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also known as Terrence Rudes, Terry Rudes
Terrence Rudes, JD, ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist
Terry was born and raised in northwest Ohio. Upon graduation from high school he volunteered for the draft and attended Army Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant. After serving a tour as an infantry officer in Viet Nam, he returned to Fort Benning where he was assigned to the post Judge Advocate General’s office where he tried numerous courts martial. Upon leaving active duty he attended the University of Toledo where he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1973 and Juris Doctor in 1976. He entered practice as an assistant prosecutor and later opened his own practice in Port Clinton Ohio, focused on criminal defense and impaired driving cases.
Areas of Expertise
Early in his career, he recognized the considerable consequences of a DUI conviction and need to be able to provide the best possible defense for his clients. Terry was certified in NHTSA Field Sobriety Testing, Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program, and attended a 3 day training program at National Patent Analytical Systems on the DataMaster family of breath testing instruments. Terry continued his training by attending classes at Axion Laboratory, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, on Gas Chromatography, Solid Drugs, and DUI Drugs. After completing the American Chemists Society test, he was awarded the designation as a Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, one of only 7 lawyers in Ohio to have earned the designation at the time.
Professional Recognition & Peer Endorsements
Terry is a member of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers(OACDL) and founding member of the DUI Defendse Lawyers Association (DUIDLA). He is an excellent OVI/DUI attorney and often contributes to the OACDL list serve. His peers consistently recognize him as a leader in Ohio's DUI defense community.
Terry has presented at OVI Seminars for Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Advanced OVI Seminars for 40 years; numerous OVI Seminars for the Ohio State Bar Association, OVI Seminars for Sandusky County, Ottawa County and Lorain County Bar Association, and Lorman Educational Services.
Professional Affiliations
Ohio State Bar Member
Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (OACDL)
DUI Defense Lawyers Association (DUIDLA)
and other local bar associations.
Notable Cases
State v. Durnwald,163 Ohio 361 (Ohio App. 6 Dist. 2005), 837 N.E.2d 1234, 2005-Ohio-4867; State v. Galbreath, 741 N.E.2d 936, 138 Ohio 559, 2000-Ohio-1728 (Ohio App. 6 Dist. 2000); State v. Benton, 737 N.E.2d 1046, 136 Ohio 801, 2000-Ohio-1656 (Ohio App. 6 Dist. 2000)
2
Practice Areas
40 years | 3,500 cases
40 years | 2,500 cases
We have not found any cost information for this lawyer
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Chat withState: Ohio
Acquired: 1977
No misconduct found
216 Adams Street, Port Clinton, OH, 43452
Showing 1 - 5 of 13 client reviews from Avvo
Posted by B | January 12, 2026 | Hired Attorney
Mr. Rudes represented me on a serious OVI charge. He is extremely knowledgeable of all the facets of the criminal system including laws, precedences, detection methods and interpretations. What I appreciated the most was his candid disposition and care he displayed in my case. Personally, I could ...
Posted by Jeanine | August 5, 2025 | Hired Attorney
Mr. Rudes is a very competent lawyer who represented me in a serious DUI/OVI charge. He is very thorough. His support and guidance got me through the most serious event I've ever experenced. I was in serious trouble. I was terrified for what was coming. He managed to get lesser charges and saved ...
Posted by Ray | November 27, 2023 | Hired Attorney
I was charged with OVI. After vetting several attorneys, I chose Mr. Rudes to represent me. Mr. Rudes is very professional and straight forward. He explained to me what the possible consequences of the OVI charge would be and what my options were. Mr. Rudes said "tell me what you want the outcome to ...
Posted by Tammie | March 15, 2023 | Hired Attorney
Attorney Rudes represented me for an incident in which I refused to take the breathalyzer. Attorney Rudes helped me to plea to Reckless Op 2nd offense. He helped me establish restricted driving privileges for 6 months and I attended the DIP program which was also court ordered. Upon the end of my...
