Proven DUI Defense Attorney in Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Limited Clients. Proven Results.

The DUI Defense Attorneys at Stiefvater Law limit the number of clients we represent so we can provide our full resources to defending your DUI. If you were charged with DUI in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, call Stiefvater Law, LLC to speak with a local DUI Attorney to fight your charge.  DUI Lawyer Robert Stiefvater has been successfully defending individuals since 2003.  Put his experience to work for you in Cleveland Heights. Call and find out if we are currently accepting new clients.

The Cleveland Heights DUI Lawyers at Stiefvater Law, LLC owe their ongoing courtroom success to the following:

  1. Limiting the number of clients we represent to ensure that enough time is devoted to building the best DUI defense;
  2. Being courtroom prepared by staying current with DUI law; and
  3. Fully understanding each client's goals.

Get in touch with Stiefvater Law, LLC and discuss your case with a DUI Lawyer with local experience. A Cleveland Heights DUI is serious. You will have questions. We have the answers so let's talk. Every free DUI consultation includes explaining the penalties you face if convicted. We will provide an honest assessment of your case. We never just try to sell our services. The Cleveland Heights DUI Lawyers at Stiefvater Law, LLC believe that anyone who faces a charge of DUI needs to be confident and comfortable with their DUI Defense Lawyer - even if they do not hire our Cleveland Heights DUI Defense Law Firm. Stiefvater Law limits the number of DUI clients we represent because our DUI Attorneys should be as comfortable and confident with our clients as the clients are of us.

DUI Penalties in Cleveland Heights, Ohio

DUI in Cleveland Heights, Ohio has serious consequences. At a minimum, DUI is the most serious misdemeanor charge you can have in Ohio (first degree misdemeanor). Depending on your specific circumstance, DUI can even be a felony.

Every DUI conviction has a mandatory license suspension and jail sentence.

Contact a DUI Defense Attorney in Cleveland Heights today to discuss the facts of your case and to build your defense.

Administrative License Suspension

Even before you are convicted of DUI, you are penalized. If you have been charged with DUI in Cleveland Heights then you most likely have or will be put under an Administrative License Suspension, or ALS. An appeal of this suspension must be filed within 30 days of the arrest or you may lose the opportunity to challenge the ALS. Even if you beat your DUI this suspension will remain if you have not appealed it. The length of your pretrial Administrative License Suspension varies. For example, an Administrative License Suspension is as follows for a:

Failed Chemical Test with Three (or more) Priors in 10 Years

Mandatory three year license suspension. No driving privileges for three years.

Refused Chemical Test with Three (or more) Priors in 10 Years

Mandatory five year license suspension. No driving privileges for three years.

Effective Cleveland Heights DUI lawyer

Whether you are defending your first DUI or if this is not your first offense, you deserve a strong and effective defense. Like so many others before, trust the Cleveland Heights DUI Attorneys at Stiefvater Law to protect your rights, your license, and to keep you out of jail.

While challenging your DUI charge in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, we will:

1. Protect your Rights throughout the process;

2. Review all of the evidence in order to build your best defense; and

3. Explain the process so you understand what is happening.

Result Driven Cleveland Heights DUI Lawyer

Our Cleveland Heights DUI Lawyers will work tirelessly to defend you. Stiefvater Law is a result driven firm. Many clients come to us feeling that there is no way to beat their Cleveland Heights DUI. Even when the evidence points to guilt, there are several avenues to challenge that evidence. Keeping that evidence out of trial often results in a finding of not guilty or a pre-trial offer to a reduced charge. Put our experience to work for you in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

DUI Penalties

DUI penalties are very serious. Conviction of even the least severe DUI can result in a jail sentence of up to six months. DUI can also be a felony. The degree of your charge is dependent on several factors. Call the DUI Lawyers at Stiefvater Law to determine the degree of your DUI and to understand the range of penalties you are facing.

Ohio DUI penalties are some of the highest in the country. Conviction of a DUI in Cleveland Heights, OH, will subject you to these penalties. Below is an example of the range of penalties for conviction of a:

Second Lifetime Felony DUI

If you are convicted of your second lifetime felony DUI then you are facing the following possible penalties:

Mandatory fine of $1,350 up to $10,500;

Mandatory alcohol and or drug addiction program;

Mandatory 60 days prison up to 36 months;

Mandatory license suspension of three years up to a lifetime suspension;

Mandatory yellow license plate (DUI plate or “party plate”) and interlock device; and

Forfeiture of your vehicle.

