Columbus Drunk Driving Lawyers

What Ohio police and courts call operating a vehicle while intoxicated, or OVI, most people call drunk driving. It also covers drugged driving, which can happen when using illegal drugs or certain prescription medications like opioids.

The terminology does not matter as much as the potential penalties for driving under the influence. Or how easy it can be to get charged with OVI because of an incident at a DUI checkpoint, a misunderstanding involving the use of doctor-prescribed painkillers or an ADHD medication, or a traffic stop that escalates into a series of field sobriety tests that were improperly conducted and poorly interpreted.

If you find yourself facing a DUI/OVI charge in central Ohio, you should hire a Columbus drunk driving attorney with The Maher Law Firm. We have helped thousands of people all around Franklin County, and we take many driving under the influence cases for a flat fee while offering reasonable payment plans.

The penalties for drunken driving in Ohio can be severe, and an OVI-related driver’s license suspension can be imposed before the suspect even appears in front of a judge or magistrate. State laws give police officers and state troopers the authority to impose administrative license suspensions (ALS) when people suspected of driving under the influence refuse to submit to breath, blood, and urine samples for alcohol and drug testing. An ALS can also be imposed against a repeat OVI offender, people who have previously refused to submit to lab tests, and individuals who register blood alcohol concentrations over the legal limits on breath tests.

An experienced Columbus, Ohio drunk driving attorney will know how best to appeal an ALS for a personal driver’s license and/or a commercial driver’s license. He will also employ a broad array of tactics for defending his client. Among other questions, he will ask:

• Were lab tests conducted properly?
• Did the officer fully explain and respect the OVI suspect’s right to refuse sobriety tests?
• Did the officer explain the consequences for refusing?
• Were all the blood and urine samples transported, stored, and analyzed in full compliance with relevant laws and rules?
• Did the arresting officer even have probable cause to suspect that his client had been drinking enough to become intoxicated?
• Do physical disabilities or a temporary illness explain poor performance on field sobriety tests?

You can also rely on a dedicated Columbus drunk driving attorney to keep the prosecutor honest on any offer of a plea deal. Agreeing to accept the penalty for an offense other than OVI can make sense, but only when that actually is the offer. A defense attorney’s primary duty is to protect his client, so he will often advise against a deal that does not save the defendant money, jail time, or an extended suspension of all driving privileges.

Call (614) 205-2208 to speak with a drunk driving lawyer in the Columbus, Ohio, offices of The Maher Law Firm. Consultations can also be requested online. Remember: A defendant’s right to receive advice and representation from a Columbus DUI defense attorney cannot be denied.