Most people think that when someone is indicted in Ohio for a felony that there are only two possible resolutions: (1) The person will plead or be found guilty, or (2) the person will be acquitted of the charges. That is not entirely true. Ohio has a couple of alternatives that an attorney could pursue on behalf of a felony criminal defendant. First, the attorney could file a motion for Intervention in Lieu of Conviction (“ILC”). In short, ILC basically allows a person who committed a crime due to their addiction to drugs or alcohol to receive treatment for their substance abuse problems instead of a conviction and prison time. But, ILC is not available for all felony defendants and a given defendant must first be found to qualify for ILC. Ask your attorney whether you qualify (ILC is not available for certain crimes and certain offenders). If the Court accepts the ILC it will then prescribe a particular treatment program for the defendant and suspend the pending criminal action. If the defendant does what the Court demands as far as the treatment goes, the Court will dismiss the charges and the defendant can avoid a felony conviction altogether.

The second possibility is something called “Diversion.” Diversion is similar to ILC in that if the defendant is accepted for diversion and completes the program, then ultimately he or she avoids being convicted of a felony. The defendant is “diverted” out of the criminal court system and given a chance to accomplish certain goals set by the program. If the defendant successfully completes the diversion program, then the Court will dismiss the charges. However, like ILC, only certain charges and certain types of criminal defendants are eligible for a diversion program.

People who have been caught “red-handed” in the commission of a felony in Ohio often just want to get the entire thing over and do not want to hire an attorney, believing that because they are so obviously guilty, there is nothing to do but plead guilty or no contest. This is a major mistake.

Attorneys provide value to all criminal defendants, even those that feel there is no point in fighting anything. Because prosecutors know that the average layman will not go to trial and make the prosecutor actually work to prove the defendants guilt, the prosecutors will not offer any reduction in charges (or drop some of the charges altogether), nor will they agree to stipulate to a certain sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. In other words, prosecutor have no incentive to enter into plea bargain discussions with a layman. An attorney on the other hand can threaten trial, which in practical terms, means A LOT OF WORK for the prosecutor and this provides a strong incentive for the prosecutor to work with the defense counsel in reaching some agreement that is much more beneficial for the defendant.

Furthermore, without benefit of counsel, defendants that are eligible for Diversion or “intervention in lieu of conviction” programs will not file the appropriate motions and therefore, these defendants are never considered for these programs. These programs are the best result that a criminal defendant can have short of an acquittal, because if accepted to either one, a defendant can avoid a conviction and criminal record.

The bottom line is that if you have been charged with a felony in Ohio, you need to retain counsel, or ask the court to appoint you counsel because the results are almost guaranteed to be better than if you merely plead guilty. Even if you are obviously guilty, there are benefits to having representation.

In order to qualify for spouse’s benifits, the Social Security Administration requires that the spouse and the worker must have been legally married.   That is, the marriage must be legally recognized by the state in which the marriage was entered into.  Thus, if you have been residing in a state that recognizes your marriage as common law marriage (most states such as Ohio do not) then you will be considered legally married for purposes of recieving a deceased spouse’s Social Security benefits.

The only way that one can draw widower’s benefits without being legally married is if ALL of the following conditions listed below are met, meeting Social Security’s “deemed valid marriage” provision.

- There was a marriage ceremony. 

- The claimant married the working in good faith.  In other words, the claimant thought the marriage to be valid.

- The claimant was residing with the worker at the time of his or her entitlement to benefits or at the time of death.

- No other person is entitled on the worker’s earnings record as a legal spouse.

- There was a legal impediment or a defect with respect to the marriage ceremony.

This exception is most often implicated in situations where the worker was already married at the time he or she married the claimant.

Social security disability and moving to another state.

I thought I would briefly blog about a recent Client that found himself in quite a predicament due to some bad advice. The client originally filed for Social Security Disability in Ohio as he had a severe case of Chron’s disease along with two herniated intervertebral disk. Soon thereafter, the Client relocated to Alabama where he received his Social Security Disability claim denial letter. Client then retained an attorney in Alabama which requested a hearing. Unfortunately, for Client his attorney did not do his homework. Alabama is one of eight states that do not have a re-consideration step in the Social Security filing process. In other words, when a claimant in Alabama has been denied for SSD he can skip the reconsideration filing and directly request a hearing. Fortunately for the client, he soon thereafter retained THE top Alabama Social Security Disability Attorney, Pat Nelson (if you contact him about your Alabama claim be sure to tell him John Nicholson referred you as he is my SSD mentor) to straighten his situation out. His attorney’s failure to file for reconsideration as required in Ohio delayed Client’s disability claim by at least a year.

Below is a list of penalties for an OVI or Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated,  also known as a DUI or DWI.  If you have recently been charged with an OVI/DWI/DUI and desire the assistance of an attorney please call the law offices of Morrison & Nicholson at (937) 432-9775 or visit our free online consultation page.

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Administrative License Suspension (ALS)
• If you are stopped for drunk driving and you refuse to take the sobriety test, or if your test results exceed the legal limit of Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC),
the officer can take your driver’s license on the spot, and the suspension begins immediately.
• Depending on previous offenses or refusals, you can have your license automatically suspended for a period of 90 days to five years.
• The administrative suspension is independent of any jail term, fine or other criminal penalty imposed in court for a DUI offense.

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1st Offense
• Administrative License Suspension (ALS) for a prohibited BAC;
• ALS for test refusal = one year license suspension;
• Jail – Minimum of three consecutive days or 3-day driver intervention program;
• Fine – Minimum $200 and not more than $1,000;
• Court License Suspension – 6 months to 3 years.
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2nd Offense
• ALS for one year for a prohibited BAC;
• ALS for test refusal = two year license suspension;
• Jail – Minimum of 10 consecutive days or five days jail + minimum 18 consecutive days of electronically monitored house arrest combined, not to exceed 6 months;
• Fine – Minimum $300 and not more than $1,500;
• Discretionary driver’s intervention program;
• Vehicle immobilization and plates impounded for 90 days;
• Court License Suspension – 1 year to 5 years.
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3rd Offense
• ALS for two years for a prohibited BAC;
• ALS for test refusal = three year license suspension;
• Jail – Minimum 30 consecutive days to one year;
• Alternative sentence – 15 days or Jail + minimum 55 consecutive days of electronically monitored house arrest combined, maximum of one year;
• Fine – Minimum $500 and not more than $2,500;
• Mandatory attendance in an alcohol treatment program paid for by offender;
• Vehicle immobilization and plates impounded for 180 days;
• Court License Suspension – 1 year to 10 years.
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4th or More Offense or Motor Vehicle Related Felony
• ALS for three years for a prohibited BAC;
• ALS for test refusal = five years license suspension;
• Jail – Minimum of 60 consecutive days and up to one year in jail;
• Fine – Minimum $750 and not more than $10,000;
• Mandatory drug/alcohol treatment program paid for by offender;
• Vehicle Forfeiture – Mandatory criminal forfeiture of vehicle operated by offender, imposed by court;
• Court License Suspension – 3 years to Permanent Revocation.