DUI/OVI enforcement

November 13, 2023

Some Allegations of Breath Test Refusals Are Unfair

Breath-Test-300x200 Ohio’s DUI laws (called ‘OVI’ in Ohio) criminalize driving with a prohibited breath alcohol concentration. To determine whether a person has a prohibited breath alcohol concentration, law enforcement officers use breath-testing machines. If a person refuses a breath test, there are consequences. However, differences in height, age, gender, and smoking habits make some people physically unable to provide a sufficient breath sample. As a result, some people are accused of refusing a breath test when they didn’t.

November 4, 2023

Driving School Tests Skills of Drunk Drivers

by Shawn Dominy

Driving-Test-300x200 The Chikushino Police Department has a program in which driving instructors test the driving skills of volunteers who are under the influence of alcohol. According to a CNN article, testing impaired drivers is part of a drunk driving awareness campaign. In Ohio, we do not use drunk driving exams to determine if drivers are impaired by alcohol or drugs. Instead, we use field sobriety tests and blood/breath/urine tests. Those tests are circumstantial evidence that a person was operating a vehicle under the influence.

October 20, 2023

Is Lack of “Intent” a Defense to Vehicular Crimes in Ohio?

by Shawn Dominy

Mens-Rea-300x225 After a domestic dispute, an Ohio woman intentionally hit a man with her car and was charged with Aggravated Vehicular Assault. According to a recent story by WHOTV7, the woman drove her SUV over a sidewalk and into a yard to hit the man. That does sound intentional. When it comes to vehicular crimes in Ohio, is intent necessary?

September 21, 2023

DUI/OVI and Hit-Skip in Ohio

by Shawn Dominy

Driving-Fast-at-Night-300x200 A police officer was recently charged with DUI (called ‘OVI’ in Ohio) and Fleeing the Scene of an Accident. According to News 13 in Myrtle Beach, the officer is a sergeant who serves as the supervisor of the traffic division. In our OVI defense practice, we have represented clients suspected of OVI and Failure to Stop After Accident (commonly called ‘Hit-Skip’). In some cases, the driver is charged only with Hit-Skip. In other cases, the driver is charged with both Hit-Skip and OVI. Drivers in those situations also face the possibility of being charged with felony offenses.

August 17, 2023

Defendant’s Medical Records Cannot Be Subpoenaed for Ohio DUI/OVI Cases

by Shawn Dominy

HIPAA-Authorization-300x200 As Dominy Law Firm attorney Bryan Hawkins was preparing to litigate this issue in Franklin County, Ohio, an appeals court settled it. The issue is whether, in a DUI case (called ‘OVI’ in Ohio), a law enforcement officer can obtain the medical records of a suspect with a subpoena and without a search warrant. In the case of State v. Rogers, the Tenth District Court of Appeals held law enforcement’s procurement of an OVI suspect’s medical records without a search warrant violates the suspect’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

August 12, 2023

New Study Addresses Usefulness of Field Sobriety Tests Used in Ohio

by Shawn Dominy

Finger-to-Nose-Test-300x200 An article published earlier this month addresses the accuracy of field sobriety tests (FSTs). A team of researchers set-out to evaluate the effectiveness of FSTs for identifying drivers under the influence of THC. The researchers conducted clinical trials involving THC use, field sobriety testing, and driving simulations. The clinical trials showed the FSTs do not effectively discriminate between people who are impaired and people who are not impaired.

March 3, 2023

New Ohio DUI/OVI Regulations Authorize Oral Fluid Testing

by Shawn Dominy

Mouth-swab-300x200

In November of 2022, an article in this blog reported the state of Ohio intends to use oral fluid testing in the future. The future is here. When NBC4 reported on the Traffic Safety Council’s recommendation of oral fluid testing for DUI cases (called ‘OVI’ in Ohio), the Ohio Department of Health had already passed new regulations which add oral fluid to the bodily substances which may be tested. Those regulations became effective on January 23, 2023.
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February 10, 2023

Ohio’s Heightened DUI/OVI Enforcement for Super Bowl LVII

by Shawn Dominy

NHTSA-Super-Bowl-200x300 There is a lot of Super Bowl planning going on. Rihanna is planning what songs to sing. Tom Brady is planning to make an appearance as a broadcaster (and later announce his second un-retirement?). Party hosts are planning what food to serve. I am planning to miss our annual party due to Covid (cruel timing). And Ohio law enforcement agencies are planning to arrest drunk drivers.

June 30, 2022

Blood Test Clears Sober Parent of DUI and Child Endangering

by Shawn Dominy

Body-Cam-of-Katie-Slayton-300x170 Imagine you are totally sober, but your child’s daycare calls the police and reports you may be intoxicated. Imagine further the police make you perform field sobriety tests while your toddler is running around on the sidewalk. Now imagine you are prosecuted for DUI (called ‘OVI’ in Ohio) and Child Endangering and your child is taken away from you for two months, only for a blood test to show no alcohol or drugs, because you were totally sober. Katie Slayton does not have to imagine it: it happened to her. Her experience was the perfect storm of circumstances in a DUI/OVI investigation.

May 14, 2022

Pedal Pubs and DUI/OVI on Non-Motorized Vehicles in Ohio

by Shawn Dominy

Pedal-Pub-300x200 Can you get a DUI (called ‘OVI’ in Ohio) on a vehicle which is not motorized? Like many legal questions, the answer is, ‘maybe’. A person involved in a recent ‘pedal pub’ incident found out the hard way the answer is ‘yes’ when operating a mobile bar in Georgia. But what about Ohio?