Drunk Driving DUI Law

The Ohio supreme court has ruled in favor of tougher penalties for drunken drivers with prior convictions who refuse breath tests if pulled over again. The court ruled 4-3

The Union County case challenged the constitutionality of penalties for individuals with a DUI conviction on their record if they refuse to submit to a alcohol test if arrested for another DUI violation and in turn convicted.

Under the new Ohio drunk driving law, violators would face 10 additional days of mandatory jail time in addition to the mandatory 10 days in jail a repeat DUI offender must serve.

The Dispatch said the Union County case involved a DUI case in which a man was given the additional 10 days for a September 2006 DUI incident.

While the Court of Appeals upheld Hoover’s conviction, it cut out the additional days in jail based on the stance the sentence violated his 4th Amendment rights on unreasonable searches and seizures.

“Hoover has no constitutional right to refuse to take a reasonably reliable chemical test for intoxication,” Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger wrote in Wednesday’s ruling, which upheld the initial decision against Hoover and reversed the appellate court ruling.

If you have been arrested for Ohio drunk driving, the current penalties under Ohio DUI law are harsh enough as far as you’re concerned. The right move to make is contacting a top Ohio DUI defense lawyer to go over your case.