Author Archives: Robert Walton, Esq.

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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DUS Requires Movement

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Robert Walton, Esq.

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

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 […]

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> Criminal, General, OVI, Traffic | Comments Off on Providing a Good Defense – Obtaining Discovery and Public Records

The Community Caretaking Doctrine and Fourth Amendment Reasonableness

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Robert Walton, Esq.

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 […]

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> Criminal, Search & Seizure | Comments Off on The Community Caretaking Doctrine and Fourth Amendment Reasonableness

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

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Robert Walton, Esq.

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 […]

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> OVI, Search & Seizure, Traffic | Comments Off on Reasonable Suspicion to Make a Traffic Stop Based on a Tip and an Officer’s Observations