Forfeited Vehicles and Immobilization in Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio

Understanding OVI Penalties in Ohio

A Warren OVI lawyer can tell you that Ohio’s laws mandate specific minimum sentences for certain OVI (Operating a Vehicle Impaired) convictions. Among these penalties are vehicle immobilization and criminal forfeiture.

Your vehicle may face immobilization or forfeiture after your first OVI conviction.

When the court orders your vehicle to be immobilized or forfeited, and a family member relies on your car for daily tasks, causing hardship if unavailable, they can request a waiver. If granted, the waiver allows continued use of the vehicle under specific conditions.

Circumstances Leading to Vehicle Immobilization or Forfeiture

Penalties for OVI Convictions Beyond the First:

2nd OVI within 6 years:

• Vehicle immobilized for 90 days
• Class 4 suspension for 1 to 5 years
• License plates impounded for 90 days
• Limited driving privileges permitted

3rd OVI within 6 years:

• Criminal forfeiture of the vehicle required
• Class 3 suspension for 2 to 10 years
• Limited driving privileges allowed

4th or more OVI within 6 years OR a 6th OVI within 20 years:

• Limited driving privileges permitted
• Required criminal forfeiture of the vehicle
• Class 2 suspension for 3 years to life

OVI conviction following a felony conviction:

• Mandatory vehicle forfeiture
• Class 2 suspension for 3 years to life
• Limited driving privileges allowed

If your vehicle is ordered impounded, you will incur a $100 fee. A vehicle can only be forfeited or impounded if it is involved in your OVI offense and registered in your name.

Court-Mandated Immobilization Orders

When the court issues an order for vehicle immobilization, it must include the following details:

• The period of immobilization
• The issuance date of the order
• A description of the vehicle (year, make, and model)
• The entity responsible for immobilizing the vehicle (e.g., the arresting law enforcement agency, local law enforcement, court bailiff, or a designated individual)
• A statement preventing vehicle registration until the immobilization fee is paid
• The location where the vehicle will be immobilized (e.g., your residence, a family member’s property, a police impound lot, a legal parking space, or a private property with written permission)

Commencing the Immobilization Period

The immobilization period starts when law enforcement tows your car or applies a boot. If the vehicle is impounded before your court date, that time counts towards the immobilization period.

The person performing the immobilization will remove and send your license plates to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, where they will be destroyed.

Once the immobilization period concludes and the fee is paid, you can retrieve your vehicle and get new plates, paying the standard fee for lost, mutilated, or destroyed plates.

If you drive the immobilized vehicle and are caught, it will be declared criminally forfeited and removed from the street. The vehicle may be given to the arresting officer’s law enforcement agency or sold at auction but cannot be sold back to you or your family.

After the immobilization period, if you do not claim your vehicle within seven days, you will receive a letter at your last known address. This letter will give you twenty days to retrieve the vehicle and pay the fee. Failure to do so will result in the vehicle being forfeited.

By understanding these legalities, you can better prepare for and comprehend the penalties associated with OVI convictions under the Ohio Revised Code.

My Car Is Immobilized, Can I Sell It?

Understanding the Legalities

The straightforward answer is, “No, not without prior approval from the court.” You need to demonstrate to the judge that the sale isn’t an attempt to bypass the immobilization. If you succeed in convincing the judge, they will inform both the registrar and you that the sale has been approved.

Similarly, you cannot transfer or assign the title of the vehicle from the time of your arrest until it is immobilized, without prior court approval. If you do, the judge will direct the registrar and deputy registrars to deny any vehicle registration applications in your name for two years.

Post-Immobilization Disposal of Vehicle

If you don’t retrieve your car after the immobilization period ends and it gets disposed of, the new owner cannot sell or transfer it back to you.

They can, however, sell, scrap, or do anything legally permissible with it. If they choose to scrap it, they must mark the title “FOR DESTRUCTION” and hand it over to the salvage or scrap yard.

Additionally, the license plates will be removed and sent to the registrar, as ordered by the court.

You will still be responsible for the immobilization fee.

Immobilization Waiver

Conditions for a Waiver

A family member or someone living in your household can request that your vehicle not be immobilized, but two conditions must be met for the waiver to be granted:

1.    Filing a Motion:

• The household or family member must file a motion in court before the immobilization order is issued.
  • The motion must specify that the filer is entirely dependent on the vehicle for essential activities (grocery shopping, getting kids to school, doctor visits, commuting to work, etc.), and that immobilizing the vehicle would impose an undue hardship.

   2.   Court Findings:

• The court must find that immobilizing the vehicle would impose an undue hardship on the family member who is dependent on it for essential activities.

Waiver Details

Duration:

• The waiver will specify the length of time it remains in effect, which will match the original immobilization period.

Fee:

• A $50 fee will be charged for the waiver. Copies of the waiver will be filed with the court, given to you, and to the person granted the waiver.

Restrictions:

• The waiver will list the person who requested it, the vehicle involved, household members allowed to drive the car, and explicitly state that you are not permitted to drive the vehicle.
  • The vehicle will have restricted plates for the duration of the waiver.

Penalties:

• The person granted the waiver cannot permit you to drive the vehicle. If they do, the waiver will be terminated, the vehicle will be immobilized for the remaining period of the initial immobilization, and the household member will be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor. Additionally, you will be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor.
• If you’re facing the loss or immobilization of your vehicle under the Ohio Revised Code, call (330) 992-3036 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.