April 2, 2013 | Administrative License Suspension, Driving Privileges, OVI / DUI Law

If you are charged with DUI in Columbus, Ohio,  you might also be suspended even before you go to court. This is an administrative license suspension or “ALS”.

Before going to court is the best time to hire a lawyer. Your lawyer can examine your paperwork for errors and make the best objections possible in court in an effort to get the suspension set aside and get you driving again pending the outcome of your case.

The police officer fills out the BMV 2255, the yellow full size paper you were given with along with the ticket. It says Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Report of Law Enforcement Officer, and Administrative License Suspension at the top.

This is an affidavit that the police use to place you under the ALS suspension and seize your driver’s license. It states that they read you the advice on the back, and that you were asked to take a chemical test by blood, breath, or urine and the results were a test over the legal limit or a refusal of the test.

You cannot demand one test over the other. The police can ask for more than one type of test. You do have the right to have your own independent test done at your own expense upon release.

A suspension on a first offense, test over .08, is 90 days. You can ask for privileges to drive after 15 days.

A suspension on a first offense, test refusal, on a DUI is 1 year. You can request privileges after 30 days for work, school, vocational, and medical needs.

And remember, if you or a family member has been arrested for DUI in the Columbus Area – call SUHRE & ASSOCIATES at 614-827-2000. We are available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. Because now is the perfect time to put a team that includes a FORMER POLICE OFFICER and a FORMER PROSECUTOR to work….for you!