Policy

Court: Evidence From a Dismissed Ticket is Admissible

So the ticket is tossed out, leaving no probable cause, but stuff found during the stop for the tossed ticket ...

|


A dismissed traffic ticket does not go away. The US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio ruled Thursday that the trial of Timothy Wilkins should proceed, even though the evidence against him came from a traffic stop case that had been dismissed by the Cleveland Municipal Court. As a result, Wilkins was found guilty Monday and will be sentenced on November 19.

Just after midnight on April 30, 2012, Wilkins had been riding in the car driven by Lincoln Studgions, his cousin. Cleveland Police Officers Steven Schmitz and Vasile Nan were on patrol, looking to issue citations. They insist Studgions ran the stop sign at the intersection of East 114th Street and Clarebird Avenue. Studgions pulled over as instructed as the officers prepared a ticket.