OH9: Wad of money not seizable under plain feel during patdown

A patdown that revealed a wad of money was not a valid plain feel because it should have been apparent that it was not a weapon. State v. Robinson, 2012 Ohio 2428, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 2137 (9th Dist. June 4, 2012):

[*P20] Here, the testimony is unclear as to whether the nature of the “wad of money” was apparent by touch during the Terry search, or whether the officer reasonably believed the “wad” in Robinson’s pocket to be a weapon. Moreover, the record does not indicate that Officer McConnell at any point subjectively believed that the “wad” in Robinson’s pocket was a weapon. Therefore, the seizure of the money from Robinson’s pockets is not justified by the Terry search or the plain feel doctrine. See Maumee v. Weisner, 87 Ohio St.3d 295, 297, 1999 Ohio 68, 720 N.E.2d 507 (1999) (“Generally, at a suppression hearing, the state bears the burden of proving that a warrantless search or seizure meets Fourth Amendment standards of reasonableness.”)

Plaintiff is a state prison inmate required under state law to give fingerprints for SORNA purposes, and he refused. He was placed in segregation for refusing, and a criminal investigation was opened by the State Police. He sued under § 1983, but he doesn’t state a claim for relief because the intrusion is minimal [not to mention that, as a prison inmate, his fingerprints are in multiple places and were likely taken when he got there]. Ford v. Curtin, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79439 (W.D. Mich. June 8, 2012).*