OVI Jail Alternatives in Youngstown, Ohio

Your Youngstown OVI lawyer will be able to tell you about any alternatives to jail that might be open to you. Ohio does not allow pre-trial diversion programs like other states do, so you will still have to go through the court process. There are three ways to avoid having a conviction on your license. One is to prove your innocence in court. Another is to get the charges dismissed. The third is to convince the prosecutor to drop the charges.

A conviction may come with a jail sentence, but there are ways to get out of serving the time.

One way is by wearing a monitor on your ankle that will constantly monitor your body for alcohol. It reads your blood alcohol content through your sweat, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If the device detects alcohol, it is recorded and the data is shared via download at home or the office of whoever put the device on. The information that has been collected is graphed, and if it shows the person has consumed alcohol, that violation information is then sent to the judge or probation officer in charge of the offender. You may have permission to travel where you wish to with this option, such as to work, doctor appointments, court hearings, and shopping. The longest an offender can be on this monitor is six months. The offender has to pay all costs associated with the monitor.

Some people are put under house arrest with an electronic monitoring bracelet attached to their ankle. Sometimes this is referred to as HAEM. This bracelet is similar to the alcohol monitor mentioned above, except it doesn’t measure alcohol consumption. What it does do is notify the cops or your probation officer if you go somewhere you’re not supposed to. Being under house arrest means you have to stay inside your house, or within a certain distance of your house, at all times. In some circumstances, you may be allowed to go to work while on house arrest. Often, your probation officer will ask you to take a random test for alcohol use, or just answer random calls on the phone. Violating the terms of your house arrest in any way, be that having a beer or walking next door, can result in your jail sentence being reinstated. The same is true of tampering with the monitoring bracelet. If you are sent back to jail, you will probably be subject to more monitoring once you are released. As with an alcohol monitor, the offender is responsible for all costs related to an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Many times, those convicted of OVI are able to participate in driver intervention programs. Generally, these are three-day programs. By participating fully in the program and completing it, an offender can get out of going to jail. The goal of the program is to teach offenders about drugs and alcohol and their affects with the goal of preventing further offense. There are several of these programs in the Youngstown area, and your Youngstown OVI lawyer can give you the details about when and where they are held. Not all Ohio counties have them, so you may be required to drive to a different county to participate. Generally, the program is held in a hotel conference room and participants spend the entire weekend at the hotel. The fees to participate are several hundred dollars and are generally only available to first-time offenders. You are responsible for your own travel costs, and if you reschedule, you may have an added charge to pay.

Ohio offers several ways to avoid jail after an OVI charge. Your Youngstown OVI lawyer will be able to explain the options available to you based on your specific case.

Sean Logue has handled hundreds of OVI cases and has a proven track record of getting charges reduced or dismissed. He has the intense training necessary to get you your ideal outcome.