I live in Ohio. I blew below the minimum level on a breath test at a checkpoint. Why am i going to court?

Question

Can I still be charged with a DUI after blowing below the minimum? (.070) Should I consider getting an attorney?
What can I be charged with and how much will it cost?

Answer 1

Charges will vary according to the attorney, and you definitely need one! Otherwise you are about to get railroaded.

Answer 2

Yes DWI is .08 and above. Anything lower is a DUI. More than likely you were given some "Road Side Olympics" and failed enough to give the officer probable cause to think you were a DWI.
A person who rarely never drinks may have 3 beverages in a 2 hour block. This means he/she will be approximately a .030 when he/she leaves. But since this person rarely drinks and is not used to alcohol in their system he/she may act like they had 6, 7, 8 drinks or more and when asked to perform the field sobriety tests may fail all parts. Even though the person may say "office i had 3 drinks in 2 hours" we all know that people like to lie to the police so police officers will double the number in their head. Past results show 3 beers equals 6, 4 beers equal 8 and so forth. Anyhow by failing the road side olympics course the person has offered enough probable cause to be arrested and brought back to jail and administered the breath test. Now that more time is past the person is only a .025. DUI. Driving under the influence is having alcohol in a persons system.
Now the fun part. Jurisdiction to jurisdicition the fees, penalties, and judges opinions differ immensley. A person blowing a .025 in one jurisdiction may make the judge laugh and send the person packing with court costs while in another jurisdiction the judge may be hard - core and fine the person the maximum fine.
My advice to you is to call the DA's office who will be handling the case, give them your story and see what that jurisdictions policy is on your type of situation. If you didn't fight or rack up any other charges and have no prior convictions and the DA tells you it will probably be reduced; go to court without a lawyer and see if that happens... if it goes the wrong way ask for an extension and get a lawyer.
Good luck.

Answer 3

Driving under the influence is when a driver shows that they are not thoroughly in control of a vehicle. One can be charged with a DUI for having a cold medicine that makes them sleepy.

The "legal limit" is just a guide. Some can handle more than .08 and still be very sober. While others can have one beer and be drunk. It is all relative to the individual.

If they cited you with DUI, then they had someone spot you driving either recklessly and signaled the checkpoint to test you, or they smelled alcohol and suspected you of being drunk. Either way, DUI has little to do with the level you blew. It has everything to do with how you are driving.

I think it would be in your best interest to get an attorney. They will more than likely be able to get the charges reduced, and in turn get you a smaller fine, and a different charge on your record.

Answer 4

The cop could have determined that you were still driving while impared...which may be even if you were below the minimum. Why were you pulled over...were you driving all spazzy or did you disobey a signal?
Yeah, get an attorney because you shouldn't be nailed with this and you might if you screw up in court. Minimal representation like this will be less expensive than the fines and fees attached to a drunk driving violation. If you are young they might be just trying to scare you.
Also, unless they held you and made you blow again later, you can say you JUST had a drink before you left. Unless you've waited 20 min to blow after a drink you WILL blow higher than your actual blood alcohol level. That way your defense can be that you were not even at what you blew, but somewhere below that and you will only get a ticket for your actual driving violation.

Answer 5

Yes, DUI is not the same as DWI. Driving under the influence means that you did have alcohol in your system and you were cited for an infraction. Driving while intoxicated means that you were above the legal limit and you would have been arrested.
You should not fight it. You should not drink and drive. On average, in the United States a person statistically gets behind the wheel after drinking alcohol 400 times before they get busted. While it may have been one of your first few times, thank your lucky stars you did not hurt yourself or anyone else.

Answer 6

The big question is where in Ohio do you live? I live just next to Ohio and the towns just over the border are about as corrupt as they can get. They will drive out of their jurisdiction to pull you over and if they can't find anything wrong, they make something up. I was driving a car with a Georgia license plate and they went into the next village to pull me over. I wasn't speeding cause the car was a POS. The speed limit was 55 and I was doing 45. The only reason they pulled me over was because it was an out of state tag.

I was born in Akron but I've never seen a more corrupt township like Chesapeake or a corrupt county as Lawrence.

Answer 7

if you can not afford an attorney, get a court appointed one. i have known people who were thrown in jail for blowing over the limit. the problem was, they were drinking cough medicine for a cold and sore throat.

sounds like to me some one was having a bad day, or trying to make an impression or make an example out of you. take your pick.

Answer 8

What is the level in your state and were you driving irratically, and did you resist the police in any way?

This may be a matter of court fees and fines. Think positive, write down TODAY what you recall about your activities before, during and after and talk to experts about how to successfully defend yourself.

Answer 9

The first 30 minutes talking with a lawyer is typically free. Call a laywer and discuss your case. Check in your yellow pages or phone a legal clinic for a name of the best laywer for your situation.

Good luck.

Answer 10

The blood alcohol limit is only the point at which you are undefendably intoxicated. You can still be accused of driving under the influence if your blood alcohol level is below or at the limit. If you were weaving or driving too slow or too fast, you can still be cited.