State v. Shimits

The position taken by the appellant in its second proposition of law, supported by the appellate minority, is that evidence of ownership of an automobile or other vehicle in a forfeiture proceeding under R.C. 2925.13(D) is limited by law to the “certificate of title,” and that ownership could not be established in any other manner to avoid forfeiture. However, such construction is unnecessarily restrictive and would contradict the principles set forth in State v. Emmons (1978), 57 Ohio App. 2d 173 [11 O.O.3d 173], and State v. Rhodes (1982), 2 Ohio St. 3d 74.

Initially, we must conclude that…