State v. Stadelman, 2013 Ohio 5035

Defendant Ryan Stadelmann made a "wide" left turn from the lane immediately left of center on Drake Road onto Madison Road, ending up in the far right (curb) lane.
Sergeant Thomas Bloomberg observed the turn and stopped Stadelmann, believing it violated R.C. 4511.36(A)(2) (statute governing left turns at intersections).
Stadelmann moved to suppress evidence, arguing the stop was unlawful because his turn was legal under the statute; the trial court denied suppression and he pled no contest to OVI (R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(d)).
On appeal, the sole issue was whether the officer reasonably believed a traffic violation had occurred, making the stop lawful.
The majority found the statutory language susceptible to the officer’s interpretation and held the stop was objectively reasonable; the dissent maintained the statute is plain and the stop unlawful.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was the traffic stop based on an objectively reasonable belief of a left-turn violation under R.C. 4511.36(A)(2)?	Officer’s observed "wide" turn could reasonably be read to require turning into the lane nearest the center line; thus reasonable suspicion existed.	Stadelmann’s turn complied with the statute’s plain language (leaving intersection right of center); no violation occurred, so stop was unlawful.	Court upheld the stop: an objectively reasonable officer could interpret the statute to prohibit the executed turn, so suppression denial affirmed.

State v. Greer, 114 Ohio App.3d 299 (2d Dist. 1996) (good-faith exception may extend to reasonable mistakes of law where statute is ambiguous)
Bowling Green v. Godwin, 110 Ohio St.3d 58 (Ohio 2006) (officer need only have objectively reasonable suspicion; need not correctly predict conviction)
Richlin v. Gooding Amusement Co., 113 Ohio App. 99 (8th Dist. 1960) (discussion of left-turn statute’s aim to prohibit "cutting the corner")