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At our firm, we are committed to providing legal services to our clients by using a personal and individualized approach. We believe it is important that both the client and their family be considered throughout the duration of any legal process. Our firm provides a team approach to representation. This enables all legal angles to be explored, researched, discussed and implemented throughout the duration of one’s legal matter.
Bret Jordan Co. L.P.A. is made up of licensed attorneys who can handle legal matters regarding federal charges, felony charges, misdemeanor and OVI crimes, divorce, dissolution and child custody services.
We provide legal services in Northeast Ohio including but not limited to Cuyahoga, Portage, Lake, Summitt and Lorain Counties Courts of Common Pleas; Municipal courts such as: Cleveland, Euclid, Berea, Rocky River, Bedford, Garfield, Kent, Ravenna, Willoughby, Mentor, Avon Lake, Elyria, Lorain and Medina. In addition, we represent individuals charged with federal crimes in the Northern District of Ohio.
Through our combined insights and experiences our team is dedicated to advocating for our clients in the court of law, making sure that your rights are protected, and obtaining a resolution that protects you and your family.
Bret Jordan Co. L.P.A. handles state felony cases such as: Murder, Drug Trafficking, Felonious Assault, Failure to Comply, Rape, Theft and Gun cases.
Having Weapons Under Disability, Carrying a Concealed Weapon and Improper Handling of a Gun in a Motor Vehicle are typical gun crimes charged as a felony in Ohio.
A disability does not refer to a physical or mental disability. You can have a weapon disability if you have a prior drug or offense of violence conviction, you are a fugitive from the law (have a warrant for your arrest) or you are under indictment to name a few.
Felonies of the First Degree carry a possible 3–11 years in prison (with additional Regan-tokes time);
Felonies of the Second Degree carry a possible 2-8 years in prison (with additional Regan-tokes time);
Felonies of the Third Degree carry a possible 9 to 36 monthsfor low tier and up to 60 months for a high tier;
Felonies of the Fourth Degree carry a possible 6 to 18 months; and
Felonies of the Fifth Degree carry a possible 6 to 12 months.
Bret Jordan Co. L.P.A. handles misdemeanor cases such as: Theft, Under Age Possession of Alcohol, Assault, Falsification, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Traffic Offenses.
Misdemeanors are handled by a Municipal Court and a possible penalty is local jail time where a felony is handled by a Court of Commons Pleas and a possible penalty is prison.
A mandatory 3 days in jail or DIP program; a minimum $375 fine up to $1,075; a driver’s license suspension of a minimum of 1 year up to 3 years; and treatment/interlock system are optional.
A mandatory 10 days in jail or 5 days in jail and 15 days of electronic home detention; a minimum $525 fine up to $1,625; a driver’s license suspension of a minimum of 1 year up to 7 years; alcohol assessment and treatment is mandatory; interlock system for driving privileges and a 90 day vehicle immobilization.
A mandatory 30 days in jail or 15 days in jail and 55 days of electronic home detention; a minimum $850 fine up to $2,750; a driver’s license suspension of a minimum of 2 year up to 12 years; interlock system for driving privileges, restrictive plate and forfeiture of the vehicle if owned by the offender.
A low tier OVI offense is when a person has a blood alcohol (BAC} over .08 but less than .17, or between .096 and .204 in your blood or between .11 and .238 in your urine.
10 years between the time of the 1st offense conviction date to the date of 2nd or 3rd offense.
An OVI offense is considered a high tier offense when the person refuses to take a chemical test (breath, blood or urine) or the person had a prior refusal within 20 years of the new offense.
No. A high tier OVI is when the BAC exceeds .17 in breath, .204 in blood and .238 in urine. In most cases the minimum jail time penalties double.
Yes. Each controlled substance has a prohibitive level of that drug in your urine and/or blood plus, a prohibitive level of that drug’s metabolite. A metabolite is the byproduct your body makes when is breaks down a drug and is detectable in blood or urine.
The Government charges a wide variety of criminal charges, the most common charges are Conspiracy to Possess and Distribute Drugs, Felon in Possession of a Weapon, Wire Fraud, Money Laundering and Illegal Reentry.
There are federal statutory sentences and federal sentencing guideline sentences. Statutory sentences are controlling when the offense carries a minimum mandatory statutory sentence. That means, the Judge has to sentence an individual to a minimum of that sentence but can issue a sentence that is higher than the statutory minimum.
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are advisory and the Court must take under consideration when determining the sentence. The Guidelines also provide for downward (lesser) and upward (greater) departures. Factors enumerated in 18 U.S.C. § 3553 are also considered by the Court and can result in downward or upward variances.
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines assign a base offense level to each crime. There are factors that increase the base level offense and decrease the base level offense. Once all factors are applied a Final Base Level is established. Criminal History is the other factor when determining a Federal Guideline sentence. Prior convictions count for either 0, 1, 2 or 3 points. Once the total points is determined, a Criminal History Category is established. A chart is used to determine the guideline range in terms of months in prison using the Final Base Level and the Criminal History Category.
Northeast Ohio has District Courts in Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown. Each case is assigned a Judge at random.
Divorce: a civil lawsuit filed by one party to end a marriage (with or without children) under the appropriate statutory grounds required in Ohio and can include numerous issues including (marital) property division, allocation of parental rights and responsibilities, spousal support (temporary and/or permanent), parenting time and/or child support for which the court makes the final decisions.