Posted by Sebina | October 5, 2021 | Hired Attorney
As an owner/operator of my business as a truckdriver, I found myself in a situation that eventually put me near bankruptcy and a record on my license. I was out of work for many months and was going to give up my fight when I met Terrence. I met him after hearing him speak and all is history from the...
"I endorse this lawyer. I've known Terry for years and we often travel to similar courts. Terry is a very thorough attorney and great practitioner in OVI law. He presents at numerous seminars teaching other Lawyers about OVI law. Anytime a potential client tells me they are represented by him I say with confidence that they are in "good hands.""
"I endorse this lawyer. Mr. Rudes is an exemplary DUI/DWI practitioner. If you need help and live in his geographical practice area as well as other parts of Ohio, you could not go wrong retaining him to defend you and protect your rights in the judicial system."
"I gladly endorse Terry Rudes. He is a leader in the Ohio DUI / DWI community. He represents his cilents very well, as evidenced by many wins at the trial court and many wins in the courts of appeals. He willingly helps and instructs other lawyers who are in need, and he is in constant pursuit of new arguments, new caselaw, and new science. He is an innovator, and he is an excellent lawyer."
"Mr. Rudes is a fellow member of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers(OACDL). He is an excellent OVI/DUI attorney and often contributes to the OACDL list serve and annual DUI seminar in Ohio. I have consulted Mr. Rudes and taken his advise in many different OVI/DUI cases. I strongly endorse Mr. Rudes."
"Attorney Rudes exemplifies the very best attributes of an active attorney and displays a level of professionalism, confidence and skill we should all aspire to. Honesty, dedication and a love of the law, which means. giving back to others who lack our understanding of the law and a benefit from our inherent desire to provide solutions to problems. The thousands years of combined legal experience of professionals activity participating in this forum represent some of the very best of our profession, which is after all, at its base is desire to help those in need. This Attorney’s experience and knowledge, I believe, demonstrates that there is a desire to provide accurate advice and obtain appropriate results for clients. Most importantly, this Attorney is willing to help complete strangers (as is the case in this forum) with their legal problems for which we collectively provide useful information, thereby demystifying the legal process as much as possible. I would recommend this"
"I endorse this lawyer. There is no other that I would send my clients too if they were in trouble up North. Terry is always on the cutting edge of DUI law!"
"I have sent clients to Terry in the past and each one was handled with success and each client raved about Terry. I have also been on seminar panels with him and found that he knew more than all the rest on the panel. He is a fighter and is well qualified to handle any OVI issue with success. I highly recommend him and endorse his work."
Criminal defense lawyer
DUI and DWI lawyer
DUI and DWI lawyer
DUI and DWI lawyer
1982 - Present
National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
1979 - Present
Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
1979 - Present
Ohio Bar Association
DUI Conviction reversed
DUI Conviction reversed
successful judgment
DUI Conviction reversed
Trial court reversed - defedant discharged
trail court reversed
N/A
law
2011
Understanding the Intoxilyzer 8000 (OH-5)
2011
Beating the Intoxilyzer 8000
2011
Things You Absolutely Must Know to handle DUI cases
2010
Operation and Errors of the Intoxilyzer 8000
2010
Winning on Appeal
2009
Defending Destroyed Video Cases
2008
Using GPS Data in the Defense
2007
Beating the Administrative License Suspension
2007
Confrontation Under Crawford
2006
Field Sobriety Testing
2006
Evidentiary Issues in Drugged Driving Cases
2006
Perfecting an Appeal to Win
2003
Vehicular Homicide Defense
2003
How to Win a DUI Trial
2002
Representation in DUI Cases
English
Legal Answers
Can't afford 3 day DIP because I have no job. What are my options in Ohio
16 Jan 2026
I had a previous ohio dui about 5 years ago. The Officer wrote 1st dui for a recent charge
16 Jan 2026
What will happen
14 Jan 2026