The Sixth District Court of Appeals ruled that an extraterritorial traffic stop by Lake Township Police Department officer on a State highway violated the defendant’s rights under Article 1, Section 14 of the Ohio Constitution.
“[In Atwater v. Lago Vista] a stop, even if in violation of state law, is not unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution if the stop was based on probable cause,” Judge Singer wrote. “[In State v. Brown] a stop made in violation of state law is reasonable under Article I, Section 14, of the Ohio Constitution only when probable cause to make the stop exists and the government’s interests in allowing unauthorized officers to make this type of stop outweighs the intrusion upon individual privacy.”
State v. Brown, 2013-Ohio-5351
The appellate court ruled that while appellant’s Fourth Amendment rights were not violated because the officer had probable cause to stop him, there was a violation of his state rights.
See Case Summary from Court News Ohio.
