” by allowing you to apply for and receive limited driving privileges so that you can drive to and from work and/or school. I always fill out a privileges entry and submit it to the judge as early on in the case as I can (currently there is a waiting period of 15 days for those who took and flunked the test and 30 days for those who refused the test).
Bargaining with the Prosecutor
Most prosecutors start out each morning with a stack of cases a foot high. 80 percent of them are slam dunks, but 20% have serious legal issues that make them no sure thing. These get put in a different pile and these are where the deals are. My goal is to point out the problems with the case to the prosecutor so that I can get you from the “slam dunk” pile to the “let’s make a deal” pile.
Statements in Mitigation
Even if there is nothing to be done about your case and you end up pleading or being found guilty, I work hard to get to know enough of your personal information that I can humanize you before the sentencing judge so that he or she sees you as a person, not a faceless statistic. My goal is to get you the minimum sentence for the conviction. A good statement in mitigation from an attorney can often have an effect here.
Contact me about your DUI charge:
Eric E. Willison, Esq.
625 City Park Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43206
(614) 580-4316
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