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What Should You Know About Traffic Stops in Ohio?
If the police charge you with a crime after a traffic stop in the Cleveland area, you must be advised and represented by a Cleveland criminal defense lawyer, and you must contact that lawyer as quickly as possible.
It’s good to understand how the police can accuse you of a crime as the result of a traffic stop. Don’t let an officer bully you or trick you into giving up any of your rights. When you understand those rights, you will have a better chance of driving away without an arrest.
In most cases, the police need a warrant to search a person or a person’s home, but when the police make a traffic stop, officers require only “probable cause” to search a vehicle. What constitutes probable cause? What should you do when the police pull you over in traffic?
How Should You Deal With a Traffic Stop?
If you’re driving and the police stop you, pull over immediately and safely, away from traffic. Turn off the car and rest your hands on the steering wheel. Don’t reach for your license or registration until you are asked. Always greet the officer and be polite. Never express “attitude.”
If you receive a ticket, accept it calmly. You will be allowed to explain to a judge and hire a lawyer if you wish, but don’t argue with the officer ticketing you. If the officer asks you questions, politely say something such as, “Officer, I am exercising my right to remain silent.”
A law enforcement officer may try to make you admit you were speeding or fleeing from a crime scene. Anything you say can be used against you in court, so the less you say, the better. Staying calm, polite, and quiet is always the wisest way to deal with a traffic stop.
What Constitutes Probable Cause?
Probable cause requires the police to have evidence that causes them to believe someone may be involved in criminal behavior. It includes seeing or smelling illegal drugs, firearms, or stolen property.
Expired licenses and broken taillights or headlights do not constitute probable cause. Ohio drivers should understand what constitutes probable cause, how the police obtain evidence, and how they sometimes take advantage of loopholes in the law.
Of course, if police in the Cleveland area arrest you at a traffic stop, call a Cleveland criminal defense attorney immediately.
Can the Police Search Your Vehicle?
A police officer may tell the driver and passengers at a traffic stop to vacate the vehicle. If you are ordered to vacate your vehicle, comply. If officers have probable cause for a search, they may frisk you to check for weapons, but only if they have reason to suspect you may be armed.
You may verbally refuse to consent to a search of your vehicle, but don’t physically resist the police. Simply touching a law enforcement officer could lead to a felony assault charge. Instead, politely say something like, “Officer, I will not resist, but I do not consent to this search.”
Refusing to consent to a search does not constitute evidence of guilt or an admission of guilt. If police officers search your vehicle after you refuse to consent, and if that search uncovers illegal items or evidence of a crime, your defense lawyer can move to suppress that evidence in court.
What if the Police Arrest You?
What if you are charged with a crime after a traffic stop? Your fate and future will be in your lawyer’s hands, so you must be represented by a Cleveland criminal defense lawyer with a record of defending clients effectively. Do not try to act as your own lawyer. Any mistake could land you in jail or prison.
Your lawyer will defend you throughout the judicial process and bring your criminal case to its best possible resolution. If you are facing any criminal charges after a traffic stop, call the offices of a Cleveland criminal defense attorney as quickly as possible.
The sooner you have a defense attorney, the more time your attorney will have to review the evidence and prepare an effective defense. A prosecutor starts working on your case immediately, so you must retain a defense attorney without delay.
How Will Your Lawyer Defend You?
To convict you of committing a crime, the state must demonstrate your guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” There are several ways a defense attorney can help you. Your defense attorney’s first step will be attempting to have the charge against you dropped or dismissed.
A prosecutor can drop the charge, or a court can dismiss the case if there is not enough evidence or if the police violated your rights during a search, arrest, investigation, or interrogation. If the case goes to trial, your lawyer will explain what really happened and ask the jurors to acquit you.
But if the state’s case is persuasive, your lawyer may recommend and negotiate a plea deal. In most plea deals, defendants plead guilty to reduced charges in return for lesser or alternative sentences. Before you take a plea deal, discuss it with your attorney. If you’re innocent, you should almost always reject a plea deal and insist on your right to a trial by jury.
Let Watson Kuhlman Advise and Defend You
If Ohio law enforcement officers arrest you after a traffic stop in or near the Cleveland area, immediately contact the defense attorneys at Watson Kuhlman, LLC. Watson Kuhlman will protect your rights and advocate aggressively for the justice you need and deserve.
A defense lawyer at Watson Kuhlman will move to dismiss the case or suppress the evidence against you. If your case can’t be dropped or dismissed, we will negotiate a plea deal you can live with or explain to a jury what really happened and why you should be acquitted.
Call Watson Kuhlman, LLC immediately if you are facing a criminal prosecution – now or in the future – because of what happened at a traffic stop. Contact our Cleveland law offices by calling 216-208-7858 to schedule a review and evaluation of your case with no cost or obligation.
