OK, so you probably knew this was coming. My personal analysis of the "breastfeeding while driving" case in NE Ohio. A lot of my friends and family have asked me how this woman could be found "not guilty" of child endangering. So, I've done what I do best...legal research. This is the way I read the law...

Ohio code section 4511.81, dealing with child car seats, specifically allows to out-of-state travelers a defense...that if the home state's law doesn't require a child seat, then they are not required to use one in Ohio.

"(F) If a person who is not a resident of this state is charged with a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section and does not prove to the court, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person's use or nonuse of a child restraint system was in accordance with the law of the state of which the person is a resident, the court shall impose the fine levied by division (H)(2) of section 4511.99 of the Revised Code."

Michigan's law states that the driver is not required to have a child passenger in a car seat if it is nursing.

Now, as to the Child Endangering...the way the law is written in Ohio, she was NOT guilty of child endangering. The law specifically states that a violation of the child restraint law cannot be used as evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding other than for a violation of the child restraint law. So...it can't be used as evidence of child endangering.

"(D) The failure of an operator of a motor vehicle to secure a child in a child restraint system as required by this section is not negligence imputable to the child, is not admissible as evidence in any civil action involving the rights of the child against any other person allegedly liable for injuries to the child, is not to be used as a basis for a criminal prosecution of the operator of the motor vehicle other than a prosecution for a violation of this section, and is not admissible as evidence in any criminal action involving the operator of the motor vehicle other than a prosecution for a violation of this section."

If there were other evidence (erratic driving, speeding, etc), it would have been a different story.

Welcome to Ohio...where we pass strange laws.

I know there are a lot of people who will talk about the "religious issues" involved in this case, but I'm going to steer clear of those (especially after a quick gander at the website for the "church" in question).