DUI/OVI

Welcome back. As promised, this month I shall discuss how to handle an DUI/OVI stop. Before I get into the nitty gritty, I encourage you to be polite once pulled over. Being rude will only make the officer angry, which increases your chances of them finding some reason to cite and/or arrest you.

Anyway, here are the big questions regarding an OVI:

“Should I blow?”- yes and no. No, because why should you give the opposing side evidence against you? BUT, if you have refused previously you just earned yourself a level one misdemeanor (Refusal to Blow with Prior Refusal). If you refuse it will stay on your record for 20 years regardless of the outcome. If you are arrested for an OVI within those twenty years, your prior refusal will also count as an extra OVI! Quick math question: you have one prior OVI charge where you refused to blow and were found not guilty and one prior OVI conviction, and you are arrested on another OVI charge. How many prior OVI convictions do you have? TWO priors. Regardless of how that OVI charge with the refusal panned out, you still refused to blow. So, assuming you are found guilty of the current OVI charge the Court can sentence you as if you had three OVI’s within the last 10 years even though you would only have two convictions and one refusal to blow. So if you refuse, all that hard work your attorney put into getting a not guilty verdict on that OVI with refusal goes out the window if get nabbed a subsequent time.

“Do I have to blow?”- this has a much easier answer: No. You have the right to refuse to take a breathalyzer test. End of answer.

“Can I be penalized for refusing to blow?”- Not if this is your first refusal. The first refusal cannot be considered as a prior OVI for the purposing of resolving that one particular case, but it can be used against you in all subsequent OVI charges you pick up for the next twenty years.

The best advice I can give: If you have been drinking, call an uber. I guarantee your uber would cost less than the court costs alone of an OVI charge.

Next month we shall discuss the merits of proper estate planning.

Disclaimer:  The article in this publication has been prepared by Goldstein Legal Services, LLC for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney/client relationship