J.D.I. v. State

This case turns on whether a crack in a windshield violates § 82-5-215(a), Ala. Code 1975, which prohibits an obstruction of a driver’s view by a “nontransparent material upon the front windshield.” Specifically, the issue is whether a crack in a windshield is a “nontransparent material.”

The Court of Appeals of Oregon recently addressed this issue. In State v. Elmore, 241 Or.App. 419, 250 P.3d 439 (2011), that court held that a crack in a windshield is not a “material” and therefore is not prohibited under a statute that applied to “any material that prohibits or impairs the ability to see…