Prosecutors routinely file several OWI counts from one stop. The per se offense is operating with a blood or breath alcohol concentration at or above the legal limit, with a more serious tier for a concentration well above it. A separate offense is operating while intoxicated regardless of the number, proved by the officer’s observations, and it is charged at a higher level when the driving is alleged to have endangered someone. A first OWI is usually a misdemeanor. It becomes a felony with a prior OWI conviction within a set number of years, or when the crash caused serious bodily injury or death.
After the arrest the officer sends an affidavit to the BMV and your license is suspended administratively, before any judge hears evidence. A failed chemical test brings a suspension measured in months. A refusal, under Indiana’s implied consent law, brings a longer one, measured in a year or more, and the prosecutor may tell the jury you refused. The criminal case runs on its own track, starting with an initial hearing within days where the charges are read, bond is set, and the suspension is confirmed. The decisions made in that first week shape both tracks.
Indiana’s specialized driving privileges statute, Indiana Code section 9-30-16, lets a court authorize driving for work, school, medical care, and other stated purposes during a suspension, usually with conditions such as an ignition interlock device, restricted hours, and proof of insurance. The sooner the petition is filed, the fewer days you lose. Some suspensions are excluded, including, in many cases, a suspension for refusing the chemical test, which is one reason refusal is a serious decision.
The case begins with the stop, which required reasonable suspicion; a stop based on a hunch can suppress everything that followed. Field sobriety tests are reliable only when given exactly as the national training manual prescribes, and officers routinely depart from it. The breath test must be run on a certified instrument by a certified operator, after an observation period of a set number of minutes, and within the window the statute allows after the driving. And because alcohol absorbs over time, a test taken well after the driving can show a concentration higher than it was behind the wheel. These are the elements of the State’s case, and the State has to prove each one.
If you hold a CDL, an OWI in your personal car disqualifies your commercial license for at least a year on a first offense, and federal rules bar the court from deferring or diverting the charge to avoid it; our CDL protection page explains why. For everyone, expect higher insurance premiums and an SR-22 filing, a conviction visible to any employer who runs driving records, and, for non-citizens, immigration consequences that must be weighed before any plea.
Do not talk to police without a lawyer; be polite, give your name, and ask for an attorney. Write down everything you remember about the stop while it is fresh, then call. The consultation is free, calls are confidential, and we handle OWI cases in the Lake, Porter, and St. Joseph County courts every week. We will tell you honestly what the evidence looks like and get the driving privileges petition moving so the case does not cost you your job.
Call either office or send a message; it is free and confidential. Bring the charging information, any paperwork from the jail or the court, and the date of your first hearing. We tell you what the charge actually means, what the realistic outcomes are, and what it will cost, in writing, before you decide anything. Until you have talked to a lawyer, do not talk to the police. More about how we handle criminal cases.
A Chicago-area native who worked in telecommunications and held two jobs to support his family before law school, Jason founded the firm in 2010 on a no-nonsense, plain-spoken approach to solving clients’ problems.
There is no single right answer. Refusing deprives the State of a number, which can help at trial. But refusal brings a longer suspension, usually bars specialized driving privileges during it, and can be used against you. For most first-time drivers near the limit, refusing costs more than it saves.
There will be a suspension, and it begins administratively before the criminal case is resolved. Whether you can drive during it depends on specialized driving privileges, which the court can grant for work and other necessary purposes if you are eligible and the petition is filed promptly.
Sometimes. It depends on the evidence, your record, and the prosecutor’s office. A reduction is more likely when there are real problems with the stop, the testing, or the paperwork, which is why the investigation comes first and the negotiation second.
A first misdemeanor OWI carries possible jail time, but for most first offenders with no injury and no aggravating facts the sentence is served on probation with an alcohol evaluation, classes, and a suspension. No outcome can be promised.
The consultation is free and confidential. We will tell you what you are facing and what can be done about it.