State v. Allen, 2020 Ohio 947

Around midnight on Nov. 19, 2018, Dayton officers stopped a vehicle for a dim license-plate light; Allen (driver) produced an ID and admitted his license was suspended.
Officer Campbell removed Allen from the car, placed him in the cruiser, and called for a tow under Dayton Police Tow Policy because the driver’s license was suspended.
Pursuant to department policy, Campbell conducted an inventory before towing and observed marijuana, two handgun magazines, ammunition in a door compartment, and a loaded handgun under the driver’s seat.
Allen was indicted for having a weapon while under disability and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle; he moved to suppress the evidence obtained from the inventory search.
The trial court denied suppression; Allen pled no contest to the weapons-under-disability charge (other count dismissed) and received five years community control. He appealed, raising suppression and ineffective-assistance claims.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the tow policy and inventory search violated the Fourth Amendment	The State: tow and inventory were lawful under Dayton's standardized tow policy; search served caretaking functions and followed policy	Allen: policy is vague/unreasonable; officer should have contacted registered owner; inventory was pretext and exceeded scope by opening compartment	Court: Overruled suppression. Tow policy authorized impound for suspended license; inventory complied with standardized procedures and was not a pretext; compartment search allowed under policy
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for advising a no-contest plea	The State: plea was strategic to avoid exposing prior conviction at trial; counsel’s advice was reasonable	Allen: State could not prove he knowingly possessed the firearm; counsel should not have advised plea	Court: Overruled. Counsel’s plea advice was a reasonable tactical decision; Allen failed to show deficient performance or prejudice under Strickland/Bradley

South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364 (inventory search exception to warrant requirement)
Florida v. Wells, 495 U.S. 1 (limits on inventory searches of closed containers)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two‑part ineffective assistance standard)
State v. Mesa, 87 Ohio St.3d 105 (Ohio law recognizing inventory-search principles)
State v. Hathman, 65 Ohio St.3d 403 (policy required to open closed containers during inventory)
State v. Robinson, 58 Ohio St.2d 478 (inventory search lawful when pursuant to standard practice and not pretext)
State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136 (Ohio adoption of Strickland)
State v. Hopfer, 112 Ohio App.3d 521 (trial court findings of fact and suppression-review standards)
State v. Venham, 96 Ohio App.3d 649 (appellate deference to trial court's credibility findings)
State v. Greathouse, 158 Ohio App.3d 135 (Crim.R. 11 and plea acceptance not requiring the trial court to establish factual basis)