ATHENS, Ohio — Local media magnate and publisher of the Guardian, Derek Myers continues his winning streak of court cases.
On Friday, it was announced that Myers had a traffic ticket overturned by the Fourth District Court of Appeals. The appeal stems from an accident in 2022 where Myers was following a car too closely that was turning at an intersection in Union Township outside of Athens. The slow-speed, low-impact crash caused minor cosmetic damage to the vehicles involved, and no injuries were reported; it was alleged Myers was traveling at less than 10 miles an hour when the collision occurred. The vehicle in front of him was turning when it stopped in the crosswalk mid-turn, causing Myers to bump into the back of the SUV.
Myers was cited for “assured clear distance ahead” by the Ohio Highway Patrol, which is the legal designation for following too closely. The minor misdemeanor traffic citation carries a fine and two points on one’s driving record.
Myers filed a motion to dismiss in the Athens Municipal Court during the pre-trial phases of the initial case after pleading not guilty. He claimed that prosecutors violated his right to a speedy trial by not bringing him to trial within thirty days, as required under Ohio law. Myers argued in the motion that he did not waive his right to a speedy trial and instead, the Clerk of Court took it upon herself to set the case for two pre-trials, causing the case to span out for nearly 70 days; well beyond the statutory thirty days, unless waived, which Myers contends he did not.
The presiding Judge over the case, Judge Todd Grace denied Myers’ motion to dismiss, without citing a reason and found Myers guilty of the accident. As a result, Myers’ personal major motions attorney, Emmett Robinson appealed the case to the district court.
Oral arguments were held in the spring of this year in Portsmouth, where the State argued that Myers’ time was tolled because he actively engaged in the pre-trials, despite not requesting them. The panel of Judges disagreed with the State’s argument and ruled in Myers’ favor. The case was overturned on Friday, the traffic ticket was dismissed, and Myers’ driving record was wiped clean.
Key takeaways:
- Derek Myers was charged with a minor misdemeanor traffic offense and should have been brought to trial within 30 days under Ohio law.
- Myers filed a motion to dismiss the charge on speedy trial grounds, arguing he was not brought to trial within 30 days as required. The trial court denied the motion.
- On appeal, the appellate court found Myers made a prima facie case that he was not brought to trial within 30 days. The burden then shifted to the prosecution to show events had sufficiently extended the time to bring Myers to trial.
- The court found the continuances granted did not effectively toll the speedy trial time limits. There was no written motion by Myers requesting continuances as required by court rules for traffic cases.
- The court also found no indication in the record that Myers waived his speedy trial rights at any point.
- In total, 49 days elapsed between when Myers received his traffic citation and when he filed the motion to dismiss, exceeding the 30 day limit.
- The appellate court sustained Myers’s appeal, reversed his conviction, and remanded the case to the trial court for discharge based on the speedy trial violation.
The case is just the latest court win Myers has achieved in recent months. In June 2022, he made landmark case law in the Ohio Supreme Court for transparency in police reports in a case styled Myers v. Meyers, where he successfully sued the Chillicothe Police Department for access to police incident reports. The case’s ruling changed how law enforcement agencies in the state handle public records by requiring they disclose reports to the publlic and news media. Myers’ lawyer on the case was Robison, who is an alumnus of Harvard University and a Jeopardy! Champion.
Myers also recently won two case against former Pike County Judge Randy Deering during the high-profile trial of George Wagner, IV. Wagner, who was on trial for 21 felony counts, including eight counts of murder; Wagner was found guilty last year for his role in the 2016 killing of the Rhoden family. During the trial, Deering banned news media from filming certain pieces of evidence and witnesses. Myers successfully sued on both accounts, and also for freedom of movement in the courtroom after Deering locked the doors to keep the public from entering during testimony. In those cases, temporary injunctions were secured preventing Deering’s actions.
Most recently, a trumped-up felony wiretapping charge in the same county was also dismissed; Myers is expected to file suit against Pike County officials in the coming weeks for several million dollars for violations of his civil rights, among other claims.