Help me!

[sseanofthedeadd]

I was driving home from a concert out of town the other night and I had not been drinking for more than two hours. When I returned to my city, I was pulled over and accused of having odor of alcohol on my breath. After a series of tests, I was tested with the breathalyzer at a .091. I was not drunk at all, because I had stopped drinking long before I left the concert. The reason there was alcohol in my blood was because I had had hardly anything to eat. However, after 30 minutes I was asked to take the test again where I received a .088 BAC reading. I've never been arrested before. am I in trouble? Should I fight it? what's the worst that could happen on my frist offense?

Thanks,
Sean
Ohio-

 

[seniorjudge]

Sean, you tested drunk.

Hire a lawyer.

 

[TYRIS]

I was driving home from a concert out of town the other night and I had not been drinking for more than two hours. When I returned to my city, I was pulled over and accused of having odor of alcohol on my breath. After a series of tests, I was tested with the breathalyzer at a .091. I was not drunk at all, because I had stopped drinking long before I left the concert.

-You were in fact legally intoxicated based on the tests and the breathalizer. Regardless of how long ago you stopped drinking, it matters how much you drank prior to stopping.

The reason there was alcohol in my blood was because I had had hardly anything to eat. However, after 30 minutes I was asked to take the test again where I received a .088 BAC reading.

-The reason you had alcohol in your blood was becase you had been drinking, the food only helps out so much.

I've never been arrested before. am I in trouble? Should I fight it? what's the worst that could happen on my frist offense?

-Yes, you are in trouble. You an always fight it, whether you will win is another matter. On the first offense you will get a fine, probation and a suspended driver's license


Tyris

 

[BigMistakeFl]

BigMistakeFl

The two tests results also show that your BAC was on the decline, meaning that your BAC was higher at the time you were driving, or you may have been more impaired. This will not help your case.

 

[CdwJava]

Sean, food helps slow the rate of absorption, it has nothing to do with the concentration of alcohol in the blood.

Tyris, Hey! Where ya been???

- Carl

 

[FlyingRon]

The BAC is a per se indication of intoxication as far as the law is concern. It matters not whether you felt (or actually were) physically impaired at that point.

 

[OneFineDay]

"I was not drunk at all"

Sorry, Sean, wrong answer. You were traffic stopped for some reason (weaving? Left of center?). You had an odor of an alcoholic beverage on your breath and was field sobriety tested, which you failed. The officer then asked you to blow in his Portable Breath Tester, which you registered a .91%, which is over the limit. However, the results of the PBT are not admissible as per se evidence. They can only be used as yet another sobriety test. Once arrested and returned to the station you were asked to blow into the big machine, either a BAC Datamaster of Intoxilizer. It is here, you registered .088%. The legal limit in Ohio is .08%...you blew over and was charged with OVI, BAC and whatever the reason for the traffic stop.

Since you blew over, there really isn't anything to fight. Most attorney's will ask the prosecute to drop the BAC and the reason for the stop and have you plead to the OVI. Expect around $500 in fines, 90 day license suspension (1st offense), and an alcohol education class (Oriana house or Glenwood in NE Ohio), and 6 points on your license.

 

[FlyingRon]

.091, if he had registered .91% either the breathalizer is broken or he's set a new worlds record for BAC while still being able to function at all.
I had a guy blood test a .42 once when I was working the ER and he was still pretty lucid, but he'd been stabbed as well and appeared to be a bit high strung. I've seen people pass out and die at half that.