DWIOhio DWI Attorneys & DWI Laws
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If you have been charged with an Ohio DWI there are two things that you need to consider:
1) Take the charge seriously.
A conviction for an Ohio DWI will have long lasting consequences. A
criminal record can affect your employment, your future and your
personal freedom.
2) Hire an experienced Ohio DWI Lawyer.
Understanding the Ohio DWI laws and courtroom proceedings can be a
challenge. Hiring a qualified Ohio DWI Lawyer from DWI.com who focuses
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To begin fighting your Ohio DWI, use the drop-down menu above to locate an Ohio Attorney in your county. But do it now, as time is very critical in an Ohio DWI case.
Driving while intoxicated, also known as OVI (Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated) is a serious offense in Ohio. If you are arrested for drunk driving in Ohio you will have to undergo two entirely separate proceedings regarding the DWI arrest. The first is a criminal proceeding for the offense that you will have to deal with in a court setting. The second is a civil proceeding regarding whether or not you will be able to keep your license, this is done through the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles.
You may be arrested for DWI in Ohio regardless of whether or not you have submitted to a breath, blood, or urine test. If you take the chemical test you could still be arrested for a Ohio DWI regardless of whether or not the results of the test reveal a blood/breath alcohol result of .08% or higher. It is important to hire an experienced Ohio DWI defense attorney to help walk you through the appropriate steps to try to eliminate any negative outcomes in your case.
ยง 4511.19. Operation while
under the influence of alcohol or drug of abuse or with specified
concentration of alcohol or drug in certain bodily substances; chemical
test; penalties.
(A) (1) No person shall operate any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley within this state, if, at the time of the operation, any of the following apply:
(a) The person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them.
(b) The person has a concentration of eight-hundredths of one per cent or more but less than seventeen-hundredths of one percent by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's whole blood.
(c) The person has a concentration of ninety-six-thousandths of one per cent or more but less than two hundred four-thousandths of one per cent by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's blood serum or plasma.
(d) The person has a concentration of eight-hundredths of one gram or more but less than seventeen-hundredths of one gram by weight of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of the person's breath.
(e) The person has a concentration of eleven-hundredths of one gram or more but less than two hundred thirty-eight-thousandths of one gram by weight of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of the person's urine.
(f) The person has a concentration of seventeen-hundredths of one per cent or more by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's whole blood.
(g) The person has a concentration of two hundred four-thousandths of one per cent or more by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's blood serum or plasma.
(h) The person has a concentration of seventeen-hundredths of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of the person's breath.
(i) The person has a concentration of two hundred thirty-eight-thousandths of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of the person's urine.
(j) Except as provided in division (K) of this section, the person has a concentration of any of the following controlled substances or metabolites of a controlled substance in the person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma, or urine that equals or exceeds any of the following:
(i) The person has a concentration of amphetamine
in the person's urine of at least five hundred nanograms of amphetamine
per milliliter of the person's urine or has a concentration of
amphetamine in the person's whole blood or blood serum or plasma of at
least one hundred nanograms of amphetamine per milliliter of the
person's whole blood or blood serum or plasma.
(ii) The person has a concentration of cocaine in the
person's urine of at least one hundred fifty nanograms of cocaine per
milliliter of the person's urine or has a concentration of cocaine in
the person's whole blood or blood serum or plasma of at least fifty
nanograms of cocaine per milliliter of the person's whole blood or
blood serum or plasma.
(iii) The person has a concentration of cocaine
metabolite in the person's urine of at least one hundred fifty
nanograms of cocaine metabolite per milliliter of the person's urine or
has a concentration of cocaine metabolite in the person's whole blood
or blood serum or plasma of at least fifty nanograms of cocaine
metabolite per milliliter of the person's whole blood or blood serum or
plasma.
(iv) The person has a concentration of heroin in the
person's urine of at least two thousand nanograms of heroin per
milliliter of the person's urine or has a concentration of heroin in
the person's whole blood or blood serum or plasma of at least fifty
nanograms of heroin per milliliter of the person's whole blood or blood
serum or plasma.
(v) The person has a concentration of heroin
metabolite (6-monoacetyl morphine) in the person's urine of at least
ten nanograms of heroin metabolite (6-monoacetyl morphine) per
milliliter of the person's urine or has a concentration of heroin
metabolite (6-monoacetyl morphine) in the person's whole blood or blood
serum or plasma of at least ten nanograms of heroin metabolite
(6-monoacetyl morphine) per milliliter of the person's whole blood or
blood serum or plasma.
(vi) The person has a concentration of L.S.D. in the
person's urine of at least twenty-five nanograms of L.S.D. per
milliliter of the person's urine or a concentration of L.S.D. in the
person's whole blood or blood serum or plasma of at least ten nanograms
of L.S.D. per milliliter of the person's whole blood or blood serum or
plasma.
