State v. Torres

Summary

The Ninth District Court of Appeals of Ohio affirmed the Oberlin Municipal Court’s order forfeiting Juan Carlos Torres’s vehicle after his third OVI conviction within ten years. The court held that Ohio Revised Code section 4511.19(G)(1)(c)(v), which requires forfeiture when the vehicle is registered in the repeat offender’s name, is rationally related to legitimate governmental interests and does not violate equal protection. A concurring judge agreed with the judgment but emphasized that the statute turns on vehicle registration rather than ownership.

Holdings

1. R.C. 4511.19(G)(1)(c)(v) is not unconstitutional on its face or as applied because its criminal-forfeiture requirement is rationally related to legitimate governmental purposes.
2. The distinction between vehicles registered in the repeat OVI offender's name and vehicles owned by third parties is rational and does not violate equal protection.

Questions Presented

1. Whether R.C. 4511.19(G)(1)(c)(v), which requires criminal forfeiture of a vehicle registered in the offender's name after a third OVI conviction or guilty plea within ten years, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
2. Whether the statute violates Article I, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution.
3. Whether the statutory distinction based on whether the vehicle is registered in the repeat OVI offender's name is rationally related to legitimate governmental interests.

Disposition

affirmed