A new Ohio law that will take effect this fall requires drivers and passengers to identify themselves to police officers during traffic stops or face charges.
Under the law, if an officer stops a vehicle for a suspected violation, the people inside have to provide their identifying information to an officer, including their name, address and date of birth.
Previously, state law required that drivers and passengers had to identify themselves if an officer “reasonably” suspected them of a set of criminal offenses that could land them in jail. People also had to provide a license as proof that they were driving legally when stopped.
Now the law has expanded that to all motor vehicle-related offenses. It does not mean, however, that officers can randomly stop people to identify themselves. They still need at least reasonable suspicion that a traffic or motor vehicle or other law has been violated before making a traffic stop. Reasonable suspicion is a low bar, but it does require an officer to give specific facts or observations — not just a hunch — that a person violated the law, is actively committing a crime or is about to commit a crime.
How did the law come about?
Proponents argue that the law will clear up a “gray area” about when officers demand that a person identify themself. The bill got support from the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, county prosecutors and the Fraternal Order of Police who said that motorists are more frequently refusing to identify themselves to officers when pulled over, making it harder to hand out tickets, investigate crimes or look up warrants.
Medina Police Chief Edward Kinney, representing the Ohio Association of Chiefs of police, said during testimony supporting the bill that it would eliminate a gap in current laws that, for officers on the roadside, led to legal ambiguity that creates “confusion and risk.” Higher courts, he said, had also limited the use of obstruction charges under the current laws.
What exactly changes for drivers?
Now, failing to disclose identifying information during a traffic stop can result in a charge for a new crime that is a 4th degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by a $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail. There are also similar related offenses already used: obstructing official business, obstructing justice and failure to disclose personal information. Some of those can still be used by prosecutors depending on the situation.
The law also expands the offense of resisting or interfering with an official to apply to all peace officers in the state. It also increased the penalty for interfering to the level of a minor misdemeanor, the lowest level, to a 2nd degree misdemeanor, which can be punished by a $750 fine and up to 90 days in jail.
The law applies to motorized vehicles — cars, trucks, boats — but not bicycles or horse drawn buggies.
What are some of the concerns about the change?
Few opponents have argued that officers should not be able to ask for identifying information from drivers or passengers. But they have brought up that the law could lead to more arrests for nonviolent offenses and noted that the change could have an outsized impact on communities that already experience higher rates of police stops.
Zach Miller, of the Ohio Public Defenders office, called the law a
a “dramatic expansion” that allows people to be charged with an obstruction offense based on a routine stop, such as a faulty taillight or lapsed registration. During testimony opposing the legislation, he had urged lawmakers to consider narrower, clearer language that didn’t increase penalties for low-level traffic encounters.
What else is important to know?
Though the bill expands police authority and increases penalties, it explicitly notes that a person does not have to answer questions from law enforcement other than their name, address and date of birth. That includes follow up questions about age, data of birth that could itself lead to additional criminal charges.
