29 October

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Will I Have “Party Plates?” (by DaytonDUI)

If you thought that public shaming was a barbaric practice relegated to the distant past, you have not been driving through Ohio. Ohio was the first state in the country to adopt a form of public humiliation by adopting special license plates for drunk driving offenders. Use of the "scarlet letter" plates became mandatory in 2004. O.R.C. 4507.02(F)(2) and 4503.231. These bright yellow plates with prominent red lettering (often referred to as party plates) are an indelible record of your offense and will not be easily forgotten by friends, family, customers and clients. At DaytonDUI we are opposed to "branding,"...

10 October

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Get Your Ohio Online Driving Records (by DaytonDUI)

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles has created a system to access your driving record on-line. The system permits drivers to obtain a record of all convictions within the past two years. The driving record will also reflect all open suspensions or revocations. Drivers are reminded that Ohio Revised Code (ORC 4510.037) provides that the Registrar of Motor Vehicles is required to impose a license suspension on all drivers who accumulate 12 points on their records during any two-year period. A list of points charged for various offenses can be found in ORC 4510.036. Click HERE to access your unofficial driving record. To...

30 August

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Prior DUI Offenses (Federal and Out-of-State)

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

My practice is proud to serve the military community in and around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. One of the recurring questions we get from military personnel is whether or not a federal or out-of-state DUI can be used to enhance a DUI they get here in Ohio. At one time they did not. Now, however, the offenses received in another state or on federal property do count. See Ohio Revised Code 4511.181(A). DUI defense attorneys challenged the ex post facto application of R.C. 4511.181(A) but the courts have held that since it serves only as an enhancement it meets constitutional...

29 August

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DaytonDUI And The Continuing Problems With the Intoxilyzer 8000

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

The implementation of the Intoxilyzer 8000 continues to be an embarrassment to all Ohioans. Not only is the machine rife with problems, but the Ohio Department of Health has botched both the writing of the rules of implementation. Now they plan on shutting down the key component of the Intoxilyzer 8000 scheme, the Breath Instrument On-line Database. The shutdown is due to complications, missing tests and disappearing data. This raises the question as to how the Ohio Department of Health will prove that they maintain three (3) years of data/subject tests as required by law. Likewise, they are unable to...

20 August

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Athens Judge Throws Out Intoxilyzer 8000 Rules

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law, DUI Process

State v. Moore (12 TRC 1842) and State v. Montague (12 TRC 3773) Athens Municipal Court In another in a series of troubles for the implementation of Ohio's newest breath test machine, Judge Grimm in Athens County has halted use of the Intoxilyzer 8000. Courts throughout Ohio must decide how, given this ruling, they will deal with the implementation of the machine. The issue before the court involved the rules adopted by the Ohio Department of Health. Specifically, the court was asked to address whether or not the Ohio Department of Health has authority to issue operator cards for the Intoxilyzer...

26 July

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Rowland Speaks to Ohio Municipal Attorneys Association

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Charles M. Rowland II (DaytonDUI) was honored to be asked to speak to the Ohio Municipal Attorney Association at their Ohio Municipal Law Institute. The Ohio Municipal Attorney Association is made up of Law Directors, Village Solicitors, including civil law attorneys and prosecutors make up the individuals working for cities and villages active. He gave a one hour presentation on the Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test machine and the machine's troubled implementation in Ohio. "What made this speech interesting for me, is that I had to speak to a room full of prosecutors," said Rowland. "I emphasized the special role...

19 July

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Federal Court DUI

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Misdemeanor drunk driving charges occurring on federal lands (such as national parks and military bases) fall under the jurisdiction of the federal courts. Established in 1803, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio handles over 400 criminal cases a year in 48 of Ohio's 88 counties. The court has an eastern division, located in Columbus and two western divisions located in Dayton and Cincinnati. If you are arrested for a federal DUI offense in Champaign, Clark, Greene, Darke, Miami, Montgomery, Preble or Shelby counties you will appear in Dayton's Federal Building, 200 W. Second St., Dayton, Ohio...

17 July

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DUI Blood Tests: Whole Blood vs. Serum/Plasma

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Ohio Administrative Code 3701-53-03(A) sets forth the techniques and methods for determining the concentration of alcohol in blood, urine and other bodily substances. Pursuant to that rule, Ohio allows for testing including gas chromatography and enzyme assays. To challenge a blood test, it is important to know if the State has tested the blood as whole blood or as serum/plasma. Operation with a concentration of alcohol is prohibited if the concentration in whole blood is equal to or exceeds .08%, R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(b). However, the prohibited concentration for whole blood is a concentration equal to or exceeding .096%, R.C.4511.19(A)(1)(c). The high...

12 July

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Ohio DUI Law: Another Jurisdiction Dumps the Intoxilyzer 8000

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Add Cincinnati to the Jurisdictions Not Relying on the Intoxilyzer 8000 It appears that the ruling from the 12th District Court of Appeals upholding the use of the Intoxilyzer 8000, despite clear language in the Ohio Administrative Code requiring a dry gas control prior to each subject test, has not saved the Intoxilyzer 8000 in nearby Hamilton County. In May, Municipal Court Judge Melissa Powers agreed and ruled the machine must be cleared after each breath test. Her ruling threw OVI prosecutions within Cincinnati into limbo because defense attorneys used it to attack drunk-driving allegations made using that machine. Cincinnati City Prosecutor Charlie...

10 July

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Ohio DUI Law Update: Appellate Court Upholds Intoxilyzer 8000

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law, DUI Process

In the first appellate decision involving the Intoxilyzer 8000, Ohio's 12th District Court of Appeals ruled that tests should be allowed despite the plain language of the Ohio Administrative Code. The ruling is the first setback to defense attorneys (like me!) who have challenged the implementation of the machine in Ohio. The case is State v. Kormos, 2012-Ohio-3128 and you can read the full decision HERE.At issue was Ohio Administrative Code section 3701-53-04 which incorporates the new rules for calibrations of the Intoxilyzer 8000. See O.A.C. 3701-53-04(B) as set forth below. The “new” standards “automatically perform a dry gas control test before...

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