Columbus OVI/DUI Attorney Blog

May 27, 2020

Ohio Supreme Court To Decide Legality Of Stops Based On Anonymous Tips

If another driver becomes angry with you, that driver can easily call the police and report you as a drunk driver. The driver doesn’t have to give a statement to the police. In fact, the allegation can be completely anonymous.

Should police officers be permitted to stop you based only on another person’s anonymous tip? That question will be answered by the Ohio Supreme Court, as it recently agreed to hear the case of State v. Tidwell. The case could have broad implications, not for not just OVI cases, but for individuals’ Fourth Amendment protections in general.

May 21, 2020

How Are Central Ohio Courts Operating In The Era Of COVID-19?

by Bryan Hawkins

Over the past few months, courts in Central Ohio took a variety of steps to deal with the unprecedented challenges presented by the Coronavirus Pandemic. As the State of Ohio moves toward ‘reopening’ in this new reality, central Ohio courts are beginning to release plans on how they will operate in a way which will minimize the risk to court personnel, judges, attorneys and others with business before the court. Some courts have decided to publish their plans for reopening even before the release of the Supreme Court’s guidelines. Not every court has released such plans yet, so we will update this post as more information becomes available.

April 25, 2020

Court’s Decision Regarding Expert Witness Report Affects Ohio DUI / OVI Cases

by Shawn Dominy

Expert-witness-report-300x200 In Ohio DUI/OVI cases, the prosecution sometimes introduces expert testimony. If a prosecutor intends to do so, the prosecutor must provide the defense attorney with a written report summarizing the expert’s testimony. According to the Ohio discovery rules, the report must be disclosed to defense counsel at least 21 days prior to trial. What happens when the report does not contain all the expert’s testimony or isn’t provided timely? A recent decision from the Ohio Supreme Court answers that question.

April 18, 2020

Can You Be Pulled Over In Ohio For Someone Else’s Crime?

by Bryan Hawkins

Imagine for a minute that your car is in the shop. You have some errands to run, so you borrow someone else’s car. A friend, a family member, a coworker, whomever. As you’re driving to the store, you see a police cruiser activate its lights and sirens to pull you over. You weren’t speeding, you didn’t drive over the lane line, you followed every traffic rule in the book. So why are you being pulled over? The officer walks up to your window and says you were stopped because the officer ran the car’s license plate and learned the registered owner of the car had their license revoked. The officer didn’t make any effort to determine whether that registered owner was actually driving the car: he just saw the revocation and pulled you over.
Is the officer allowed to do this?

March 17, 2020

Courts In Central Ohio Respond To Coronavirus Pandemic

by Bryan Hawkins

Updated April 10, 2020

The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a profound effect on nearly every aspect of American society. From closing schools, bars and restaurants to banning public gatherings over a certain size, Ohio has followed expert advice to keep people physically separated as much as possible. To reflect this new reality, and to encourage social distancing, most courts in central Ohio are implementing changes, including limitations on court appearances. Below are the specific changes being implemented by the central Ohio courts in which the Dominy Law Firm practices.

March 14, 2020

Ohio DUI /OVI Seminar Starts Strong…

by Shawn Dominy

Dominy-at-OVI-seminar-2020-2-228x300 I will always remember OACDL’s 2020 DUI seminar. Near the end of the first day of the three-day event, Ohio’s governor banned gatherings of 100 or more people. Our gathering had more than 100 people. As the president of the organization, I had the responsibility of informing those 100+ people the next two seminar days were cancelled. It was not a popular decision. It’s better to make decisions on principle rather than popularity. The attendees will ultimately receive the remaining two days of continuing legal education, and I expect they will also realize the cancellation decision was correct.

March 7, 2020

Appeals Court Upholds OVI Expert Exclusion In Columbus Case

by Shawn Dominy

Referee-red-card-300x200 OVI trials sometimes involve testimony from expert witnesses. Those witnesses include pharmacologists who testify about the accuracy of the defendant’s breath test result. A recent decision from an Ohio Court of Appeals demonstrates the importance of assessing the quality of the expert witness report and evaluating the utility of anticipated expert testimony.

February 29, 2020

Sunshine Seminar: Educational Escape

by Shawn Dominy

Puerto-Rico-beach-300x193 It was 82 degrees in February, but it was all about continuing education. Mostly. At least partly. It was the OACDL Sunshine Seminar in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was great to escape Ohio’s winter weather and enjoy the beach, the rain forest, and old San Juan. And the educational part was good, too. There were six presentations, including mine, and one in-particular really resonated with me.

February 22, 2020

Changing Marijuana Laws Affect DUI/OVI Charges

by Bryan Hawkins

As of January 1, 2020, 11 states and Washington D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana use. That number increases to 33 states when you include medical legalization. Several studies have been conducted to determine what effect this ever-growing legal access to marijuana has had on traffic and DUI/OVI statistics. While more data will be needed to ultimately determine the true effect of legalization, these studies indicate there has been an impact.

January 24, 2020

What Happens When The Government Destroys Evidence In DUI/OVI Cases?

by Shawn Dominy

Destroyed-video-300x201 Destruction of evidence by the government can violate a defendant’s right to due process of law. Due process violations often lead to cases being dismissed. Using dismissal as a remedy is based on the principle that denying a defendant access to evidence can make a trial unfair. This is particularly true when the evidence is ‘exculpatory’: it tends to disprove guilt or is otherwise favorable to the defendant. In DUI cases (called “OVI” cases in Ohio), the evidence often includes video from a police cruiser, a body camera, or a police station. When such a video is destroyed by the government, does the case get dismissed? Like so many questions in the legal world, the answer is:
it depends.