Man takes ticket to Supreme Court, loses
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A man who appealed a speeding ticket all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court lost his case Wednesday when the court ruled that the village that issued it complied with the law.
Gary Kieffaber of Spencer was cited by a police officer in the village of Belleville in north-central Ohio in 2005 for driving 41 mph in a 25 mph zone. Kieffaber pleaded not guilty because the officer did not check off a box on the ticket marked "unsafe for conditions." The "over the limits" box was marked.
Convicted by a municipal judge and fined $100, Kieffaber acted as his own attorney during two years of appeals. The high court agreed to hear the case to settle conflicting rulings from separate appeals courts. Kieffaber argued the case in February in a rare appearance by a non-lawyer before the court.
Justice Robert Cupp, writing the court's unanimous decision, said the office met the village ordinance's requirements to charge Kieffaber with speeding. During cross-examination at his trial, Kieffaber asked the officer why he did not mark the "unsafe for conditions" box and the officer replied that the conditions didn't warrant it.
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He said it was up to the police to prove that he broke the law and not up to him to prove that he didn't.
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