Interesting Seminar About Mistakes Commonly Made In Ohio O.V.I. Cases

Lawyers are required to attend a certain number of hours of continuing education every two years. Compliance with this rule is reported in January, so there are always a lot of continuing education programs in December. One of the programs offered this December was the Columbus Bar Association’s 2011 O.V.I. seminar. This year’s program not only fulfilled continuing education requirements but was also very interesting and educational.

The theme of the seminar was “mistakes commonly made in O.V.I. cases”. D.U.I. attorneys from central Ohio and across the state made presentations on how to avoid those common mistakes. I presented on the topic of “don’t be bullied into throwing away your client’s rights”, and the general message was how to be a strong advocate for your client in the court process but still treat opposing counsel with respect and professionalism. It was consistent with the post in this blog about ‘the under-rated lawyering skill”.

The most interesting presentation was from two people that served as jurors in a vehicular homicide case. One of the jurors happened to be a judge from the Franklin County Municipal Court. The other juror was a young woman with no prior jury service. It was helpful to learn what evidence the jurors found persuasive, what evidence did not have an impact, and how the jurors responded to the attorneys’ questioning and arguments. It was especially interesting to hear about the dynamics of the jury deliberation and voting.

Continuing education seminars are notorious for being boring (it is now time to get out your newspaper and/or smart phone…). This seminar, however, was interesting from start to finish (assuming mine was interesting!). Well done, Columbus Bar Association.