Suppression Trial taking months?

[legal_unfortunate]

Hello all, I'm apologizing for the length now. I am not the best at condensing things into a cohesive story.

I have a weird story that I am going to delve into that happened to me in April. I already have an attorney but am looking for advice about what you all may think, because the waiting right now is driving me crazy.

Anyways, in April I was charged with an OVI refusal. I am in Ohio for what it's worth. 5 years ago in college I had an ACTUAL OVI which now grades me at a second refusal high tier OVI. I have actually learned from that experience.. Anyways on the night in question I was working a conference downtown for work but after hours. It was about a 12 hour day when all said and done ending around 9pm. During that conference I had a tall IPA.

I have a friend that lives in the downtown area so I parked at his house. Upon leaving his house I got in a fender bender with another car. No major damage, nobody was hurt. To this day I have no clue who was at fault but it really doesn't seem to matter now. He asked me if we could file a police report (my first mistake). I was a little shaken up and so was he so I said "sure why not." I wasn't even thinking how this could go downhill for me.

As soon as the cop got there he asked me if I had anything to drink. Being honest I said yes I had a tall IPA at this conference I worked (I also told him that he could call my boss and or we could go down there to verify my story). As soon as I said that the other driver was allowed to leave and it was just all on me. My friend who's house it was was telling me to not take any tests etc.. which was not making the cops any happier. They asked me if I would take a field sobriety test, to which I said sure. They had me take the test on his gravel driveway while it was raining... After the test they said "well you seemed anxious, so we want to make sure that your mistakes were from anxiety and not alcohol, would you take a breathalyzer" I respectfully declined and told them that I wasn't trying to make their night any harder. That is when I was charged with the OVI (also wasn't read my rights).

Fast forward to two months ago, I have had my pre-trial and a suppression of evidence trial (in which my attorney seemed to rip the cop a new one). The only evidence they have of me is when i'm already in the cruiser and it is just audio of me and the cop talking. I haven't heard it but my attorney told me that I am not slurring and that I am telling the cop about how much I respect law enforcement (I have two best friends who are officers out of state) and that I wasn't trying to make their night any harder than it needed to be.

My suppression hearing was 2 months ago to the day today...I am aware that they do not usually take 60 days for a reply. What could this mean and do you guys think I have a shot of beating this thing? My wife is newly pregnant and the thought of facing jail time and leaving her is killing me.

Thank you so much for reading!!

 

[Zigner]

Hello all, I'm apologizing for the length now. I am not the best at condensing things into a cohesive story.

I have a weird story that I am going to delve into that happened to me in April. I already have an attorney...

I stopped reading there. You are represented. Speak to your attorney. We are strangers on the internet with no real knowledge about what is going on beyond your own (naturally) biased account. We can't answer your questions better than your attorney.

 

[FlyingRon]

In retrospect, you probably should have listened to your friend. You could have refused the FSTs without sanction. There may not have been sufficient cause to arrest you without it. There's a lot of absent details in your story, so your best bet would be to discuss things with your attorney, and your attorney alone. Yes, when you get into things like suppression motions and the like, it can draw out the time frames. You bump the case out fo the normal sequence of events and things have to be scheduled.

You seem however to have some misconceptions, so let me help you clear them up:

1. You don't have the right to respectfully refuse the breathalyzer on the arrest, you did for the FSTs or the portable breath test.
2. Miranda rights are not obligatory. They're only needed if they intend to question you once you are in custody.
3. Who was at fault in the accident is immaterial. Once you were stopped at the scene, they were free to ask you questions and ask you to do the FSTs without any warnings, even if it was 1000% certain that the other driver caused the accident.
4. You can be convicted without the breathalizer. There's no "legal limit" that makes you safe from being convicted. The so-called limit is only the point where the state assumes you are intoxicated without any other evidence. The officer's testimony including the FST observations can be enough to convict you.

 

[quincy]

Hello all, I'm apologizing for the length now. I am not the best at condensing things into a cohesive story.

I have a weird story that I am going to delve into that happened to me in April. I already have an attorney but am looking for advice about what you all may think, because the waiting right now is driving me crazy.

Anyways, in April I was charged with an OVI refusal. I am in Ohio for what it's worth. 5 years ago in college I had an ACTUAL OVI which now grades me at a second refusal high tier OVI. I have actually learned from that experience.. Anyways on the night in question I was working a conference downtown for work but after hours. It was about a 12 hour day when all said and done ending around 9pm. During that conference I had a tall IPA.

I have a friend that lives in the downtown area so I parked at his house. Upon leaving his house I got in a fender bender with another car. No major damage, nobody was hurt. To this day I have no clue who was at fault but it really doesn't seem to matter now. He asked me if we could file a police report (my first mistake). I was a little shaken up and so was he so I said "sure why not." I wasn't even thinking how this could go downhill for me.

