Proven DUI Defense Attorney 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 Defense Attorney 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 Defense Attorneys will explain every step of the process.  Put our experience to work for you in Willoughby, OH.

The Willoughby 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.

Get in touch with Stiefvater Law, LLC and discuss your case with a DUI Defense Attorney with local experience. A Willoughby 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 Willoughby DUI Defense 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 Willoughby DUI Law Firm. Stiefvater Law limits the number of DUI clients we represent because our DUI Lawyers should be as comfortable and confident with our clients as the clients 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 a mandatory license suspension and jail sentence.

Contact a DUI Defense 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:

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 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 Lawyers 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 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 Defense 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:

Fourth or Fifth DUI in 10 Years or Sixth in 20 Years

If you are convicted of your 4th or 5th DUI in 10 years or your 6th DUI in 20 years then you face the following penalties:

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

Mandatory alcohol and or drug addiction program;

Mandatory 60 days jail up to one year or 60 days prison with optional additional 6 to 30 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.

Fourth or Fifth DUI in 10 Years or Sixth in 20 Years and High Test or Refusal

If you are convicted of your 4th or 5th DUI in 10 years or your 6th DUI in 20 years and have a high test or refusal of test then you are facing the following penalties:

Mandatory 120 days jail up to one year or 120 days prison with optional additional 6 to 30 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 Attorneys in Willoughby, Ohio, 44094.

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 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: Wickliffe, Timberlake, Willoughby Hills, Waite Hill, Willowick

Zip Codes in Willoughby, Ohio: 44094, 44096