Characteristics of DUI recidivists: A 12-year follow-up study of first time DUI offenders.

Cavaiola AA, Strohmetz DB, Abreo SD. Addict ...   more »

LOS ANGELES - Mothers Against Drunk Driving said Wednesday that allegations of illegal underage drinking had led it to sever ties with 18-year-old Katie Blair, the reigning Miss Teen USA.  MADD said it was "disappointed" by news reports of hard partying by Blair and Miss USA Tara Conner, who on Tuesday tearfully admitted drinking at New York nightclubs as a minor. Conner turned 21 on Monday.

"In the past, MADD has teamed with Miss Teen USA to raise awareness about the serious and often deadly consequences of underage drinking. However, we do not feel, at this time, that Ms. Blair can be an effective spokesperson on underage drinking and will not ask her to represent MADD in future initiatives," Heidi Castle, a spokeswoman for MADD, said in a statement.

The Ohio Supreme Court, in State v. Earlenbaugh(1985), 18 Ohio St.3d 19, 21-22, stated, "we believe that the statute simply provides two definite and clear bases upon which a finding of guilt may be premised. A person may be found guilty of violating R.C. 4511.20 if he acts willfully. Such conduct implies an act done intentionally, designedly, knowingly, or purposely, without justifiable excuse. Black's Law Dictionary (5^th  Ed.1979) 1434. Or conversely, R.C. 4511.20 is violated when a person acts wantonly in disregard of the safety of others. A wanton act is an act done in reckless disregard of the rights of others which evinces a reckless indifference of the consequences to the life, limb, health, reputation, or property of others. (Citations omitted.)"

-When I was younger I did not take many vacations.  Now that my kids are getting older I promised to go on at least one a year.  This year we went to Walt Disney World.  After a week with the mouse we are glad to be back.  I am anxious to attack the annual injustices such as road blocks, DUI targeting, profiling...etc.  If you find yourself charged with a -DUI this holiday season, please contact attorney Charles M. Rowland II at 937-879-9542.

Improper police coercion to submit to chemical testing can lead to suppression of test results.  If implied consent provisions are not applicable—e.g., the suspect was driving on
property not used for vehicular traffic or was never arrested—but the suspect is erroneously advised that refusal of the test will lead to an administrative license suspension, the consent isn’t voluntary, and the result should be suppressed. State v. Gottfried, 86 Ohio App. 3d 106, 619 N.E.2d 1185 (Ohio Ct. App. 6th Dist. Ottawa County 1993).  At least one court has held that a suspect is improperly coerced into submitting to a test by the threat of incarceration. State v. Ewers, 1992 WL 235721 (Ohio Ct. App. 2nd Dist Clark County 1992).

Today, Charles M. Rowland II attended a 6 hour DUI seminar in Cincinnati describing the latest techniques in representing the accused drunk driver.  If you are in need of competent DUI counsel, pleae contact Charles M. Rowland II at 937-879-8542,

 

 

A person recently called our office asking if you can be convicted of DUI on a bicycle.  R.C. 4511.01(A) - Defines "vehicles" to include "bicycles." All "vehicle operators" are restricted by every Ohio traffic law including speeding, drunk driving, traffic control device rules, reckless operation, etc.  R.C. 4511.52 specifically makes all traffic laws applicable to bicycles whenever a bike is operated on any road or "any path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles." Based on this statute biking drunk on any of the many scenic paths in the Miami Vally may lead to a DUI (kna OVI) conviction.

If you think this is a rare occurrence, visit your local municipal court. Last week I heard of two such charges, one in Xenia and another in Mason.  Please consult with a good DUI/OVI attorney because the penalties for these offenses are just as harsh as automobile offenses.

 

Here is the answer to a recently asked question about the current Bowl Championship Series and traditional conference tie-ins:

Unless their champion is involved in the BCS National Championship game, the conference tie-ins are as follows:

• Rose Bowl - Big Ten vs. Pac-10.
• Fiesta Bowl - Big 12.
• Orange Bowl - ACC.
• Sugar Bowl - SEC.

The Big East Champions are in the pool with four at-large teams.  As Boise State (this year) and Utah demonstrate, the mid-major conferences can get into a BCS game.

If you are placed under arrest you will be afforded the opportunity to make bond. In a D.U.I. case the bond is usually low enough that most people will only have to spend one night in jail. If, however, you are unable to make bail you will remain in jail until your first scheduled court appearance. The first court appearance is called an arraignment. The arraignment has its roots in our Constitution's abhorrence for the practice of English authorities who would throw someone in jail and not inform them of the charge against them. Within a short period of time you will be brought before the Municipal Court judge and you will be asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty or no contest. It is vital that you not enter a plea of guilty or no contest unless you have spoken to an attorney. Do not give up your rights on the hope that you will be released from jail or because you feel embarrassed and humiliated.

