Court Process for DUI / OVI Cases in Ohio

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What's the court process for a DUI / OVI case in Ohio? I'm Shawn Dominy, I'm a DUI / OVI lawyer in Columbus, Ohio, and this video is going to answer that question.

When you’re charged with OVI and you receive a ticket, part of the ticket at the bottom is going to have a summons for you to appear in court. When you appear in court for that first appearance, that’s an arraignment. At the arraignment, typically there are two things that are important to do. One is to deal with the administrative license suspension, and the second is to enter a plea.

You can either plead guilty, no contest, or not guilty. If you plead guilty or no contest, you’re likely to be sentenced immediately, your case will be over, and it will be part of your permanent record. If you plead not guilty, then your case isn’t over at the arraignment, and it goes to the next phase.

Before the next phase in court, there is a phase which takes place outside the courtroom, and that is the discovery stage. Discovery is the exchange of information between the prosecution and defense, so you definitely want to file a demand for discovery to obtain all of the evidence from the prosecutor’s file.

The next stage in court is a pre-trial hearing. The pre-trial is designed to be an opportunity for the prosecution and defense to discuss the case and negotiate. If you can reach an agreed resolution at the pre-trial, the case may be finished at that stage.

If you can’t reach an agreement, then the case will go to the next stage, which is usually a hearing on motions to suppress. In OVI cases, we typically file motions to suppress evidence, such as the field sobriety test, or the breath, blood, or urine test, and so, we have a hearing on those motions. Some cases are resolved at the hearing on the motions to suppress, and some are not.

If your case is not resolved at that stage, then you go to a trial. You can have a trial to a judge, or a trial to a jury. Either way, the trier of fact, the judge or jury, decides whether the evidence proves your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If you’re found not guilty, that’s the end of the case. If you’re found guilty, or if along the way you’ve pled guilty, the final stage in the court process is the sentence hearing.

If you’ve been charged with OVI, that’s the process that you’ll be facing, and I know that can cause some anxiety. And so, to help relieve that, what I suggest doing is educating yourself. Videos like this one are a good way to do that. You may also want to take a look at my website, Dominylaw.com, because there are dozens of pages of information on OVI topics. Finally, you may want to download the e-book from my website. You can download that for free. In any event, I hope that you find those resources, including this video, are helpful.

For more information on Ohio DUI / OVI issues, see the videos on the Dominy Law Firm YouTube channel, the written information on the Dominy Law Firm website (https://www.dominylaw.com/), the articles on the Dominy Law Firm blog (https://www.columbusoviattorneyblog.c..., and our book: the Ohio DUI/OVI Guide.

Dominy Law Firm
7716 Rivers Edge Drive, Suite B
Columbus, OH 43235
(614) 717-1177