Legal Question in Traffic Law in Ohio

My daughter went to South Carolina in May. She was pulled over in Darlington County for a minor traffic violation where her car was searched and marijuana was found in the suitcase of one of the girls in the car. My daughter was not driving the car, even though it was her car, and didn't know that the marijuana was in the car. She was charged with Controlled Substance Violation Code: 56-1-745, and was fined $570. On the ticket was a court date for 6/10/2010, but she was told by the officer to just pay the ticket by the 10th and she wouldn't have to go to court. Her license is suspended in the State of South Carolina for 6 months, also. We live in Ohio. My questions are: Why did the officer charge her with the violation when it was someone else's drugs, she wasn't aware of the substance in the car, and she wasn't driving? Also, I can't seem to find any place to look up the public court records to be sure that she was not supposed to be in court on the 10th of June so I am not sure that this case is closed. Will this affect her DMV record here in Ohio? I haven't seen anything yet on the DMV website about the SC charge and suspension. Does this mean she cannot drive in any state due to the SC suspension or only in South Carolina?

Thanks so much for any help you can give

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Asked on 7/12/10, 7:51 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Neil Rubin Neil S. Rubin, Attorney at Law, LLC

The officer charged her because that is what he is supposed to do. The court system then hashes out who is guilty and who is not. I know this is hindsight but she should have hired an attorney to defend her because her suspension now applies to ALL states-not just South Carolina. If she is picked up anywhere, her license number will be run and she might be arrested because of the suspension in SC.

As far as the public record is concerned, have her call the SC court's Clerk to get the docket information. They will tell her the details or at least provide her the online place to look.

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Answered on 7/13/10, 6:27 am


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