Cincinnati Federal Crimes Blog

Ohio State Representative Sedrick Denson, D-Bond Hill, reportedly faces criminal charges after a routine traffic stop earlier this month. Denson apparently was stopped for speeding and driving outside lane lines. Denson apparently submitted to a number of field sobriety tests, including the finger-to-nose, walk-and-turn and Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus. However, Denson allegedly refused a chemical test, according to the police complaint.

The officer allegedly determined that Denson failed one or more of the field sobriety tests and arrested him. According to the dash cam video, Denson claimed he had two glasses of wine at a fundraiser at 5:30 p.m. the day before, and said that he normally did not drink wine. The traffic stop occurred at approximately 2:48 a.m. Denson also apparently said that the reason he was driving outside the lines was because he was checking his GPS.

All across the nation, lawmakers are making an impact on criminal justice reform, particularly when it comes to minor drug crimes. Many people in possession of drugs for their own personal addictions have been charged with felonies in the state of Ohio. However, lawmakers recently introduced Senate Bill 3 in an effort to make many minor drug possession charges misdemeanors rather than felonies. Lawmakers hope the Senate passes the bill by June of this year.

Under the new bill, anyone caught with small amounts of drugs in their possession may be able to avoid a criminal conviction by undergoing treatment for their addiction. Judges will be allowed to put a drug possession case on hold while the defendant undergoes court-ordered treatment for his or her addiction. If the defendant successfully completes the treatment, the judge may dismiss the case or order further treatment if necessary to encourage the defendant's recovery.

There are many forms of identity fraud, but generally, a person may face criminal charges if they wrongfully collect and use another person's personal information to commit a fraud.

According to Ohio identity theft law, it is against the law for someone to use, possess or obtain someone's personal identifying information without consent. This information typically includes the person's Social Security number, birth date, driver's license number, PIN numbers and credit information. Many offenders access this information by stealing someone's wallet or purse or rummaging through someone's trash for bank statements and old tax records.

Perhaps you suffered an injury in a crash, a work-related accident or some other accident. In the alternative, you may suffer from a medical condition such as cancer that causes you intense pain. In order to help you control your pain, your doctor prescribed you an opioid.

The medication did its job. Your pain is under control, and you are on the mend. However, while you took the drug, you became addicted to it, and you continued using it long after your pain disappeared. Now, you have a problem. Part of you wants to quit taking the pills, but another part of you doesn't or can't. Other than potentially facing a variety of criminal charges associated with an addiction to pain medication, you may wonder what it will do to your body.