Gahanna Mayor’s Court

Court Information

Court Process Information

The first step in the court process is an arraignment, which is where your charges will be read in front of the sitting magistrate and you will plead “not guilty,” “guilty” or “no contest.” When you hire the Gahanna DUI lawyers from LHA to represent your case, this means that you likely will not have to show up for your arraignment. You can leave all of the pre-trial work to us.

The next step is to assess the evidence, figure out the weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case and negotiate on our client’s behalf to give them options and to accomplish their goals for the case.

For example, in OVI / DUI cases, client’s goals generally include staying out of jail, terminating or lessening lessen their license suspension, getting driving privileges and most importantly trying to avoid getting an OVI conviction. Typical reductions in in OVI / DUI cases include lesser offenses such as reckless operation or physical control. For drug offenses, client’s goals generally include keeping the drug conviction off their record and keeping their license from being suspended.

You cannot have a jury trial at Gahanna Mayor’s Court, and OVI / DUI and criminal evidentiary hearings are generally not held there. If we are not satisfied with pre-trial results at the Gahanna Mayor’s Court and need to litigate your case, we may opt to transfer the case downtown to Franklin County Municipal Court. Jury trials and OVI / DUI hearings are conducted in Franklin County Municipal Court. Prosecutors Raymond Mularski and Kelleen Roth stay with all cases that are transferred to Franklin County Municipal Court.