Can be contested or uncontested in Ohio – meaning only one party needs to seek divorce. The court may still proceed whether or not both parties want to terminate the marriage.
Dissolution: where all parties resolve any and all issues of the marriage and jointly file for a single final hearing to terminate the marriage within 90 days. This a joint legal proceeding and both parties must be in agreement. This is the most amicable, quickest, and typically least expensive way to terminate a marriage in Ohio.
The length of time a divorce proceeding may last differs by county. In Portage County, the court schedules Divorce proceedings to be resolved within 6 months. However, cases can take up to 9 months to one year depending on the complexity of the issues in the case.
Mediation: is an alternative to the adversarial court process (litigation) when ending a marriage.
It is a collaborative process is one in which the couple (and their respective lawyers) meet together to resolve issues using interest-based negotiation techniques, with the goal of, ultimately, ending the marriage through agreement rather than litigation.
In mediation, a single neutral agent helps the couple have constructive conversations to see if there is enough common ground to reach an agreement as to all the issues that need to be decided.
This process can be used to resolve financial issues including the allocation of assets and debts, spousal support and child support, and can be used to resolve issues relating to children as well. Parties often find that these processes offer them more control over their own futures and more creativity in the options they explore.
Different courts vary on their use of Mediation, but in Portage County, the court has a free Mediation program that parties can voluntarily involve themselves in efforts to resolve their legal matter.
The legal standard is the “best interest of the children.” This does NOT mean what YOU think is in the child’s best interest, but rather what the COURT believes is in the child’s best interest. Sometimes a Guardian ad litem is appointed to a child in efforts to investigate and make recommendation as to what is in the child’s best interest. The court is the finder of fact, and not a specific parent or their wishes.
Yes. Any child related issues and/or child support issues are modifiable as long as there is a change of circumstances since your most recent order and the child is still a minor and currently enrolled in high school.
Parental rights differ in the State of Ohio depending on whether you are married or unmarried when the child is born.
Married:
There's a presumption that a man is the father of a child if:
He and the mother are married.
He and the mother were married and the child was born during the marriage or within 300 days after the marriage was terminated.
He and the mother attempted to marry each other before the child's birth and either (1) the marriage can only be declared invalid by a court and the child is born during the marriage or within 300 days of the end of the marriage; or (2) the attempted marriage is invalid without a court order and the child is born within 300 days after the couple stopped living together.
An acknowledgment of paternity has been filed
Unmarried:
In Ohio, the legal relationship between a parent and child extends equally to all parents and all children, regardless of the parents' marital status.
An unmarried mother establishes her parent-child relationship by proving that she gave birth.
An unmarried father may establish his parent-child relationship through an acknowledgement of paternity.
An unmarried woman who gives birth to a child is automatically the sole "residential parent and legal custodian" of the child, unless and until a court orders otherwise. When parents are unmarried, a father doesn't have child custody rights until a court order establishes his rights. An unmarried father must establish paternity of the minor child to gain parental rights.
In Ohio, child support is calculated using the Ohio Child Support Guideline Worksheet which applies statutory guidelines set forth by the Ohio Revised Code. The basic information going into child support calculations includes each parent’s income, the parent’s work related child care expenses, health insurance premiums incurred for the minor child, each parent’s local income taxes, and whether any other child support or spousal support (alimony) is being paid or received by either parent.
An unmarried father seeking to establish his parental right through court will receive a child support order.
A Child Support order can also be achieved administratively through CSEA (Child Support Enforcement Agency) of the county in which a mother resides. This process takes place outside of court.
Child support is income based and calculations are mandatory through court proceedings. Parties can agree to deviate from the support calculation if they so choose and the facts and circumstances of the case meet the qualifying criteria to justify a deviation. There is no blanket requirement that a Father pay a Mother child support. Depending on the income of the parties and other factors of your legal matter, the higher income earner may be the one ordered to pay support.
Spousal Support can be one of the most contentious and difficult issues in a divorce to predict as the amount and length of spousal support is primarily within the discretion of the judge. While there are general guidelines and factors to be considered required by statute in Ohio, this issue must be litigated and is very fact specific.
What is Spousal Support?
“Spousal support” means any payment or payments to be made to a spouse or former spouse, or to a third party for the benefit of a spouse or a former spouse, both for sustenance and support of the spouse or former spouse. “Spousal support” does not include any payment that is made as part of a division or distribution of property or a distributive award.
How to calculate Spousal Support?
It is important to know that although Ohio courts have a statutory formula to calculate child support, no formula or “guideline” exists for spousal support. Ohio courts have wide discretion to determine the amount and duration of support awards for a spouse on a case by case basis, after taking into consideration the statutory factors currently in place.
Spousal support may be temporary, short-term, long-term, or permanent, depending on a number of statutory factors which the Court must consider. It may be granted to help a spouse “get back on their feet” or get the education to be self-supporting. If the court grants spousal support on a permanent basis, it will last until the recipient dies or remarries.
What factors does the Court consider?
The court does consider several factors as required by statute when calculating spousal support and some of the most common are:
Income of the parties from all sources, including but not limited to, income derived from property divided, disbursed, or distributed;
Relative earning abilities of the parties;
Ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the parties;
Retirement benefits of the parties;
Duration of the marriage;
Standard of living of the parties established during the marriage; and
Relative assets and liabilities of the parties including but limited to any court-ordered payments by the parties.