Category Archives: General

CAR SEARCHES ARISING OUT OF TRAFFIC STOPS AND THE VOLUNTARINESS OF CONSENT TO SEARCH

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Robert Walton, Esq.

This post contains a summary and discussion of several cases that have shaped Fourth Amendment search and seizure law related to traffic stops and car searches: Robinette II and III– A lawful traffic stop ended. Was consent to search a car given during the subsequent unlawful detention voluntary and the product of free will? Caballes – […]

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New Speedy Trial Clock for New Charges Based on Lab Results

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Robert Walton, Esq.

Andre Sanford was in a crash in October 2016.  He struck a motorcycle, killing the driver and left the scene.  An hour later he surrendered, admitted that he had been drinking and smoking weed, and submitted to a blood test.  Sometime later the test results indicated a prohibited amount of marijuana metabolites in his system. […]

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Providing a Good Defense – Obtaining Discovery and Public Records

Posted on August 23, 2022 by Robert Walton, Esq.

One of the things Phil Korey taught me is perseverance in investigating a criminal case.  A part of that is making full use of Crim. R. 16, due process, the Public Records Act and our intuition. Crim R. 16. It’s always good to review what must be provided by the state in response to a […]

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Lange v. California: “No Categorical Warrantless Search Exception” Where Misdemeanant Flees into Home

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Robert Walton, Esq.

By Robert G. Walton Esquire and Danielle Muster, his law clerk. On June 23, 2021, the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision in Lange v. California, 594 U. S. ____(2021). The principal issue was whether the pursuit of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect categorically qualifies as an exigent circumstance justifying a warrantless entry into […]

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Keeping Clients Informed – Assigned-Counsel Fees

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Judge Deborah J. Nicastro

By Shaker Heights Municipal Court Magistrate Anne Walton-Keller Recently the Supreme Court of Ohio decided that a trial court, pursuant to R.C. 2941.51(D), may order a criminal defendant to pay his or her court-appointed-counsel fees without first articulating explicit findings about the defendant’s ability to pay. State v Taylor, 2020-Ohio-6786. Taylor was ordered to pay […]

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Miranda Custody

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Robert Walton, Esq.

Often, a person who has been detained (Terry stop, traffic stop) is “in custody ” for Miranda purposes before a formal arrest occurs. That is important because the procedural safeguards adopted by Miranda become necessary once a defendant is taken into custody.

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A Template-Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence of a Chemical Test Refusal from Being Heard by a Jury

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Robert Walton, Esq.

In cases where the facts make it appropriate, the following sets forth a framework for excluding evidence of a refusal as proof of guilt in an OVI case and as proof of the element of refusal in an OVI-refusal with a prior OVI in the past 20 years case.

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Challenging Admissibility and Weight of BAC and SFST Results

Posted on September 9, 2020 by Robert Walton, Esq.

Challenging Admissibility and Weight of BAC and SFST Results Just because the results of a breath or blood alcohol concentration test and/or the results of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST’s) are determined to be in substantial compliance under their respective statutory exclusionary rules does not mean that the admissibility of such results cannot be challenged […]

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The Reasons Why A Search Warrant Is Required To Obtain Blood-Alcohol Test Records From A Hospital

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Robert Walton, Esq.

Submitted by Co-Authors Robert G. Walton and Gretchen Ebner The Relevant Evidentiary Statutes R.C. 4511.19(D)(1)(a) provides, in part, that in a criminal prosecution for a violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(a) or its equivalent (impaired driving) the result of any test of any blood withdrawn and analyzed by a health care provider may be admitted with expert […]

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What Is Happening With Traffic Cameras?

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Judge Deborah J. Nicastro

With litigation pending all over Ohio about traffic cameras and the 2019 statutes governing traffic camera programs, we are all having difficulty keeping track of the issues and court decisions surrounding these issues. Here is where Cuyahoga County is, in a nutshell, as of July 1, 2020.

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