Walk It Through: Sleeping It Off
The decision not to drive, and the charge that can follow it anyway.
You have had too much to drink and decide not to drive. You get into the car to sleep, in a lit car park.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
This walks one evening and four decisions. It says nothing about what a court does with a physical control charge, about limited driving privileges during a suspension, or about how a suspension at nineteen interacts with a graduated license.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
10 words · tap one for its definition
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Administrative license suspensionA suspension imposed by the registrar on refusal or on a test over the limit, effective from the arrest and independent of the criminal case.
- ArraignmentThe hearing where the charge is read and a plea is entered. In Ohio the initial appearance and the arraignment can happen at the same hearing in a misdemeanor case.
- Implied consentOhio law treats operating a vehicle on a public road as consent to a chemical test of breath, blood or urine when an officer has arrested the driver for OVI.
- Limited driving privilegesPermission from a court to drive on a limited basis during a suspension, granted on petition and subject to whatever conditions the court attaches.
- Per se limitA concentration at or above which the prohibited amount itself is the offense, with no separate proof of impairment required. Ohio sets several, by substance and by test type.
- Appointed counselCounsel provided at public expense to a defendant who cannot afford one, required in any case where imprisonment is actually imposed.
- Physical controlA separate Ohio offense covering being in the driver's position of a stationary vehicle with the keys or ignition, while under the influence. No movement is required.
- Clear and convincing evidenceA standard of proof higher than the balance of probabilities used in an ordinary civil case and lower than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Ohio uses it for civil commitment and for forfeiture, among other things.
- ConsentVoluntary agreement to a search, judged on the totality of the circumstances. Valid consent removes the need for a warrant and for probable cause.
- Probable causeFacts that would lead a reasonable person to believe a crime has been committed and that this person committed it. It is the threshold for an arrest and for a search warrant.