One of the most dreaded penalties — short of jail time — is facing a suspended license. Many of us take driving privileges for granted but being unable to drive negatively impacts your everyday life in a number of ways. It makes it hard to get to work or school on time, and you may even struggle to get groceries or take care of your children.
However, losing your driver’s license is a very real possibility if police arrest you for drunk or drugged driving in Ohio. Ohio takes these offenses very seriously. If you face an operating a vehicle under the influence (OVI) charge, you will receive an immediate administrative license suspension and face additional time without your license if convicted. A suspended license defense lawyer in Colerain Township, OH can help you fight to keep your driving privileges.
Call The Law Offices of Steven R. Adams today at 513-929-9333 to learn more about how we work hard for you.
Challenging the Administrative License Suspension
When police stop you for a suspected DUI, they will ask you to submit to a breath or blood test. If you blow a 0.08 or above or refuse to submit to the test, you will face arrest. During this process, the arresting officer will take your driver’s license. This occurs because Ohio has an automatic and immediate administrative license suspension for anyone arrested for an impaired driving offense.
Depending on your history of OVIs and a number of other factors, this suspension could last from three months to five years. It is important to note this is an administrative suspension from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and is completely separate from the criminal charges against you.
You have 30 days from the date they took your license to appeal the administrative license suspension. This appeal is in the form of a hearing in front of a judge. Ohio law allows you to have an attorney present to represent you during this hearing, and we recommend it. In some cases, we can present evidence to show our clients are not guilty of drunk or impaired driving during this hearing and the Administrative Law Judge will overturn their suspension.
While it is difficult to convince them to overturn this type of suspension without clear evidence that they will not be able to convict you of the charge, this hearing does give us a chance to hear the evidence police have against you. This better prepares us for your criminal trial.
Fighting the Criminal Charges You Face
Ohio law not only calls for an immediate and mandatory administrative license suspension if you face an OVI or other drunk driving arrest, there is a mandatory minimum license suspension for those convicted of one of these offenses. Like the administrative license suspension, the length of the criminal license suspension also depends on your previous arrests. The look-back period is ten years.
If convicted of an OVI in Ohio, your criminal license suspension will include:
Offense | Suspension Length |
First conviction | Between one and three years |
Second conviction within 10 years | Between one and seven years |
Third conviction within 10 years | Between two and 12 years |
Fourth conviction within 10 years | A potential lifetime suspension |
We can help you fight the charges against you. If we can convince the prosecutors to drop the charges, negotiate a plea deal for a lesser charge, or create reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors, we may be able to prevent this additional license suspension as well as other penalties related to this type of conviction.
Applying for Limited Driving Privileges
If you already face a suspended license, we may be able to help you regain limited driving privileges. These privileges may allow you to commute to work or school, go to the doctor, attend meetings with a counselor or at a rehabilitation center, visit your probation officer, and run other essential errands.
While we will always work hard to prevent you from losing your driver’s license to begin with, we may be able to help you regain limited driving privileges if you do face an administrative and/or criminal suspension.
Ohio law has a mandatory period of “hard time” your driving privileges must remain suspended after a conviction. How much “hard time” you receive depends on the facts of your case and your history of drunk driving convictions.
For example, you will face:
- 15 days of hard time for a first OVI
- 30 days of hard time for a first offense of refusing to submit to testing
- 45 days of hard time for a second OVI
- 90 days of hard time for a second refusal
- 180 days of hard time for a third OVI
- 1 year of hard time for a third refusal
Only after this hard time passes can we apply for limited driving privileges on your behalf. Ohio will not approve driving privileges prior to the completion of this period.
Talk to a Suspended License Defense Lawyer in Colerain Township, OH
Colerain Township, Ohio criminal defense lawyer Steven R. Adams will fight aggressively to help prevent your license suspension and to help you retain your full driving privileges after an OVI arrest. We know how local prosecutors tend to handle these cases and can use this to our advantage. Our team will investigate your arrest, and look for improper or illegal traffic stops, poorly conducted field sobriety tests, uncalibrated or unreliable breathalyzers, and other issues that may play a key role in clearing your name.
Are You Looking for a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Cincinnati, OH?
If you are facing criminal charges, you need to speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Please contact us online or call our Cincinnati office directly at 513-929-9333 to schedule your free consultation.