WASHINGTON (November 20, 2006) – In a bold new effort designed to eradicate one of the nation’s deadliest crimes, Mothers ...   more »

Ninety percent of our lawyers serve ten percent of our people.  We are over-lawyered and under-represented.

former President Jimmy Carter

 

 

4561.15 Unsafe operation of aircraft.

(A) No person shall commit any of the following acts:

(1) Carry passengers in an ...   more »

There are no easy DUIs Costs range from insurance to prison time By Tony Gordon Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer Being charged with and convicted of driving under the influence can be a terribly expensive proposition, a financial hole that can take years to climb out of.   A major expense for every driver charged, win or lose, is the cost of legal defense, except for indigent defendants who are afforded a public defender at taxpayer cost. Attorneys and judges agree it is foolhardy for someone to defend himself or herself against a DUI charge.  Lawyers do not quote exact fees to anyone other than prospective clients, but a group of attorneys who practice DUI defense law in Lake, Cook, McHenry and DuPage counties agreed to provide the Daily Herald with a general range of the expense of representation. The circumstances of a case - such as the evidence against a person, his or her prior record and whether or not the case goes to trial - contribute to the cost of defending a DUI charge. In general, a first-time offender can expect to enter the market for around $1,500 to $2,500. Fees begin to creep up toward $10,000 if a person has been involved in a crash in which someone has been injured, police have results of a blood-alcohol test and the person has prior DUI convictions. In those types of cases, the number of hours an attorney must devote to court appearances and preparation can increase dramatically when compared with a first-time offense case. "For a first-timer with a fairly simple case, $1,500 is about right," said one attorney. "If there is evidence against him and the only chance to win is to go to trial, it could take $7,500 for a bench trial, and $10,000 is not out of the question if we have to pick a jury." Assuming a person is convicted, fines and a variety of court costs will be assessed. All set by state law, the fines increase based on a person's record, and some of the court costs increase based on the fine. First and second-time offenders are convicted of misdemeanor crimes and are subject to fines up to $2,500. On third or subsequent charges, prosecutors have the option of charging aggravated DUI, a felony with fines up to $25,000 and a penalty of one to three years in prison or probation. Standard court costs on each DUI conviction include $5 for court administration, $5 for court document storage, $15 for court security, $50 for the circuit clerk's office and $30 for the county in which the conviction takes place. The police agency that arrested a person assesses a $100 fee, and a convicted drunken driver placed on probation must pay a $25 monthly probation service fee. All persons convicted of drunken driving must undergo an alcohol abuse evaluation and a level of counseling related to the results of that evaluation. The Northern Illinois Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse is the second-largest provider of court-ordered alcohol counseling in the state, serving Lake, McHenry and northern Cook counties. George O'Connor, the agency's court liaison, said the evaluation costs $100. A person found to be at no risk of being an alcoholic must complete a 10-hour risk reduction course at a cost of $75. Those found to have a moderate risk of an alcohol problem are sent through a 22-hour course of classroom training and group counseling at a cost of $488, O'Connor said, while those seen as having a significant risk must take a 30-hour course for $700. The people having the highest risk of becoming an alcoholic must complete 75 hours of counseling at a cost of $1,700, he said. By far the longest-term expense attached to a DUI conviction is in the cost of auto insurance, which is mandatory for all drivers in the state. Dan Kummer, manager of personal auto insurance for the National Independent Insurers Association in Des Plaines, said a DUI conviction has significant impact on a driver's insurance rates, and several convictions make a bad situation worse. Kummer said in many cases a person holding a policy with one of the premium insurers - the largest companies that can offer the lowest rates to people with good driving records - will be dropped for being convicted of DUI. Such a move forces people to seek insurance with one of what is known as "nonstandard companies," Kummer said. Those are companies that provide insurance to drivers with less-sparkling records. A second or third DUI conviction within a five- to seven-year period can send a person shopping in what is known as the residual market, Kummer said. Those are last-resort insurers with the highest premiums. It can take three to five years of driving with no violations to restore a person's suitability for the premium market, he said. Because of the several variables involved in calculating auto insurance rates - such as the type of car driven, where a person lives and a driver's record other than DUI convictions - no precise formula exists for calculation of insurance rate impact. But Ana Compain-Romero, spokeswoman for premium insurer State Farm Insurance based in downstate Bloomington, said a person dropped from a top-line company to a nonstandard can see as much as an 80 percent increase in the yearly insurance cost. "Each case is different, and depending on the circumstances every State Farm customer convicted of DUI will not be dropped," Compain-Romero said. "But falling from a premium insurer to a nonstandard can be as much as an 80 percent increase, and to go from there to a residual can be another 80 to 100 percent over that."

