Can I Beat this Expired Tags Ticket (Ohio)?

Question

I was driving in the city of North Royalton and was 1,000 feet from entereing the city of Parma. A North Royalton cop just entered his city and we were driving past each other at a speed of 35 MPH.

The officer proceed to travel past me for 500 ft or so then did a U-turn and caught up to me and pulled me over in the city of Parma. I did not know why he had pulled me over, but he claimed he pulled me over because the tags were expired.

I do not understand why he pulled me over for a few reasons. Yes, my plates were expired, but the sticker is somewhat hidden my a license plate frame and he could not see it. The sticker is only required to be placed on the rear plate. Going past each other at the stated speed and the tag was not in plain sight (which can be a violation), I do not know why he pulled a U-turn and pulled me over; especially seeing that he just entered his city of jurisdiction. There doesn't seem to be reasonable cause to do so. Can I get out of this?

Answer 1

You admit that your plates are expired.  That is the violation for which you were ticketed.  You were also in violation for having the sticker hidden.  You need a different frame or none at all.

He may have looked in the rear-view mirror and seen that the sticker was obstructed.  Yes, he could legally pull you over in the city adjoining his.

Answer 2

no

Answer 3

They can identify the tags by color. They do not need to see the number if they see a piece of the tag they know when it expired.

If you were on the way to get new tags and can prove that, you MIGHT be let off in court. If you didn't get the new tag that day good luck.

Answer 4

Not likely.  Although you were stopped in a different city than the cop worked in, you were cited for violating a state code that he allegedly saw take place in his city.  Perhaps he had seen your car before and did not have the chance write you up then.  Also his legal jurisdiction is the entire state, not just the city where he works.  He is not supposed to work his neighbor's turf by tacit agreement because of potential conflicts.

These days, more so than ever, cops will cite people for anything they think, or believe, will be upheld by the courts.  In most examples they are encouraged to do so by the COs because this is a valuable source of revenue for their employers.