OH10: Officer’s lack of knowledge of Covid extension of licenses was not reasonable mistake under Heien

The officer’s mistake of law in not knowing that an executive order that vehicle licenses expiring during Covid March 9, 2020 to December 1, 2020 remained valid was unreasonable under Heien. Heien requires ambiguity, and this wasn’t. Also, an unreasonable mistake of law isn’t good faith under Leon. State v. Robertson, 2023-Ohio-2746, 2023 Ohio App. LEXIS 2708 (10th Dist. Aug. 8, 2023).

“Under these circumstances, and given our Supreme Court’s decision in Hill, a reasonable officer could have suspected that Johnson was armed and dangerous at the time the search was conducted. The time of the stop, the character of the surrounding area, the presence of an armed passenger, and Johnson’s evasive conduct reasonably suggested to Officer Roberts that Johnson was attempting to access or conceal a weapon and was a potential threat to his safety.” Johnson v. Commonwealth, 2023 Va. App. LEXIS 529 (Aug. 8, 2023).*

Defendant argued that the search of his car was unreasonable and the two guns he wasn’t prosecuted for should not have been a +2 sentence enhancer. “But even if officers did lack probable cause, Ramos still cannot make a substantial showing of prejudice because he was not charged with possessing those firearms. And absent those firearms, Ramos would still be subject to § 2D1.1(b)(1)’s two-level enhancement because agents found three firearms in his house. Ramos v. United States, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 20466 (6th Cir. Aug. 7, 2023).*