Columbus, OH (PRWEB) April 30, 2014
Attorney Jon J. Saia recently succeeded in getting a client’s OVI conviction removed following an appeals process that went on for almost two years. According to the Court of Appeals’ decision and journal entry entered on April 28, 2014, the court ordered that Attorney Saia’s client be discharged of the OVI offense due to lack of a speedy trial. (State of Ohio v. Hollaender, III, Case Nos. 12CA0040 and 13CA0006, Court of Appeals, Ninth Judicial District in Wayne County, Ohio).
According to the court documents, Attorney Saia’s client was charged with the offense of operating a vehicle while under the influence (OVI) in May 2012. It was alleged that the driver had a breath alcohol content of 0.147, which is nearly double the legal limit. Court records show that after the driver received an Administrative License Suspension (ALS), he and Attorney Saia requested limited driving privileges for occupational purpose, but the request was denied based on a general policy that such privileges could not be granted for cases that were still pending.
The court records state that Attorney Saia appealed this denial based on the argument that is was improper for the court to use a blanket policy, or a policy that is used by the court in all cases. Because of the appeal that was related to the ALS, the court decided to delay the OVI criminal proceedings for Attorney Saia’s client, according to the court documents. This was carried out despite Mr. Saia’s objections to a delay, in which he argued that only civil matters in the OVI case were being appealed, rather than criminal or traffic matters.
Even after the court dismissed the appeal of the driving privileges denial, court documents show that Attorney Saia filed a motion for reconsideration, which led to the court reinstating the appeal and giving it another round of consideration. The client’s OVI charge then became reactivated.
According to court documents, Attorney Saia tried to challenge the OVI charge based on the fact that his client’s right to a speedy trial was violated, but his motion to dismiss the charge was denied. As a result, the lawyer’s client pleaded “no contest” to the OVI charge and was sentenced in January 2013. The client and his attorney proceeded to file a criminal appeal, court records state.
Official records show that the Court of Appeals merged the ALS appeal with the criminal appeal and made its final decision. It ruled that the appellant had to be discharged of OVI due to the fact that he did not receive a speedy trial—the trial court far exceeded the 90-day “speedy trial” time limit. While the Court of Appeals agreed that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ use of a blanket policy to deny the driving privileges was an “abuse of discretion,” it affirmed the trial court’s denial based on a technicality concerning the timing of when the appellant filed his motion, according to legal records.
This case served as a major win for Attorney Saia, who was able to get his client cleared of the alleged OVI offense. Attorney Saia is pleased that he was able to assist his client in reaching a favorable outcome in his appellate case.
Attorney Saia is one of the founding members of The Law Offices of Saia & Piatt, Inc., a Columbus law firm that has been serving individuals throughout Ohio since 1996. The firm’s attorneys, who share more than 100 years of combined legal experience, have received various forms of industry recognition for their high-quality legal representation. The firm’s practice areas include OVI defense, criminal defense, estate planning and family law. More information about The Law Offices of Saia & Piatt is available at http://www.splaws.com.