(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (c) of this section, sections of this General Offenses Code defining offenses or penalties shall be strictly construed against the Municipality and liberally construed in favor of the accused.
(b) Rules of criminal procedure and sections of this General Offenses Code providing for criminal procedure shall be construed so as to effect the fair, impartial, speedy, and sure administration of justice.
(c) Any provision of a section of this General Offenses Code that refers to a previous conviction of or plea of guilty to a violation of a section of this General Offenses Code, the Ohio Revised Code or a division of a section of this General Offenses Code or the Ohio Revised Code shall be construed to also refer to a previous conviction of or plea of guilty to a substantially equivalent offense under an existing or former law of this Municipality, State, another state, or the United States or under an existing or former municipal ordinance.
(ORC 2901.04)