Proven DUI Defense Lawyer in Westlake, Ohio

Limited Clients. Proven Results.

By limiting the number of clients we represent, our DUI Defense Law Firm has been able to focus on results.  DUI Defense Lawyer Robert Stiefvater has been successfully representing individuals since 2003.  If you were charged with DUI in Westlake, Ohio, call Stiefvater Law, LLC to find out if we are accepting new clients and to discuss your defense.  Our DUI Attorneys will explain every step of the process.  Put our experience to work for you in Westlake, OH.

The Westlake DUI Defense Attorneys at Stiefvater Law, LLC owe their ongoing courtroom success to the following:

  1. Being courtroom prepared by staying current with changes in DUI laws;
  2. Limiting the number of clients we represent; and,
  3. Striving to achieve each client's goals.

Call Stiefvater Law, LLC and speak to an DUI Defense Attorney who is familiar with the court in which your case is pending.  If you have been charged with a DUI in Westlake or anywhere in Ohio, we know you have questions.  We will provide the answers. During our free DUI consultation, we will discuss the facts of your case as well as the possible penalties you are facing if convicted.  We pledge to you that we will not just give a hard sell on our services.  The Westlake DUI Defense Attorneys at Stiefvater Law, LLC believe that a client should be confident and comfortable with their legal representation – even if they choose to hire outside of our Westlake DUI Law Firm.  We limit the number of DUI clients we accept because we want to be just as confident and comfortable with our clients as they are of us.

DUI Penalties in Westlake, Ohio

DUI in Westlake, 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 mandatory jail and license suspension.

Contact a DUI Defense Lawyer in Westlake 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 Westlake 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 Two Priors in 10 years

Mandatory two year license suspension. No driving privileges for first 180 days.

Refused Chemical Test with Two Priors in 10 Years

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

Effective Westlake 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 Westlake DUI Defense Attorneys at Stiefvater Law to protect your rights, your license, and to keep you out of jail.

While challenging your DUI charge in Westlake, 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 Westlake DUI Defense Lawyer

Our Westlake DUI Defense Attorneys 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 Westlake 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 Westlake, Ohio.

DUI Penalties

Even a first DUI is a first degree misdemeanor. A first degree misdemeanor is the most serious level of misdemeanor in Ohio. Sometimes a DUI is a felony. The degree of your charge is dependent on several factors. Call the DUI Defense Lawyers at Stiefvater Law to discuss the degree of your DUI as well as the possible penalties.

Ohio DUI penalties are some of the most strict in the United States. If you are convicted of a DUI in Westlake, OH, you are subject to severe 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.

Call the DUI Attorneys at Stiefvater Law to find out if we are currently taking on new clients. We are the DUI Defense Attorneys in Westlake, Ohio, 44145.

The State of Ohio has promulgated laws governing DUI. Below is an excerpt from Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.19, which is Ohio’s DUI law:

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: Bay Village, Beachwood, Berea, Bedford Heights, Bedford

Zip Codes in Westlake, Ohio: 44145