(vii) The person has a concentration of marihuana in
the person's urine of at least ten nanograms of marihuana per
milliliter of the person's urine or has a concentration of marihuana in
the person's whole blood or blood serum or plasma of at least two
nanograms of marihuana per milliliter of the person's whole blood or
blood serum or plasma.
(viii) Either of the following applies:
(I) The person is under the influence of alcohol, a
drug of abuse, or a combination of them, and, as measured by gas
chromatography mass spectrometry, the person has a concentration of
marihuana metabolite in the person's urine of at least fifteen
nanograms of marihuana metabolite per milliliter of the person's urine
or has a concentration of marihuana metabolite in the person's whole
blood or blood serum or plasma of at least five nanograms of marihuana
metabolite per milliliter of the person's whole blood or blood serum or
plasma.
(II) As measured by gas chromatography mass
spectrometry, the person has a concentration of marihuana metabolite in
the person's urine of at least thirty-five nanograms of marihuana
metabolite per milliliter of the person's urine or has a concentration
of marihuana metabolite in the person's whole blood or blood serum or
plasma of at least fifty nanograms of marihuana metabolite per
milliliter of the person's whole blood or blood serum or plasma.
(ix) The person has a concentration of methamphetamine
in the person's urine of at least five hundred nanograms of
methamphetamine per milliliter of the person's urine or has a
concentration of methamphetamine in the person's whole blood or blood
serum or plasma of at least one hundred nanograms of methamphetamine
per milliliter of the person's whole blood or blood serum or
plasma.
(x) The person has a concentration of phencyclidine in
the person's urine of at least twenty-five nanograms of phencyclidine
per milliliter of the person's urine or has a concentration of
phencyclidine in the person's whole blood or blood serum or plasma of
at least ten nanograms of phencyclidine per milliliter of the person's
whole blood or blood serum or plasma.
(2) No person who, within twenty years of the conduct
described in division (A)(2)(a) of this section,
previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of
this division, division (A)(1) or (B)
of
this section, or a municipal OVI offense shall do both of the
following:
(a) Operate any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless
trolley within this state while under the influence of alcohol, a drug
of abuse, or a combination of them;
(b) Subsequent to being arrested for operating the
vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley as described in division
(A)(2)(a) of this section, being asked by a law
enforcement officer to submit to a chemical test or tests under section
4511.191 [4511.19.1] of the Revised Code, and being
advised by the officer in accordance with section 4511.192
[4511.19.2] of the Revised Code of the consequences of the
person's refusal or submission to the test or tests, refuse to submit
to the test or tests.
(B) No person under twenty-one years of age shall
operate any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley within this state,
if, at the time of the operation, any of the following apply:
(1) The person has a concentration of at least
two-hundredths of one per cent but less than eight-hundredths of one
per cent by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's whole
blood.
(2) The person has a concentration of at least
three-hundredths of one per cent but less than ninety-six-thousandths
of one per cent by weight per unit volume of alcohol in the person's
blood serum or plasma.
(3) The person has a concentration of at least
two-hundredths of one gram but less than eight-hundredths of one gram
by weight of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of the person's
breath.
(4) The person has a concentration of at least
twenty-eight one-thousandths of one gram but less than
eleven-hundredths of one gram by weight of alcohol per one hundred
milliliters of the person's urine.
(C) In any proceeding arising out of one incident, a
person may be charged with a violation of division
(A)(1)(a) or (A)(2) and a violation
of division (B)(1), (2), or
(3) of this section, but the person may not be
convicted of more than one violation of these divisions.
(D) (1) In any criminal prosecution or juvenile court
proceeding for a violation of division (A) or
(B) of this section or for an equivalent offense, the
court may admit evidence on the concentration of alcohol,
drugs of abuse, controlled substances, metabolites of a controlled
substance, or a combination of them in the defendant's whole blood,
blood serum or plasma, breath, urine, or other bodily substance at the
time
of the alleged violation as shown by chemical analysis of the substance
withdrawn within three hours of the time of the alleged violation. The
three-hour time limit specified in this division regarding the
admission of
evidence does not extend or affect the two-hour time limit specified in
division (A) of section 4511.192
[4511.19.2] of the Revised Code as the maximum period of time
during which a person may consent to a chemical test or tests as
described in that section.
When a person submits to a blood test at the request of a law
enforcement officer under section 4511.191 [4511.19.1]
of the Revised Code, only a physician, a registered nurse, or a
qualified
technician, chemist, or phlebotomist shall withdraw blood for the
purpose of determining the alcohol, drug controlled substance,
metabolite of a controlled substance, or combination content of the
whole blood, blood serum, or blood plasma. This limitation does not
apply to the taking of breath or urine specimens. A person authorized
to withdraw blood under this division may refuse to withdraw blood
under this division, if in that person's opinion, the physical welfare
of the person would be endangered by the withdrawing of blood.
The bodily substance withdrawn shall be analyzed in accordance with
methods approved by the director of health by an individual possessing
a valid permit issued by the director pursuant to section
3701.143
[3701.14.3] of the Revised Code.
