If you are stopped for drunk driving and you take the test back at the station, and if you test over the .08 limit, the state will bring two charges against you, the first for being over the .08 limit, and the second for having enough alcohol in your system that your ability to drive was appreciably impaired (regardless of the amount of alcohol in your blood stream).
The two DUI charging offenses sound like the same thing, and in fact, they are so similar that the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that while you may be charged with both, you can only be convicted of one. But as a non-lawyer, you have no idea about that ruling and when the prosecutor offers to dismiss one of the two DUI charges against you if you will plead guilty to the other, it sounds like the deal of the century. Half of the charges against you gone in an instant! It is the deal of the century, for the prosecutor.
This is nothing more than a legal parlor trick the government plays upon the unrepresented. The judge is still going to sentence you to the same penalties regardless of which of the two you plead to. As a sweetener, the prosecutor may also offer to dismiss any underlying charges like speeding or improper lane changing (which often constitute the only valid reason you got pulled over for in the first place).
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.
