Our last article was about receiving the first tie OVI in Ohio. But what if this is not your first OVI in Ohio? You may be convicted of OVI twice. It may even be the same type of OVI. But the penalties can change based on several factors. These factors include how many OVIs you have on your record. And how long ago those convictions occurred. Subsequent OVI convictions are largely governed by the same Section of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) as the first OVI conviction. That section is ORC 4511.19.
Second OVI in 10 Years
Once you have a second OVI conviction, and your first OVI was 10 years ago or less, the potential penalties go up. For a “simple OVI,” jail time goes from 3 to 10 days, and the maximum fine goes up to $1,625.00. (Sometimes the jail time can be partially decreased with participation in an intervention program). If the breath test is very high, or if you have refused the breath test in the past twenty years, the penalties can go up even more. Either way, the OVI Remains a Misdemeanor of the first degree (unless there are aggravating factors). Note that these highlights are not all the penalties that can come with a second OVI offense.
3rd OVI in 10 Years
Similarly to the second OVI, penalties automatically go up for a third time OVI in 10 years. Jail time goes up to 30 days, and the maximum fine goes up to $2,750.00. With a high test or test refusal, you could be facing 60 days in jail. Again, there are other factors and other penalties that can come with third OVI.
Felony OVI
If you get 4 or more OVIs, the conviction start to become felonies. Not only do fines and jail time go up for a felony OVI, but there are two other changes to the penalties that can happen. For one thing, you could be facing prison time on a felony OVI, especially if you had a high test or test refusal. Secondly, there is the amount of time that a felony OVI affects your record. As you may have noticed, the penalties for misdemeanor OVI change if your prior misdemeanor OVIs were within 10 years. On the other hand, the penalties for felony OVI increase if you have a prior felony OVI, no matter when the prior felony OVI was.
There are multiple levels of felony OVI. Similarly to the misdemeanors, the penalties can change based on a high or refused test. And there are other factors and penalties that we cannot cover.
Conclusion
As we mentioned several times, this is not a complete list of factors and penalties involved in getting multiple OVIs in Ohio. However, it can be important to have an idea of what you are facing if this is not your first OVI in Ohio. Whether this is your first, second, third or fourth offense, you may be looking for OVI representation. If that is the case, feel free to contact the offices of Dearie, Fischer & Martinson.
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