My daughter is 18 years old and just got arrested for underage in the state of Ohio. She was not driving but was caught drinking an open container in the middle of a parking lot. They did not administer a breathilyzer but she just told them that indead she had been drinking. She is going to college to become a teacher and the officer told her she could have her record expunged at 21 if she doesn't get in any other trouble. She is a 4.0 college student and had had no other offices. What should we do? Should she plead guilty? The officer made her write a letter of apology there at the booking.
2 Answers from Attorneys
DO NOT PLEAD GUILTY!!!!!
DUI/OVI are NOT expungeable. Retain an attorney and fight the charges. The officer did not see her driving so the charges have a possibility of being beaten, or at the very least, reduced.
She should not have written the letter but what's done is done.
It sounds like she was not charged with drunk driving, but rather, underage drinking, which can be expunged. You do have to wait until a year after her punishment is finished (including probation) to apply and she can't have anything else on her record.
But whether or not you should plead guilty in the end is another matter. Always plead guilty at the arraignment in order to see what sort of evidence the police have against the suspect. Even admissions can be suppressed if the police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to make a stop or probable cause to arrest. But that will be on a case by case basis and there is no way for an attorney to know if there are issues in the case that would make it tough for the prosecutor without having actually filed a Crim. R 16 discovery request.
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