Second Lifetime Felony DUI and High Test or Refusal

If you are convicted of your second lifetime felony DUI and have a high test or refusal of test then you are facing the following possible penalties:

Mandatory 120 days prison up to 36 months;

Mandatory alcohol and or drug addiction program;

Mandatory license suspension of three years up to a lifetime suspension;

Mandatory fine of $1,350 up to $10,500;

Mandatory yellow license plate (DUI plate or “party plate”) and interlock device; and

Forfeiture of your vehicle.

Let's talk. The DUI Lawyers at Stiefvater Law will provide a free consultation, regardless of whether or not they are currently accepting new clients. We are the DUI Lawyers in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, 44106.

Below is part of the State of Ohio’s DUI law. This is found in the Ohio Revised Code, Section 4511.19:

DUI (Admissibility of Breath, Blood, Urine Tests)

(a) In any criminal prosecution or juvenile court proceeding for a violation of division (A)(1)(a) of this section or for an equivalent offense that is vehicle-related, the result of any test of any blood or urine withdrawn and analyzed at any health care prDUIder, as defined in section 2317.02 of the Revised Code, may be admitted with expert testimony to be considered with any other relevant and competent evidence in determining the guilt or innocence of the defendant.

(b) In any criminal prosecution or juvenile court proceeding for a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section or for an equivalent offense that is vehicle-related, the court may admit evidence on the concentration of alcohol, drugs of abuse, controlled substances, metabolites of a controlled substance, or a combination of them in the defendant's whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, urine, or other bodily substance at the time of the alleged violation as shown by chemical analysis of the substance withdrawn within three hours of the time of the alleged violation. The three-hour time limit specified in this division regarding the admission of evidence does not extend or affect the two-hour time limit specified in division (A) of section 4511.192 of the Revised Code as the maximum period of time during which a person may consent to a chemical test or tests as described in that section. The court may admit evidence on the concentration of alcohol, drugs of abuse, or a combination of them as described in this division when a person submits to a blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substance test at the request of a law enforcement officer under section 4511.191 of the Revised Code or a blood or urine sample is obtained pursuant to a search warrant. Only a physician, a registered nurse, an emergency medical technician-intermediate, an emergency medical technician-paramedic, or a qualified technician, chemist, or phlebotomist shall withdraw a blood sample for the purpose of determining the alcohol, drug, controlled substance, metabolite of a controlled substance, or combination content of the whole blood, blood serum, or blood plasma. This limitation does not apply to the taking of breath or urine specimens. A person authorized to withdraw blood under this division may refuse to withdraw blood under this division, if in that person's opinion, the physical welfare of the person would be endangered by the withdrawing of blood.

The bodily substance withdrawn under division (D)(1)(b) of this section shall be analyzed in accordance with methods approved by the director of health by an individual possessing a valid permit issued by the director pursuant to section 3701.143 of the Revised Code.

(c) As used in division (D)(1)(b) of this section, "emergency medical technician-intermediate" and "emergency medical technician-paramedic" have the same meanings as in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) In a criminal prosecution or juvenile court proceeding for a violation of division (A) of this section or for an equivalent offense that is vehicle-related, if there was at the time the bodily substance was withdrawn a concentration of less than the applicable concentration of alcohol specified in divisions (A)(1)(b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section or less than the applicable concentration of a listed controlled substance or a listed metabolite of a controlled substance specified for a violation of division (A)(1)(j) of this section, that fact may be considered with other competent evidence in determining the guilt or innocence of the defendant. This division does not limit or affect a criminal prosecution or juvenile court proceeding for a violation of division (B) of this section or for an equivalent offense that is substantially equivalent to that division.

(3) Upon the request of the person who was tested, the results of the chemical test shall be made available to the person or the person's attorney, immediately upon the completion of the chemical test analysis.

If the chemical test was obtained pursuant to division (D)(1)(b) of this section, the person tested may have a physician, a registered nurse, or a qualified technician, chemist, or phlebotomist of the person's own choosing administer a chemical test or tests, at the person's expense, in addition to any administered at the request of a law enforcement officer. If the person was under arrest as described in division (A)(5) of section 4511.191 of the Revised Code, the arresting officer shall advise the person at the time of the arrest that the person may have an independent chemical test taken at the person's own expense. If the person was under arrest other than described in division (A)(5) of section 4511.191 of the Revised Code, the form to be read to the person to be tested, as required under section 4511.192 of the Revised Code, shall state that the person may have an independent test performed at the person's expense. The failure or inability to obtain an additional chemical test by a person shall not preclude the admission of evidence relating to the chemical test or tests taken at the request of a law enforcement officer.

Cities in Cuyahoga County: Bedford Heights, Bedford, Berea, Beachwood, Bay Village

Zip Codes in Cleveland Heights, Ohio: 44106, 44121, 44118, 44112