Criminal Defense
All crimes in Ohio are strictly defined by law. Here is a list of definitions of the most common felony and misdemeanor offenses:
Aggravated Menacing: 2903.21
- No person shall knowingly cause another to believe that the offender will cause serious physical harm to the person or property of the other person, the other person’s unborn, or a member of the other person’s immediate family…
Aggravated Vehicular Homicide – Vehicular Homicide – Vehicular Manslaughter: 2903.06
- No person, while operating or participating in the operation of a motor vehicle, motorcycle, snowmobile, locomotive, watercraft, or aircraft, shall cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another’s pregnancy in any of the following…
Aggravated Vehicular Assault: 2903.08
- No person, while operating or participating in the operation of a motor vehicle, motorcycle, snowmobile, locomotive, watercraft, or aircraft, shall cause serious physical harm to another person or another’s unborn in any of the following ways…
Arson and Related Offenses: 2909.01
As used in sections 2909.01 to 2909.07 of the Revised Code:
- To “create a substantial risk of serious physical harm to any person” includes the creation of a substantial risk of serious physical harm to any emergency personnel…
- No person shall knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another or to another’s unborn.
- No person shall recklessly cause serious physical harm to another or to another’s…
- No person by force, stealth, or deception, shall trespass in an unoccupied structure, with purpose to commit therein any theft offense, as defined in section 2913.01 of the Revised Code, or any felony…
- No person, with purpose to corrupt a public servant or party official, or improperly to influence him with respect to the discharge of his duty, whether before or after he is elected, appointed, qualified, employed, summoned, or sworn, shall promise, offer, or…
- No person, by force, stealth, or deception, shall do any of the following:
- Trespass in an occupied structure or in a separately secured or separately occupied portion of an occupied structure, when another person other than an accomplice of…
Carrying Concealed Weapons: 2923.12
- No person shall knowingly carry or have, concealed on the person’s person or concealed ready at hand, any of the following:
- A deadly weapon other than a handgun…
Child Abuse (See Endangering Children)
Child Endangering (See Endangering Children)
- No person, acting with the kind of culpability required for the commission of an offense, shall do any of the following:
- Solicit or procure another to commit the offense…
- No person shall cause, or create a substantial risk of physical harm to any property of another without the other person’s consent:
- Knowingly, by any means…
- No person, without privilege to do so, shall do any of the following:
- Knowingly enter or remain on the land or premises of another;
- Knowingly enter or remain on the land or premises of another, the use of which is…
Deception to Obtain a Dangerous Drug: 2925.22
- No person, by deception, as defined in section 2913.01 of the Revised Code, shall procure the administration of, a prescription for, or the dispensing of, a dangerous drug or shall possess an uncompleted preprinted prescription blank used for writing a prescription for a dangerous drug…
Death penalty or imprisonment – aggravating and mitigating factors: 2929.04
- Imposition of the death penalty for aggravated murder is precluded unless one or more of the following is specified in the indictment or count in the indictment pursuant to section 2941.14 of the Revised Code and proved beyond a reasonable doubt…
- No person shall recklessly cause inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm to another by doing any of the following:
- Engaging in fighting, in threatening harm to persons or property, or in violent or turbulent behavior…
- No person shall knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to a family or household member.
- No person shall recklessly cause serious physical harm to a family or household member.
