Here’s a real life example of the difference between an “impaired” charge and a “per se” charge. On Tuesday, January 4, 2000 at 8:47 p.m., Mark G. Brickman, was pulled over for speeding while driving on State Route 82 in Aurora, Ohio. Results of a blood alcohol test performed on Mr. Brickman showed a 0.024% concentration of alcohol, just over one quarter of the legal limit specified in R.C. 4511.19(A)(3) (the “per se” statute). As a result of the stop, he was charged with speeding (in violation of R.C. 4511.21) and driving under the influence of alcohol in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1) (the “impaired” statute).
If you didn’t know any better, you would wonder why he was charged at all. Didn’t the test result of .024 show that he was a long way from being drunk? You would think that such a breath test result would see you immediately released from police custody. But look how wrong you can be. R.C. 4511.19(A)(1) does not require you to be above the .08 level. It merely requires that you have enough alcohol in your system to have it affect your driving. So the .024 reading showing him to be at one quarter of the legal limit, was actually used against him at trial to show that he had some alcohol in his system sufficient to appreciably “impair” his driving.
If you need representation against drunk driving charges, you can call me at 614.580.4316. I don’t charge for initial consultations to see if I can help you. If you decide you want to hire me after we speak, then we can go from there on what it will cost.
