Omvi
I was recently involved in an accident (no injuries). I had been drinking. No one observed me driving the vehicle nor did anyone observe me strike the median. When officers arrived on the scene I was outside of my vehicle on the curb. One of the officers asked who was driving the vehicle and I replied that ''I didn't know''. Long story short, the officer cited me for Failure to Control--no other citations. My question now is that if I plead guilty to the Failure to Control, will the officer then be able to take that as an admission and charge me for OMVI?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Omvi
I agree with Attorney Cline's response to you....this is a dangerous situation for you...if he gave you the ticket for failure to control, that means he concluded already that you were driving....no matter what you do, you could be charged with a DUI...but that should have already happened....did he give you field tests??? did he even ask you if you had been drinking.... the most serious thing is that you already lied to the guy that you didnt know who was driving...he could have already charged you with Falsification, a 6 month jail possibility....just keep a lawyer close as you navigate your way thru this...and you can call me if you want as well......216.952.1990
Re: Omvi
A guilty plea is a complete admission of all of the facts stated in the charge. Therefore, a guilty plea to the failure to contrcl charge would be an admission that you were operating the motor vehicle when the accident occurred.
In order to convict you of OMVI, the state must prove (1) that you operated a motor vehicle with a prohibited amount of alcohol or drugs in your system; or (2) that you had some amount of alcohol or drugs in your system and, no matter what the quantity, it was enough to impair your ability to operate the vehicle. In either circumstance, "operation" is one essential element of the charge.
Did the officer have you perform any field sobriety tests? (Walk heel-to-toe, one leg stand, recite the alphabet, horizontal gaze nystagmus or "pen" test) Did the officer require that you submit a sample of your blood, breath, or urine for testing? If the answer to both of these questions is "NO" then it would be difficult to convict you of the OMVI offense, even if you admitted driving. [Difficult, but not impossible]. If the answer to either question is "yes" that might make your admission of driving more critical.
OMVI is a serious matter. If you are concerned about the risk that the officer might file an OMVI charge based on how you respond to the failure to control charge, you should hire an attorney to resolve that charge for you.
If you would like to discuss the matter further, please give me a call.
Respectfully,
Rich Cline
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