- No person, by threat of force, shall knowingly cause a family or household member to…
- No person shall operate any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley within this state, if, at the time of the operation, any of the following apply:
- The person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them…
Driving under suspension or in violation of license restriction: 4510.11
- No person whose driver’s or commercial driver’s license or permit or nonresident operating privilege has been suspended under any provision of the Revised Code, other than Chapter 4509. of the Revised Code, or under any applicable law in any other…
Driving under OVI suspension: 4510.14
- No person whose driver’s or commercial driver’s license or permit or nonresident operating privilege has been suspended under section 4511.19, 4511.191, or 4511.196 of the Revised Code or under section 4510.07 of the Revised Code for a conviction of a violation of a municipal OVI ordinance…
Driving under financial responsibility law suspension or cancellation: 4510.16
- No person, whose driver’s or commercial driver’s license or temporary instruction permit or nonresident’s operating privilege has been suspended or canceled pursuant to Chapter 4509. of the Revised Code, shall operate any motor vehicle within this state, or knowingly permit any motor…
As used in this chapter:
- “Administer,” “controlled substance,” “dispense,” “distribute,” “hypodermic,” “manufacturer,” “official written order,” “person,” “pharmacist,” “pharmacy,” “sale,” “schedule I,” “schedule II,” “schedule III…
Drug Possession (See Drug Offenses)
This version is in effect until 07-01-2007 (A) As used in this section, “drug paraphernalia” means any equipment, product, or material of any kind that is used by the offender, intended by the offender for use, or designed for use, in propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding…
Drug trafficking: See Trafficking, Aggravated Trafficking in Drugs
- No person, who is the parent, guardian, custodian, person having custody or control, or person in loco parentis of a child under eighteen years of age or a mentally or physically handicapped child under twenty-one years of age, shall create a substantial risk to the health…
- No person, with purpose to obtain any valuable thing or valuable benefit or to induce another to do an unlawful act, shall do any of the following:
- Threaten to commit any felony…
Failure to Comply with Order or Signal of Police Officer: 2921.331
- No person shall fail to comply with any lawful order or direction of any police officer invested with authority to direct, control, or regulate traffic.
- No person shall operate a motor vehicle so as willfully to elude or flee a police officer after…
- No person whose driver’s license, commercial driver’s license, temporary instruction permit, or nonresident’s operating privilege has been suspended shall operate any motor vehicle upon a public road or highway or any public or private property after the suspension has expired unless the person has…
- No person shall knowingly do either of the following:
- Cause serious physical harm to another or to another’s unborn;
- Cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another or to another’s unborn by…
Fleeing and Eluding (See Failure to Comply with Order or Signal of Police Officer)
Forging identification cards or selling or distributing forged identification cards: 2913.31
- No person, with purpose to defraud, or knowing that the person is facilitating a fraud, shall do any of the following:
- Forge any writing of another without the other person’s authority…
Gross Sexual Imposition: 2907.05
- No person shall have sexual contact with another, not the spouse of the offender; cause another, not the spouse of the offender, to have sexual contact with the offender; or cause two or more other persons to have sexual contact when any of the following applies…
Homicide: see Reckless Homicide and Negligent Homicide
Having Weapons While Under Disability: 2923.13
- Unless relieved from disability as provided in section 2923.14 of the Revised Code, no person shall knowingly acquire, have, carry, or use any firearm or dangerous ordnance, if any of the following apply:
- The person is a fugitive from justice.
Illegal manufacture of drugs – illegal cultivation of marihuana – methamphetamine offenses:
- No person shall knowingly cultivate marihuana or knowingly manufacture or otherwise engage in any part of the production of a controlled substance.
- This section does not apply to any person listed in division (B)(1), (2), or (3) of section 2925.03 of…
- No person shall solicit a person who is less than thirteen years of age to engage in sexual activity with the offender, whether or not the offender knows the age of such person.
- No person shall solicit another, not the spouse of the offender, to engage in sexual…
- No person shall cause the evacuation of any public place, or otherwise cause serious public inconvenience or alarm, by doing any of the following:
- Initiating or circulating a report or warning of an alleged or impending fire, explosion…
Involuntary Manslaughter: 2903.04
- No person shall cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another’s pregnancy as a proximate result of the offender’s committing or attempting to commit a felony.
- No person shall cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another’s…
- No person, by force, threat, or deception, or, in the case of a victim under the age of thirteen or mentally incompetent, by any means, shall remove another from the place where the other person is found or restrain the liberty of the other person, for any of the following purposes…
- No person shall knowingly cause another to believe that the offender will cause physical harm to the person or property of the other person, the other person’s unborn, or a member of the other person’s immediate family…
Menacing by Stalking: 2903.211
- No person by engaging in a pattern of conduct shall knowingly cause another person to believe that the offender will cause physical harm to the other person or cause mental distress to the other person…
- No person shall purposely cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another’s pregnancy.
