Recent News

September 12, 2008

OVI Law Changes and Other Traps for Lawyers

Another layer of complexity is about to be added onto an OVI law that is already Byzantine. Senate Bill 17 becomes effective September 30. Changes include forced blood draws being authorized under some circumstances; the Administrative License Suspension (ALS) and court suspension hard times will increase as will the method for computing ALS priors; and there will be a number of situations where SCRAM and interlock will be mandatory pre-trial and the rules regarding these are sometimes counterintuitive.

The statute unconstitutionally shifts the burden of proof to the defendant on the issue of prior convictions; and makes things count as priors that previously did not. Fines and reinstatement fees will increase (this is in addition to the 6/25/08 increase).

Alcohol assessment is mandatory for repeat offenses and judicial power is essentially ceded to alcohol assessors regarding treatment. SB 17 creates an Internet habitual offender list which will show your client’s date of birth and address. What counts as a prior for this list is different than what counts for the OVI itself. The definition of equivalent offenses was also changed. Boating OVI’s will count as priors in non-boating cases. There are also other “BUI” changes.

Locally, as well as statewide, suppression motions are increasingly becoming traps for lawyers. Here’s a common scenario: You and your client show up for a motion hearing. The prosecutor says you didn’t draft your motion properly and the judge denies you a hearing. You complied with Shindler, but the judge says that is not enough. Learn what is happening and what to do about it.

Join presenters Lara Baker, Tim Huey, Dennis Evans, Cleve Johnson and a to-be-named representative from the judiciary for a 3-hour CLE seminar about these and other issues on September 19 from 1:30 to 4:45 p.m. at the Columbus Bar.

Register online, or call 614/221.4112 for event #CR080919. Member cost is $105 prepaid/$120 day-of, non-member cost is $150 prepaid/$165 day-of, and non-attorney cost is $75 prepaid/$90 day-of.