Proven DUI Lawyer in Willoughby, 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 Lawyer Robert Stiefvater has been successfully representing individuals since 2003.  If you were charged with DUI in Willoughby, Ohio, call Stiefvater Law, LLC to find out if we are accepting new clients and to discuss your defense.  Our DUI Lawyers will explain every step of the process.  Put our experience to work for you in Willoughby, OH.

The Willoughby DUI Lawyers 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 Attorney who is familiar with the court in which your case is pending.  If you have been charged with a DUI in Willoughby 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 Willoughby DUI Lawyers 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 Willoughby 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 Willoughby, Ohio

DUI in Willoughby, 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 Attorney in Willoughby 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 Willoughby 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:

First Failed Chemical Test in 10 Years

Mandatory 90 day license suspension. No driving privileges for first 15 days.

First Refused Chemical Test in 10 Years

Mandatory one year license suspension. No driving privileges for first 30 days.

Effective Willoughby 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 Willoughby 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 Willoughby, 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 Willoughby DUI Lawyer

Our Willoughby DUI Defense 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 Willoughby 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 Willoughby, 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 Attorneys 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 Willoughby, OH, will subject you to these penalties. Below is an example of the range of penalties for conviction of a:

First or Second Lifetime Felony DUI with RC 2941.1413 Specification

If you are convicted of your 1st or 2nd lifetime felony DUI with an RC 2941.1413 specification then you are facing the following possible penalties:

Mandatory 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 year prison term to be served prior and consecutive to any third or fourth degree felony penalties;

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 Defense Lawyers at Stiefvater Law to find out if we are currently taking on new clients. We are the DUI Lawyers in Willoughby, Ohio, 44094.

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 Field Sobriety Tests)

(a) As used in divisions (D)(4)(b) and (c) of this section, "national highway traffic safety administration" means the national highway traffic safety administration established as an administration of the United States department of transportation under 96 Stat. 2415 (1983), 49 U.S.C.A. 105.

(b) In any criminal prosecution or juvenile court proceeding for a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section, of a municipal ordinance relating to operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or alcohol and a drug of abuse, or of a municipal ordinance relating to operating a vehicle with a prohibited concentration of alcohol, a controlled substance, or a metabolite of a controlled substance in the whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, or urine, if a law enforcement officer has administered a field sobriety test to the operator of the vehicle involved in the violation and if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the officer administered the test in substantial compliance with the testing standards for any reliable, credible, and generally accepted field sobriety tests that were in effect at the time the tests were administered, including, but not limited to, any testing standards then in effect that were set by the national highway traffic safety administration, all of the following apply:

(i) The officer may testify concerning the results of the field sobriety test so administered.

(ii) The prosecution may introduce the results of the field sobriety test so administered as evidence in any proceedings in the criminal prosecution or juvenile court proceeding.

(iii) If testimony is presented or evidence is introduced under division (D)(4)(b)(i) or (ii) of this section and if the testimony or evidence is admissible under the Rules of Evidence, the court shall admit the testimony or evidence and the trier of fact shall give it whatever weight the trier of fact considers to be appropriate.

(c) Division (D)(4)(b) of this section does not limit or preclude a court, in its determination of whether the arrest of a person was supported by probable cause or its determination of any other matter in a criminal prosecution or juvenile court proceeding of a type described in that division, from considering evidence or testimony that is not otherwise disallowed by division (D)(4)(b) of this section.

Cities in Lake County: Waite Hill, Willoughby Hills, Wickliffe, Willowick, Timberlake

Zip Codes in Willoughby, Ohio: 44096, 44094