Washington Court House is a city in Fayette County, Ohio, United States. It is the county seat of Fayette County and is located approximately halfway between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Columbus, Ohio. The population was 13,524 at the 2000 census. Until 2002, the official name of the city was the "City of Washington," but there already existed a municipality in Guernsey County, Ohio with the name "Washington" (now known as Old Washington, Ohio). To avoid confusion by the postal services, the Fayette County city was referred to as "Washington Court House." In 2002, a new charter was adopted, officially changing the name to the "City of Washington Court House." The name is often abbreviated as "Washington C.H." (from www.Wikipedia.com)

Ohio Governor-elect Ted Strickland and Attorney General-elect Marc Dann state need for closer examination of Ohio death penalty

Friday, November 24

  The Judgment of Solomon: Part One in the Good Judges Series

by Charles Rowland on Fri 24 Nov 2006 02:20 PM EST

THE JUDGEMENT OF SOLOMON
First Book of Kings, 3:16-28

Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. the next morning, I got up to nurse my son - and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne." The other woman said, "No' The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king. The king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other." The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!" But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two." Then the king gave the ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is the mother." When all Israel hear the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

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Thursday, November 23

  Happy Thanksgiving

by Charles Rowland on Thu 23 Nov 2006 06:00 AM EST

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for the rights guaranteed to me by the Constitution.  It's a wonderful document created by a tremendous collection of Enlightenment thinkers.  This holiday is not about Christian pilgrims who establish a New World theocracy, but about a country who transfers the power of kings to us regular guys.  As much as fundamentalists wish to convert the founding of this country into a religious experience, people like me remember that it was nothing short of an act of outright rebellion to the religious authority of the time.  So have a draught of rebellion with your stuffing and as always...fight the power!

Happy Thanksgiving,

Charles M. Rowland II

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Wednesday, November 22

  Ohio State Highway Patrol Announces Checkpoints

by Charles Rowland on Wed 22 Nov 2006 11:43 PM EST

Patrol announces plans for low-manpower OVI checkpoint

COLUMBUS - The Ohio State Highway Patrol announced today that troopers will operate ...   more »

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Sunday, November 19

  How Bad is I-75 Traffic?

by Charles Rowland on Sun 19 Nov 2006 10:06 PM EST

I-75 upgrade cost to run $900M

Ohio's busiest stretch becoming bottlenecked

Cincinnati Business Courier -

by Dan Monk and ...   more »

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Saturday, November 18

  YEAH! Congratulations Ohio State Buckeyes

by Charles Rowland on Sat 18 Nov 2006 08:12 PM EST

Congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes, victorious over that team up north for the thid consecutive year! OH-IO Go Bucks!

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Thursday, November 16

  1-866-NO OH DUI

by Charles Rowland on Thu 16 Nov 2006 01:48 PM EST

The law offices of Charles M. Rowland II are proud to announce a cooperative arrangement with www.DrunkDrivingDefense.com.  Part of this arrangement allows us to use the very cool telephone number 1-866-NO OH DUI.  If you are in need of representation, please contact us thusly.

Charles M. Rowland II

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Tuesday, November 14

  The Slippery Slope- Automakers Look to Install System to Prevent Drunk-Driving

by Charles Rowland on Tue 14 Nov 2006 01:44 PM EST

Major car manufacturers such as Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are looking to equip their vehicles with a system to prevent drunk-driving, sources said.

Nissan reportedly is looking to implement a system to prevent an engine from starting when a certain amount of alcohol is detected on the driver's breath. Toyota also has begun discussing an anti-drunk driving system.

However, manufacturers face a variety of problems in implementing the system such as the cost and legal regulations.

Car manufacturers believe measures against drunk driving are necessary at a time when many drunk drivers are causing traffic accidents. (Mainichi)

Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp

---

TOKYO — Nissan is developing a new system to stop drunk drivers from starting their vehicles, according to a report in Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The system is said to be similar to the immobilizers used in the United States as part of some drunk-driving sentences.

Additionally, the system may be combined with a camera that monitors the driver for drowsiness. The automaker did not spell out a timetable for putting the anti-DUI technology on the market.

Saab and Volvo have been leading similar research efforts — in part because Sweden has tough drunk-driving laws.

Source: http://www.edmunds.com

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Friday, November 10

  Quote of the Week

by Charles Rowland on Fri 10 Nov 2006 01:36 PM EST

I boke a mirror. I'm supposed to get  seven years bad luck. My lawyer says he can get me five.

-Steven Wright-

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Wednesday, November 8

  Greene County Demographics (Thanks Wikipedia)

by Charles Rowland on Wed 08 Nov 2006 01:35 PM EST

As of the census² of 2000, there were 147,886 people, 55,312 households, and 39,160 families residing in the county. ...   more »

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Friday, November 3

  A Seven-Year-Old Designated Driver

by Charles Rowland on Fri 03 Nov 2006 11:10 AM EST

Cops: Drunk Nevada man turned wheel over to his young son

OCTOBER 31--Meet Alfredo Martinez. While the Nevada man should be saluted for knowing that he was too drunk to get behind the wheel last night, he probably should not have tabbed his seven-year-old son as his designated driver. Martinez, 37, was arrested after Reno cops spotted his car weaving across lanes and stopping suddenly. When officers pulled over the vehicle before it could enter a highway, they found a plastered Martinez in the passenger seat and his son behind the wheel. Martinez, pictured below in a mug shot snapped at the Washoe County lockup, directed the boy to drive him home because he was too drunk to do it himself, cops said. Martinez is facing a felony child endangerment rap.

FROM THE SMOKING GUN

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