James R. Schimanski’s Answers

In July of 2011 the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that imposing enhanced sex offender registration and community notification requirements included in the 2007 Ohio Adam Walsh Act (AWA) against defendants whose crimes were committed before the effective date of that law violates Section 28, Article II of the Ohio Constitution, which prohibits the General Assembly from enacting retroactive laws. http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2011/2011-Ohio-3374.pdf Depending upon the facts of his...

It is possible, but a lot less likely than it would be if you did not already have a charge pending. The court in setting bond will consider this factor along with several others. Included in the factors are the nature the new allegations, criminal history, ties to the community, flight risk, etc,

As another attorney has indicated you can try to enter an Alford plea. Ultimately it is up to the court to decide if it will accept or reject such a plea. The judge refused to accept your plea because during the plea hearing you stated you were innocent. When a person claims they are innocent and that they have a defense under a non-Alford plea the court always should reject the plea offer.

You may want to look at State v. McClendon, 2009 Ohio 6421 (Ohio App. 2009)- the court stated that "possession of a hypodermic needle – in and of itself – does not constitute criminal activity." Your lawyer could extend that argument to include the cap and defaced bottle.

The statute of limitations on misdemeanor criminal prosecutions in Michigan is 6 years. M.C.L. § 767.24.

If you were served with a civil complaint and share the same name as the person they are attempting to sue, you should notify the court immediately in writing. In fact you may even want to file an answer denying the all of allegations in the complaint just to protect yourself. I had a client a similar situation several years ago. He was served with a complaint intended for someone else. He did nothing. They took a default judgement and put a lien on his property. It was much more...

A second OVI offense in Ohio is a first degree misdemeanor. A 2nd OVI Conviction in 6 Years a high tier test carries the following penalties if convicted -- 20 days to 6 months in jail; -- $525-$1625 in fine; -- 1 to 5 years suspended license; -- revoked driving privileges for at least 45 days; -- vehicle immobilized for at least 90 days; -- mandatory OVI plates; -- and interlock transmission device since the offense was alcohol-related. Since these have occurred within a...

Since you cannot find him an address to reside, you may want to see if you can find a residential drug treatment plan for enter into upon his release. If you can find a treatment facility that is willing to take him, his lawyer may be able to convince the judge to remove the electronic monitoring condition from his bond if he can demonstrate to the court that he is going into a treatment program. Getting him into treatment will also help to mitigate any penalty the court might impose if he...

You can make a request for the log books, time sheets, incident reports, computer aided dispatch (CAD), mobile data terminal (MDT), all communication records, including but not limited to audio, text and email for the shift of the specific officer. You can also ask for a copies of all written policies and procedures for the agency. You can also ask for copies of all polices and procedures regarding record keeping and retention. This will enable you to see if you missed any records....

If you were charged with a felony, under the scenario you describe, it is not likely you were convicted a felony. For any conviction you would have had to be brought before a judge/magistrate and enter a plea or have had a trial. I have scene many situations where a person was arrested and brought before a judge/magistrate for a bond hearing and they enter a no contest plea or not guilty plea are released with credit for time served. Usually these are misdemeanor convictions. I...