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Community Caretaking Function

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“The Joslyn Law Firm is highly experienced and nationally recognized for their Criminal and DUI Defense. Brian Joslyn is an Award-Winning Criminal and DUI Defense attorney who, along with his team, has handled hundreds of cases and has helped their clients obtain the best results possible.”

Community Caretaking Function

The performance of a legitimate “community caretaking function” can substitute for identifying a reasonable articulable suspicion under limited circumstances. In many of these cases, a person is parked in their vehicle and appears to be asleep or unconscious. Without any probable cause that a crime has been committed or reasonable suspension of a traffic violation, the officer starts banging on the window in an attempt to wake the occupant of the vehicle.

The courts will look closely at the number of offices involved, whether their vehicles used emergency equipment to effect a stop, whether the officer’s vehicle blocked the suspect’s vehicle, whether the officer opened the vehicle’s door, and the assertion of authority exercised to gain compliance with the officer’s demands.

In many of these cases, your OVI defense attorney in Ohio will file a motion to suppress evidence that alleges the contact between the officer and the person in the vehicle is unreasonable under the fourth amendment.

“Police officers without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity are allowed to intrude on a person’s privacy to carry out ‘community caretaking functions’ to enhance public safety.” State v. Norman, 136 Ohio App. 3d 46, 54 (1999) and Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398 (2006).

The community caretaking function exception is very limited in both application and scope. The officer must have a reasonable belief and must be “totally divorced from the detection, investigation, or acquisition of evidence relating to the violation of a criminal statute.” Cady v. Dombrowski, 413 U.S. 433, 441 (1973).


Finding an OVI Attorney in Cincinnati, OH

If you were arrested for OVI in Cincinnati, OH, and have concerns about whether your stop and detention was legal, then contact an experienced OVI defense attorney at Joslyn Law Firm. We represent clients throughout Hamilton County and the surrounding areas.

  • Brian Joslyn was named Best Lawyer in 2019 by Birdeye.
  • Columbus CEO magazine has yearly selections for the best attorneys in Columbus Ohio. Brian Joslyn has been identified as one of the most highly skilled attorneys across central Ohio.
  • Brian Joslyn has earned recognition for community leadership by Lawyer LegionLawyer Legion
  • Preeminent Attorney Award. Peer rated for highest level of professional excellence.
  • The Better Business Bureau (BBB), founded in 1912, is a private, nonprofit organization whose self-described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust.

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