Starting June 12, 2022, Ohio will make a concealed weapons permit optional for anyone legally allowed to carry a gun. Previously, if you wanted to get your concealed carry permit in Ohio, you had to complete 8 hours of training and submit to a background check. That...
Criminal Defense
Sealing a record of non-conviction
Sealing a record of non-conviction: a two-year delay for people who were not indicted and immediate eligibility for people who were indicted People in Ohio are eligible to seal a record of non-conviction immediately after a dismissal, yet people who are accused of a...
Ohio Law F.A.Q. Part I – Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving
In an effort to curb drunk driving and to prevent impaired drivers from ever getting behind the wheel, it's not uncommon to hear the admonition "remember: buzzed driving is drunk driving." While an effective marketing ploy and pithy phrase, does the Ohio Revised Code...
Supreme Court of Ohio Upholds Reasonable Bail Decision
On January 4, 2022, the Supreme Court of Ohio wasted no time in the new year in entering a historic decision. Over the past few years, criminal justice reform has been on the forefront of the political arena, news media, and equal rights activists. A substantial issue...
Can the police use the clothes I wear into a hospital against me?
Based on the Ohio Supreme Court’s recent decision in State v. LaRosa, Slip Opinion No. 2021-Ohio-4060, the short answer is the classic lawyer response of “it depends” or “maybe.” The answer for LaRosa was “not without a warrant” but that didn’t legally prohibit the...
Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima Criminal Team Secures Dismissals in Three Counties
In the field of criminal defense, so often a client approaches a lawyer or a law firm asking to get charges dismissed or thrown out. What many people do not realize is that an outright dismissal is one of the hardest, and most rare outcomes to secure, unless the...
Am I eligible to Seal my Ohio Conviction?
The recent trend from the Ohio legislature has been to expand the types and number of convictions that defendants are able to have sealed, what some people often consider to be expunged. There are two factors that must be considered when determining if a defendant is...
Why Did the Police Charge Me with Two OVI Offenses?
When a person tests over the legal limit for alcohol or drugs, most police officers charge under both the impairment subsection and the legal limit subsection. Under Ohio law, there are generally two types of OVI offenses. One is based upon being impaired (subjective...
What does Ohio’s new anti-hazing law mean?
Governor Mike DeWine signed “Collin’s Law: The Ohio Anti-Hazing Act” into law on July 6, 2021. The law substantially alters R.C. § 2903.31, Ohio’s criminal statute against hazing. The new law is not just aimed at regulating student behavior; administrators, faculty,...
Look After Your Fences: 12th District finds no violation of the law when officer conducts a warrantless search through a broken fence.
The 12th District Court of Appeals (governing Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Fayette, Madison, Preble, and Warren counties) recently held in State v. Neanover that a deputy dog warden’s decision to look through a hole in Mr. Neanover’s privacy fence, without a...