What is driving "under the influence" or "over the legal limit"?
In Ohio, alcohol related offenses include BOTH:
- driving under the influence of alcohol or a drug of abuse (often referred to as "OVI"); and
- driving over the legal limit (often referred to as "BAC").
One can be convicted to be "under the influence" if a jury determines that:
"the defendant consumed some alcohol or drug of abuse, whether mild or potent, in such a quantity, whether small or great, that it adversely affected and appreciably impaired the defendant's actions, reactions, or mental processes under the circumstances then existing and deprived him of that clearness of intellect and control of himself which he would otherwise have possessed."
Only lawyers and judges could come up with such a long and convoluted definition. However, this is generally the instruction given to juries when they deliberate in a DUI/DWI trial.
In Ohio, even if you are not "under the influence," you may still be guilty of a alcohol related crime if you are "over the legal limit." Driving over the legal limit is not the same as driving under the influence" (although the two may certainly occur at the same time and one may be charged and convicted of both). As you are probably aware, a person can be over the legal limit without that level of alcohol impairing the person's ability to drive (or do other things) appropriately. Conversely, a person can be under the legal limit and still have that level of alcohol impair that person's ability to drive (or do other things).
In Ohio, the legal limit for persons 21 and over is any of the following:
- .08% (by weight) for blood, or
over
- .08 of 1 gram (by weight) per 200 liters of for breath, or
- .14 of a gram (by weight) per 100 milliliters of urine.
- For persons under 21 it is even less (e.g. .02% (by weight) for blood.)
It is possible to be charged with both being under the influence and driving over the legal limit, and it is possible to be convicted of both. However, if one is convicted of both (for the same incident), then he can only be sentenced for one. Most times a person is arrested for a DWI offense, they are charged with both. This way the police and the prosecution have two shots at a conviction.
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