Penalties for a Second OVI Offense in Ohio Explained by DUI Attorney

Ohio OVI attorney Brian Joslyn explains the penalties for a second OVI offense in Ohio. Contact the Joslyn Criminal Defense Law Firm today for a consultation about your drinking and driving offense in Columbus, Ohio. Joslyn Law Firm is experienced in representing those arrested for OVI throughout Ohio. If you or a loved one has been arrested or is under investigation for a crime, please call us at (614) 444-1900 or submit an online contact form to request a free and confidential consultation to discuss your case with one of our attorneys.

For second offenses and third offenses, things change, and they change drastically. As you move into second offenses the cases become more intense because mandatory jail becomes a reality if you’re convicted. For a second offense OVI, if you’re convicted, and if you blew into a breathalyzer, as a low test, your mandatory minimum jail is 10 days. And unfortunately, there is no way around that. The court does not have the ability or the discretion not to give that to you. Another common question that we get about that is “Can I serve these on the weekend?”, and unfortunately under Ohio law, the days have to be served consecutively. I don’t necessarily agree with that. I understand that, that could cause someone to be fired because they can’t get their days off, but that’s a common issue that we run in, in our courts. Now the penalties can go up to 6 months, but i’ll be frank, most courts, unless there’s something egregious about your case, are not going to give you more than the 10 days that they are required to under law. Now the fines for a second offense do increase, up to 525 dollars, and maximum 1,025 dollars. And the suspension period can be the same, but now, it can also put plates on you. Drunk driver plates, which everyone and anyone wants to avoid. In addition to that they can cause you to put an interlock device in your car, which is a device that you may have to blow into everyone you want to start your car. As a second offense, penalties can be enhanced further if it’s a high test or a refusal. In the event you’re convicted of a second offense high test or refusal, you’re mandatory minimum jail days go all the way up to 20 days. And for some professionals, obviously, that is a career breaker. And we understand that, and that’s where, in some of these cases, even where there’s not good fight o be had, you have to pull out all the stops, because you have nothing to lose. And we understand that, and we’ll fight tooth and nail to avoid such an extreme jail sentence. And sometimes, i would say more often then not, we are able to get those reduced.