suhrelaw | October 3, 2017 | OVI Defense

If you have been charged with Operating Under the Influence in Dayton Ohio you will have to appear in court. A lawyer cannot make it go away without you. Your lawyer might be able to waive your appearance if you live out of town for some pretrial dates, but you will need to be present to enter a plea or have a hearing on a motion to suppress evidence or a trial.

What Court is my Dayton OVI in?

There are many courts in the Dayton, Ohio area. Montgomery County East and West, Dayton Municipal, Miamisburg Municipal, Kettering Municipal, Vandalia Municipal, Xenia Municipal, Yellow Spring’s Mayor’s Court, Oakwood Mayor’s Court, Fairborn Municipal Court, are the most popular. When you are served with a copy of the citation it will summon you to appear for arraignment by indicating the name and address of the court at the bottom. It will also give you a date and time to appear. If you fail to hire a lawyer to appear on your behalf or appear in person the court will issue a warrant for your arrest.

What should I wear to court?

Dress nice. Local Rules vary, but it is a good bet that you should wear pants, dress shoes, and a collared shirt. Remember sometimes judges are looking to see if you are taking this seriously. If you wear inappropriate clothing a judge might tell you to come back another day. Examples of inappropriate attire include: shorts, flip flops, crocks, tank tops, revealing clothing in general, etc. It is also wise to avoid t-shirts with writing on them and especially anything offensive. Hats must be taken off and if you are standing to address the court it is wise to take off your coat and lay down your purse or bag. Turn off cell phones while in court. Do not talk while court is in session unless the judge is asking you a question. If asked a question, answer it specifically and in general do not elaborate. Your lawyer will guide you. Address the court as your honor.When you speak, speak up and make sure the judge, court reporter, or recording system can hear you. You will be asked to stand about 10-15 feet away so speak up.

Will you go to jail for an OVI in Dayton, Ohio?

If you are charged with a first offense it is likely that your lawyer can avoid jail time for you. The law requires you to go for at least 3 days, but most judges will allow you to attend a driver intervention program or DIP. These programs are usually ordered after sentencing, but some will take a plea and then ask that you complete the program before sentencing. This is the case even if the matter is reduced to reckless operation. Sometimes reductions to physical control do not require a 3 day DIP class. The DIP classes are help from a Thursday night to Sunday afternoon. You will stay at the facility. There are various locations. There are a lot of medications that they will not allow you to have so check in advance with the program in case there is something you need to wean yourself off of before the counseling begins. Do not show up intoxicated. This is not a concert. It is treatment. You want to get high marks and a recommendation that no further counseling is needed.

What if the DIP program recommends additional counseling?

Most courts will make it part of their order that you engage in and complete the additional counseling. This can be ordered in the form of individual or group sessions. You can also be ordered to do AA. I see AA being ordered less now than 10 years ago.

If I do treatment and counseling before sentencing will I avoid jail or be guaranteed a reduction? Not necessarily.

Not necessarily. I always tell people with aggravating factors like a prior conviction, high test, crash, children in the car, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, speed in excess of 30 mph over the limit, inability to stop drinking while the case is going on to seek counseling as soon as possible.We can bring a report from the counselor to court and use that in mitigation. At the very least, it should let you feel more positive that you are taking control of the matter and attempting to better your situation. The worst thing you can do is pick up a second OVI while you have one pending.