- No person shall cause the death of another as a proximate result of the…
- No person shall negligently cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another’s pregnancy by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code…
Obstructing Official Business: 2921.31
- No person, without privilege to do so and with purpose to prevent, obstruct, or delay the performance by a public official of any authorized act within the public official’s official capacity, shall do any act that hampers or impedes a public official in the performance of the…
- No person, with purpose to hinder the discovery, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for crime or to assist another to benefit from the commission of a crime, and no person, with purpose to hinder the discovery, apprehension, prosecution, adjudication…
- As used in this section:
- “Check” includes any form of debit from a demand deposit account, including, but not limited to any of the following…
- No person, in any official proceeding, shall knowingly make a false statement under oath or affirmation, or knowingly swear or affirm the truth of a false statement previously made, when either statement is material…
Prohibitions (See Underage Persons Offenses Concerning)
- No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another who is not the spouse of the offender or who is the spouse of the offender but is living separate and apart from the offender, when any of the following applies…
Receiving Stolen Property: 2913.51
- No person shall receive, retain, or dispose of property of another knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the property has been obtained through commission of a theft offense…
- No person shall recklessly cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another’s pregnancy.
- Whoever violates this section is guilty of reckless homicide, a felony of the third degree…
- No person, recklessly or by force, shall resist or interfere with a lawful arrest of the person or another.
- No person, recklessly or by force, shall resist or interfere with a lawful arrest of the person or another person and, during the course of or as a result of the resistance or interference, cause physical…
- No person, in attempting or committing a theft offense or in fleeing immediately after the attempt or offense, shall do any of the following:
- Have a deadly weapon on or about the offender’s person or under the offender’s control…
- No person shall engage in sexual conduct with another, not the spouse of the offender, when any of the following apply:
- The offender knowingly coerces the other person to submit by any means that would…
- No person shall have sexual contact with another, not the spouse of the offender; cause another, not the spouse of the offender, to have sexual contact with the offender; or cause two or more other persons to have sexual contact when any of the following applies…
Stalking (See Menacing by Stalking)
Telephone Harassment (Telecommunications Harassment): 2917.21
- No person shall knowingly make or cause to be made a telecommunication, or knowingly permit a telecommunication to be made from a telecommunications device under the person’s control, to another, if the caller does any of the following…
- No person, with purpose to deprive the owner of property or services, shall knowingly obtain or exert control over either the property or services in any of the following ways:
- Without the consent of the owner or person authorized to give consent…
Trespassing (see Criminal Trespassing)
Trafficking, Aggravated Trafficking in Drugs: 2925.03
This version is in effect until 07-01-2007
- No person shall knowingly do any of the following:
- Sell or offer to sell a controlled substance;
- Prepare for shipment, ship, transport, deliver, prepare for distribution, or distribute a controlled…
Underage Drinking (See Underage Persons Offenses Concerning)
Underage Persons Offenses Concerning: 4301.69
- Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person shall sell beer or intoxicating liquor to an underage person, shall buy beer or intoxicating liquor for an underage person, or shall furnish it to an underage person, unless given by a physician in the regular line of the physician’s practice or…
Unauthorized Used of a Vehicle: 2913.03
- No person shall knowingly use or operate an aircraft, motor vehicle, motorcycle, motorboat, or other motor-propelled vehicle without the consent of the owner or person authorized to give consent…
Using Weapons While Intoxicated: 2923.15
- No person, while under the influence of alcohol or any drug of abuse, shall carry or use any firearm or dangerous ordinance.
- Whoever violates this section is guilty of using weapons while intoxicated, a misdemeanor of…
Violating Protection Order: 2919.27
- No person shall recklessly violate the terms of any of the following:
- A protection order issued or consent agreement approved pursuant to section 2919.26 or 3113.31 of the Revised Code…
- No person shall knowingly cause serious physical harm to an occupied structure or any of its contents.
- No person shall knowingly cause physical harm to property that is owned or possessed by…
Vehicular Assault (See Aggravated Vehicular Assault)
Vehicular Homicide (See Aggravated Vehicular Homicide)
Voluntary Manslaughter: 2903.03
- No person, while under the influence of sudden passion or in a sudden fit of rage, either of which is brought on by serious provocation occasioned by the victim that is reasonably sufficient to incite the person into using deadly force, shall knowingly cause the death of another or the…
Weapons Under Disability: see Having Weapons While Under Disability
Wrongful Entrustment of Motor Vehicle: 4511.203
- No person shall permit a motor vehicle owned by the person or under the person’s control to be driven by another if any of the following apply:
- The offender knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the other person does not have a valid…