The Dominy Law Firm represents clients charged with OVI / DUI in Bexley, Ohio. If you are a Bexley resident charged with DUI / OVI in a central Ohio court, or if you have to go to court for a DUI / OVI in Bexley, you may feel like you are in the dark. Like most people, you have probably never had a reason to research DUI / OVI, so you don’t know much about it. When a person is charged with DUI / OVI, he or she suddenly becomes very interested in the potential punishments, the possible, defenses, and the court process.
This website will shed some light on your situation. The topics mentioned above, and many more, are discussed in the pages of this site. To learn more, you may want to start with the general DUI/OVI page and then continue with other pages discussing individual topics. You may also want to read the ‘Ohio DUI / OVI Guide’. You can purchase the guide from bookstores online, or you can download the e-book for free here.
Going To Court For Bexley DUI / OVI CasesWith a population of about 14,000, Bexley is considered a city and has its own police department, fire department, and court. As Bexley is an enclave of Columbus and located completely within Franklin County, there are four law enforcement agencies with a presence in the Bexley area. Those agencies are the Bexley Police Department, the Columbus Division of Police, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. All of those agencies write tickets for OVI.
Depending on the agency which issued the ticket, a DUI/OVI case from the Bexley area may go to court in the Bexley Mayor’s Court or the Franklin County Municipal Court. In either court, the arraignment must be held within five business days. At the arraignment, you are given two options: (1) plead guilty or no contest; and (2) plead not guilty. If you plead guilty at the arraignment, you will be sentenced, and you will not be able to review the evidence and prepare a defense. If you plead not guilty, you will have the opportunity to obtain the prosecution’s evidence and present a defense.
Knowing the two options presented at the arraignment, it’s best to think through the options and make decisions in advance. What plea to enter is an important decision. To make that decision, you’ll need to decide how important it is to you to try to avoid an OVI conviction. You’ll also have to evaluate the strength of the case and the likelihood of avoiding an OVI conviction. To make that analysis, reading the information in this website and in the e-book will help. It may also help to talk with an experienced DUI / OVI lawyer.
One note about Bexley Mayor’s Court. It is not considered a ‘court of record’. If you are charged with DUI / OVI, you have the right to have your case heard in a ‘court of record’. That means you can appeal the mayor’s court case and have it transferred to the Franklin County Municipal Court. Whether to do so is an important decision, so it may be helpful to have the advice of a Bexley DUI lawyer before reaching a conclusion.
The Dominy Law Firm have experience with Bexley OVI / DUI cases. Shawn Dominy began practicing DUI/OVI defense in 1997, and he began proactively developing expertise in DUI/OVI in 2002. To do that, he joined the top organizations in the country for DUI defense and regularly attended their seminars. He also completed courses in field sobriety testing, forensic gas chromatography, and evidential alcohol testing. He now teaches DUI/OVI to other Ohio lawyers, and he has mentored attorney Bryan Hawkins in DUI/OVI defense.
More information about our firm is available our firm overview. There is also information about the the firm's client satisfaction and case results. If you have a DUI / OVI case in Bexley, or if you are a Bexley resident with a DUI / OVI case in another central Ohio court, you may arrange a free phone consultation with the Dominy Law Firm by completing this contact form or by calling 614-717-1177.