OVI / DUI Lawyer for Washington Courthouse, Ohio

DUI / OVI In Washington Courthouse, Ohio
The lawyers at the Dominy Law Firm represents clients charged with DUI (called ‘OVI’ in Ohio) in Fayette County, Ohio. In Fayette County, misdemeanor OVI cases are heard in the Washington Courthouse Municipal Court, and felony OVI cases are heard in the Fayette County Common Pleas Court.

Those OVI cases come primarily from Washington Courthouse but also originate in other municipalities in Fayette County, including Blomingburg, Jeffersonville, Milledgeville, Mt. Sterling, New Holland, and Octa. Most of the OVI cases in Fayette County are filed by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Washington Courthouse Police Department, and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

Whether you are a resident of Washington Courthouse or you have a DUI/OVI case in Washington Courthouse, you probably have questions about your situation. This website will help answer your questions. Other pages of this website explain OVI charges, penalties, defenses, and evidence (see the links at the bottom of this page). This page discusses the court process and how to challenge OVI cases in Fayette County.

The Court Process for OVI Cases
When you receive a ticket charging you with OVI, the ticket will have a summons to appear in court. The first court appearance is an arraignment. At the arraignment, you will to enter a plea: Guilty, No contest, or Not guilty. At the arraignment, you can also challenge the Administrative License Suspension if a suspension was imposed.

If you plead Not Guilty at the arraignment, there will be a pretrial hearing: an opportunity to discuss the case with the prosecuting attorney and try to reach a plea agreement. If a plea agreement is reached, the case is finished at the pretrial hearing.

If the case is not finished at the pretrial hearing, the next hearing is a motion hearing, assuming you have filed a motion to suppress evidence. The motion hearing is also another opportunity to negotiate an agreed resolution.

If the case is still not resolved with a plea agreement, the case is scheduled for a trial. At the trial, a jury or judge renders a verdict of Not Guilty or Guilty. If there is a guilty verdict, or if you plead guilty to something at any stage of the case, the judge holds a sentence hearing to impose the sentence.
Before you go to the first court appearance, you should decide whether you will plead Guilty/No Contest or Not Guilty. You should also decide whether you will hire a lawyer and which lawyer you will hire. To make those decisions, you need information. You can find that information on the pages of this website and also in the Ohio DUI/OVI Guide, which you can download for free here.
Challenging DUI/OVI Charges in Washington Courthouse
Some folks believe that, if they were charged with OVI, there is nothing that can be done to improve the outcome of the case. If you plead Guilty at the first court appearance, you will definitely be convicted of OVI. If you plead Not Guilty, you will have the opportunity to challenge the prosecution’s evidence, negotiate a plea agreement with the prosecution, and take the case to trial if doing so is advantageous. There is no guarantee that contesting charges will improve the outcome of the case, but it often does.

Lawyers For OVI/DUI Cases in Washington Courthouse, Ohio
If you choose to plead not guilty and contest the OVI, the Dominy Law Firm can help. OVI defense is the focus of our firm, and our lawyers have expertise in this area. If you would like to speak with us about representation for your OVI case in Fayette County, please complete a CONTACT FORM or call 614-717-1177.