Author Archives: Robert Walton, Esq.

DUS Requires Movement

Many years ago there was not a statutory definition of operate and court decisions broadly interpreted the meaning of the word in OVI and DUS cases to include being in a position to move a car with the keys in the ignition. About 20 years ago the legislature enacted a physical control statute and added […]

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Providing a Good Defense – Obtaining Discovery and Public Records

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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The Community Caretaking Doctrine and Fourth Amendment Reasonableness

A car is parked on the shoulder of a freeway late at night. It is not impeding traffic and nobody has called the police about the car. It does not appear to be damaged and there are not any people standing outside of it. The weather is good. A police officer pulls off to the berm […]

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Reasonable Suspicion to Make a Traffic Stop Based on a Tip and an Officer’s Observations

By Robert G. Walton Esq. and Danielle Muster, his law clerk. On June 24, 2021, Supreme Court of Ohio decided State v. Tidwell, Slip Opinion No. 2021-Ohio-2072, which stemmed from a motion to suppress in an OVI case. Early in the opinion the Court stated that the principal issue was whether a police officer had […]

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

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 […]

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> General, Search & Seizure, Traffic | Comments Off on Lange v. California: “No Categorical Warrantless Search Exception” Where Misdemeanant Flees into Home