As soon as the cop got there he asked me if I had anything to drink. Being honest I said yes I had a tall IPA at this conference I worked (I also told him that he could call my boss and or we could go down there to verify my story). As soon as I said that the other driver was allowed to leave and it was just all on me. My friend who's house it was was telling me to not take any tests etc.. which was not making the cops any happier. They asked me if I would take a field sobriety test, to which I said sure. They had me take the test on his gravel driveway while it was raining... After the test they said "well you seemed anxious, so we want to make sure that your mistakes were from anxiety and not alcohol, would you take a breathalyzer" I respectfully declined and told them that I wasn't trying to make their night any harder. That is when I was charged with the OVI (also wasn't read my rights).

Fast forward to two months ago, I have had my pre-trial and a suppression of evidence trial (in which my attorney seemed to rip the cop a new one). The only evidence they have of me is when i'm already in the cruiser and it is just audio of me and the cop talking. I haven't heard it but my attorney told me that I am not slurring and that I am telling the cop about how much I respect law enforcement (I have two best friends who are officers out of state) and that I wasn't trying to make their night any harder than it needed to be.

My suppression hearing was 2 months ago to the day today...I am aware that they do not usually take 60 days for a reply. What could this mean and do you guys think I have a shot of beating this thing? My wife is newly pregnant and the thought of facing jail time and leaving her is killing me.

Thank you so much for reading!!

For the future:

You made it harder for your defense attorney by speaking so freely to the police.

Congratulations to you and your wife on the future-baby news.

Good luck.

 

[legal_unfortunate]

For the future:

You made it harder for your defense attorney by speaking so freely to the police.

Congratulations to you and your wife on the future-baby news.

Good luck.

Thank you! And I know I shouldn't have done or said anything.. I was trying to be polite and cooperative and it bit me in the ass.

 

[legal_unfortunate]

In retrospect, you probably should have listened to your friend. You could have refused the FSTs without sanction. There may not have been sufficient cause to arrest you without it. There's a lot of absent details in your story, so your best bet would be to discuss things with your attorney, and your attorney alone. Yes, when you get into things like suppression motions and the like, it can draw out the time frames. You bump the case out fo the normal sequence of events and things have to be scheduled.

You seem however to have some misconceptions, so let me help you clear them up:

1. You don't have the right to respectfully refuse the breathalyzer on the arrest, you did for the FSTs or the portable breath test.
2. Miranda rights are not obligatory. They're only needed if they intend to question you once you are in custody.
3. Who was at fault in the accident is immaterial. Once you were stopped at the scene, they were free to ask you questions and ask you to do the FSTs without any warnings, even if it was 1000% certain that the other driver caused the accident.
4. You can be convicted without the breathalizer. There's no "legal limit" that makes you safe from being convicted. The so-called limit is only the point where the state assumes you are intoxicated without any other evidence. The officer's testimony including the FST observations can be enough to convict you.

First off thank you for replying.

1. I meant the portable one.
3. After the accident we both pulled into my buddies driveway and called the police together, I was never seen actually operating a vehicle if that matters.

 

[Zigner]

First off thank you for replying.

1. I meant the portable one.
3. After the accident we both pulled into my buddies driveway and called the police together, I was never seen actually operating a vehicle if that matters.

Don't play games.

 

[HighwayMan]

Don't play games.

And speak with your attorney about any question you have.

 

[quincy]

Thank you! And I know I shouldn't have done or said anything.. I was trying to be polite and cooperative and it bit me in the ass.

It is important for you now to listen to and follow your defense attorney's advice. If you want to talk about what happened, your attorney is the only person to whom it is safe for you to speak.

What you say to your attorney is considered "privileged" and cannot be used against you (with very very few exceptions) but what you say to others can be used against you.

Do not make the prosecutor's case for him. Stay silent.

Good luck.

 

[legal_unfortunate]

Don't play games.

...Wasn't trying to play games, just provide more info. I don't know how this works, hence the "if it matters."

 

[jdbofky]

The fact of an accident combined with an odor of alcohol (which likely prompted the question about quantity consumed) combined with an admission of consuming alcohol combined with poor performance on field sobriety exercises is evidence. So is your refusal to give a breath sample, which can be argued is a consciousness of your guilt. Most of these happened before you were in the back seat. What is the basis your attorney is citing for suppressing that evidence? If there is nothing incriminating in the recorded dialog in the officer's vehicle then the prosecutor would not likely to seek to introduce that at trial Your attorney must believe it is at least a little bit incriminating or s/he would not have bothered trying to suppress it. Given that the judge didn't rule on the suppression motion from the bench means yes, there is some shot that some or all the evidence could be suppressed. Nobody here knows how much of a shot there is since nobody hear heard your lawyer's legal argument for suppression.

 

[NeilTheCop]

The only possible suppression reason could be that the officer did not read you the required warning of the dire consequences of refusing to take a chemical test.
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4511.192

 

[quincy]

legal_unfortunate has an attorney. His attorney has access to all of the facts so any questions he has should be directed to his attorney. I am confident the Ohio attorney knows the relevant Ohio laws and how they apply.