City of Columbus v. Anderson

600 N.E.2d 712, 74 Ohio App. 3d 768, 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 3408
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 16, 1991
DocketNo. 90AP-1013.
StatusPublished
Cited by46 cases

This text of 600 N.E.2d 712 (City of Columbus v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Columbus v. Anderson, 600 N.E.2d 712, 74 Ohio App. 3d 768, 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 3408 (Ohio Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

Kline, Judge.

Wayne S. Anderson, defendant-appellant, was charged with two counts of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, both from the same incident, as well as speeding. Appellant filed a motion to suppress evidence including the results of the field sobriety and breath tests on the basis that there was a lack of probable cause. The trial court overruled this motion. Later, appellant entered a plea of no contest to the per se violation. Columbus City Code 2133.01(B)(2). The trial court found him guilty. Appellant appeals this decision and asserts the following three assignments of error:

“I. The trial court erred when it overruled appellant’s motion to suppress the results of the chemical test and the field sobriety tests.
“II. The trial court erred in admitting evidence of the Horizontal Nystagmus test.
“HI. The trial court erred in prohibiting appellant from conducting a full cross-examination of the arresting officer.”

*770 In the early morning hours of February 24, 1990, Columbus city police officer Jerry Webb stopped appellant on State Route 315 for going seventy-two miles per hour in a fifty-five mile per hour zone. Appellant exited his vehicle and approached the officer. Upon contact with the appellant, the officer noticed a moderate odor of alcohol about his person.

Due to the time of day and the odor of alcohol, the officer conducted field sobriety tests. The officer considered appellant’s performance on the “one-legged stand” test to be “marginal” since appellant “was swaying or wobbling.” Appellant swayed slightly during the walk-and-turn test. Appellant performed the finger-to-nose test well, but did not follow instructions. The officer noted that appellant’s eyes were glassy and bloodshot. Appellant was unable to recite the alphabet on his first attempt. Overall, the officer described appellant’s ability to follow instructions as “poor.”

The officer performed the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (“HGN”) test on appellant. The officer testified regarding the three types of nystagmus, the three-day course on HGN he had taken, and the manner in which he performs the HGN test in the field. The officer testified that appellant exhibited nystagmus for each eye in all three positions, scoring a total of six points out of six possible points on the test.

The officer then arrested appellant for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Subsequent to appellant’s arrest, he submitted to a breath test, the results of which were 0.116.

In his first assignment of error, appellant asserts that there was no probable cause for the officer to conduct field sobriety tests and, consequently, that the results should have been suppressed.

Probable cause is not needed before an officer conducts field sobriety tests. Reasonable suspicion of criminal activity is all that is required to support further investigation. State v. Bobo (1988), 37 Ohio St.3d 177, 524 N.E.2d 489.

In the present case, the officer’s conduct was proper. The speed of appellant’s vehicle, the moderate odor of alcoholic beverage, and the time of day provided sufficient grounds for the officer to have a reasonable suspicion which warranted further investigation. Hence, the trial court properly allowed the results of the field sobriety tests to be admitted into evidence.

Appellant next asserts that there was no probable cause for his arrest and that the results of the chemical test should have been suppressed. However, the facts in the case sub judice show that the arresting officer did have probable cause to arrest the appellant for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Several factors established probable *771 cause to arrest appellant for OMVI: the initial speeding violation, the moderate odor of alcohol about appellant, the time of day, appellant's “marginal” performance on the “one-legged stand” test, appellant’s failure to follow instructions, appellant’s failure to recite the alphabet correctly the first time, appellant’s glassy and bloodshot eyes, and appellant’s score on the HGN test. After appellant’s arrest for OMVI, the officer properly requested appellant to take a breathalyzer test.

This case is distinguishable from State v. Taylor (1981), 3 Ohio App.3d 197, 3 OBR 224, 444 N.E.2d 481. The trial court in Taylor suppressed the breathalyzer and urine tests for the reason that nominal speeding plus the odor of alcohol and nothing more, did not establish probable cause to arrest someone for driving under the influence of alcohol. Id. at 198, 3 OBR at 225, 444 N.E.2d at 482. Field sobriety tests were not conducted in Taylor. Here, the field sobriety test results established additional evidence. Moreover, the test results included observations which the officer could have made before administering the tests, including glassy and bloodshot eyes.

Appellant strongly contends that the trial court found there was not probable cause for the officer to arrest him for OMVI. The appellant bases his contention on the following statement of the trial court:

“In my viewing of the video and looking at the testimony, I did not, in and of myself, perceive that there was sufficient evidence with which to necessarily charge the defendant with — or to effect an arrest of the defendant for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence.”

However, the trial court overruled the motion to suppress and stated:

“ * * * I think what I have got to do is review the evidence presented to me and the testimony of the officer concerning what his perceptions were at the scene and what he based his decision on to effect the arrest. And if I do that, based upon the testimony of the officer and viewing the videotape, I would have to overrule the defendant’s motion for suppression in that the officer based his decision on a moderate odor of alcoholic beverage and the performance of the defendant on the field sobriety tests at the scene.”

The United States Supreme Court has indicated that probable cause exists when the facts and circumstances within the officer’s knowledge are sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the suspect had committed an offense. Beck v. Ohio (1964), 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225, 13 L.Ed.2d 142, 145.

In the case sub judice, the trial court was applying the Beck standard. The test is not the facts and circumstances within the trial court’s knowledge, but the facts and circumstances within the officer’s knowledge. Accordingly, we *772 are not persuaded that the latter statement of the court indicated that the court found no probable cause. Hence, the trial court properly overruled the motion to suppress.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
600 N.E.2d 712, 74 Ohio App. 3d 768, 1991 Ohio App. LEXIS 3408, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-columbus-v-anderson-ohioctapp-1991.