Ohio White-Collar & Other Crimes Defense
Disorderly conduct, obstruction, resisting arrest, falsification, tampering, criminal tools, and fraud. McCown, Fisher & Cremeans LPA defends these charges across nine Southern Ohio counties from offices in Ironton and Chesapeake, with more than 50 combined years of trial experience. Select a charge below for a detailed breakdown of the statute, how Ohio grades it, the penalties, and the defenses that apply.
Disorderly Conduct
Disorderly conduct is Ohio’s catch-all charge — easy to allege after any heated public situation. It’s usually minor, and it’s also one of the most useful charges to negotiate toward when reducing something bigger.
Disorderly Conduct defense → R.C. 2921.31Obstructing Official Business
This charge is frequently overused — added on when someone is uncooperative. But the law requires an affirmative act that actually hampered a public official, not mere refusal or talking back.
Obstructing Official Business defense → R.C. 2921.33Resisting Arrest
Resisting arrest has a built-in defense the State often overlooks: the arrest has to have been lawful in the first place. If it wasn’t, the resisting charge fails.
Resisting Arrest defense → R.C. 2921.32Obstructing Justice
Helping a friend or family member — a ride, a place to stay, a delayed answer to police — can be reframed as obstructing justice. The State must prove you acted with the purpose of helping them avoid the law.
Obstructing Justice defense → R.C. 2921.13Falsification
Falsification punishes knowingly false statements made to officials in specified situations. The State has to prove both that the statement was false and that you knew it — and that the situation was one the statute actually covers.
Falsification defense → R.C. 2921.12Tampering with Evidence
Tampering is a third-degree felony that prosecutors love to stack on top of other charges. But it has a strict requirement: you must have known an investigation or proceeding was underway or about to be.
Tampering with Evidence defense → R.C. 2923.24Possessing Criminal Tools
Almost anything can be a “criminal tool” — a screwdriver, a phone, a car. That’s exactly why this charge is so beatable: it lives or dies on proving criminal intent, not on the object itself.
Possessing Criminal Tools defense → R.C. 4301.69 & 4511.19(B)Underage Alcohol & OVUAC
A college-town mistake shouldn’t follow a young person into their career. Underage drinking and under-21 OVI (OVUAC) are misdemeanors — but they hit driver’s licenses and records at exactly the wrong time of life.
Underage Alcohol & OVUAC defense →Why Early Defense Matters
The most consequential decisions in a criminal case are made early — often before the first court date. Evidence is fresh, witnesses are available, surveillance and body-camera footage still exists, and the prosecution has not yet committed to a theory. The sooner we are reviewing the stop, the search, and the State’s evidence, the more leverage you have. Call (740) 532-8744 for a free, confidential review.