​Almost everyone has received a traffic ticket from a police officer. Sometimes it is speeding, sometimes it is a citation for an accident, and sometimes an officer gets it wrong and cites for the wrong reason or no real reason at all. Whatever the case, almost everyone will have an interaction with the police in these situations. It can be frustrating, and it can be intimidating. The most important thing to remember is that there are certain rights that you do have, and fighting an officer in the field is never a good idea. Taking the battle to court is the best way to make your case that an officer is wrong or has made a mistake.

The first thing to know is that you must give the police your name and identifiers. The police have to know who you are if you are pulled over or are in an accident. Many people think that you have the right to remain silent, and you do. But the exception is identifying who you are. You can get charged with failing to provide identifying information if you do not give them that information. That usually means name, address, and date of birth according to R.C. 2921.29. Sometimes officers go beyond that and request social security numbers too. It is usually a good idea to give this identifying information even though you are not required to give your social security number by law, but beyond that you have the right to remain silent.

That means that when they ask things like “where are you coming from”, “where are you going”, “do you know how fast you were going”, and other questions like that you do not have to answer. You do not have to be rude, but you do not have to answer those questions. You can simply inform the officer that beyond giving your identifying information you don’t wish to answer any more questions. They may not like that, and they often don’t like that, but that is the law. You must let them know that you are going to remain silent and not answer questions. As strange as it sounds, you must break your silence to let them know that you will be remaining silent.

Second, you have the right to refuse a search of your vehicle. The fourth amendment allows you protection from unreasonable search and seizures. If you give permission to the officer to search your car, then you no longer have those protections because you waived them by giving permission. If they ask, can I search your car, you are allowed to say “no you do not have my permission.” If they continue to search the car and do not have a legal basis to do so, then they could be in violation of the fourth amendment. But if you give them permission to search, then it is not an illegal search. There are exceptions to the fourth amendment such as a search warrant, giving permission for an officer to search, and an emergency situation among other things. But if none of those exist and an officer proceeds to search a car then they are likely in violation of the Constitution.

Something to remember is that if an officer orders you to get out of the car, they are permitted to do so if they believe it is in the interest of officer safety. Even if you do not agree with their assessment of the situation, you must comply with that order.

Third, you have the right to an attorney if the officer places you under arrest. If you are handcuffed or placed in a police vehicle, then you still do not have to answer questions. In fact, it is a good idea to answer no questions and ask for an attorney. There are exceptions to this, such as a drunk driving situation where the officer suspects someone of drunk driving. Because they need to get a breath test quickly in order to obtain accurate results, courts have said that you do not have the right to an attorney before taking a breath test. However, a person still does not have to answer any questions if they do not want to.

Many traffic situations are unpleasant, but most only result in a traffic ticket or a fine. Sometimes, they do get very serious and require the assistance of an attorney. The final thing that you need to remember is that staying calm is always a huge help when an officer is overstepping their boundaries. Most police interactions these days are on camera. If a defendant is yelling and screaming at the police officer, it will be a terrible look on the police body worn camera. However, if a person calmly states that they wish to remain silent and only gives their names and identifiers, that person is in a much better position to argue that the police overstepped their boundaries since they presented well on camera. Yelling at an officer in the field is almost always a bad idea. It heightens the emotions of the stop and often gives officers reason to fear for their safety which gives them reason to take a person out of the car.
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If you or a loved one has been pulled over or have questions about the propriety of a traffic stop, you can call Brian C. Morrissey, Attorney at Law, for a free consultation at 419-830-7441.