Home » Columbus Kidnapping Defense Attorney » Unlawful Restraint Charges in Columbus, Ohio
Practice AreasUnlawful Restraint Charges in Columbus, Ohio
To be charged with unlawful restraint, you must have allegedly restrained someone else without their permission, with or without a sexual motivation.
Unlawful restraint is a third degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine.
If you are convicted of unlawful restraint, additional potential issues include:
- Maintaining your current employment
- Licensure issues in some professions
- Difficulty getting a good job in the future
- Difficulty and possible denial in immigration and naturalization proceedings
Simply put, if you are convicted of unlawful restraint, it could potentially be on your criminal background for the rest of your life. No matter what the circumstances were in your case, you run the risk of being considered someone who held someone against their will. Therefore, it is critical that you give your unlawful restraint charge the level of importance it deserves.
The Columbus Criminal Defense team takes an aggressive and comprehensive approach when representing clients charged with unlawful restraint. First and foremost, we will figure out whether the charges are fabricated, what mistakes the police or detectives made during their investigation, whether your arrest was lawful and any other legal issues that can be raised on your behalf.
We do this by requesting discovery from the prosecutor and by conducting our own investigation. The discovery will generally consist of police reports, additional investigative notes, lab reports and potentially video or audio.
Our investigation will consist of going to the scene, interviewing all witnesses and potentially hiring a private detective or forensic expert for further investigation. As our client, you will receive a copy of everything received from the prosecutor and our investigation for your review.
Based on the legal weaknesses in the State of Ohio’s case and any other mitigating factors, we will negotiate the best possible plea available with the prosecutor for you to consider in resolving your case.
If your case cannot be resolved satisfactorily with a plea, it would then proceed to a motion hearing (a hearing where the judge issues a ruling on an evidentiary issue) or a trial to the judge or jury, depending on the circumstances.
For nearly ten years, the Columbus Criminal Defense team has successfully represented clients charged with criminal offenses from minor misdemeanors to first degree felonies. That extensive previous experience will enable us to better help you.
Are you in trouble? Contact us.
If you’ve been charged with unlawful restraint, it’s important to know what you’re up against. If you have any questions left unanswered by this page, or if you need a competent, experienced criminal attorney to fight for you in court, please contact us at (614) 500-3836 or via email at advice@columbuscriminalattorney.com.
Penalties
This is a misdemeanor of the third degree and carries the following penalties:
- A jail sentence of up to 60 days
- In its place, your judge may sentence you to probation or other community control punishments
- At most, a fine of $500
