Cleveland v. Evans

2014 Ohio 4567
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided October 16, 2014·No. 100721·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

Court of Appeals of Ohio

EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION No. 100721

CITY OF CLEVELAND

PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE

vs.

JIMMY A. EVANS

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT

JUDGMENT:

AFFIRMED

Criminal Appeal from the

Cleveland Municipal Court Case No. 2013-TRC-009146

BEFORE: Celebrezze, P.J., Jones, J., and E.A. Gallagher, J.

RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: October 16, 2014

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT

Robert L. Tobik Cuyahoga County Public Defender BY: Erika B. Cunliffe Assistant Public Defender 310 Lakeside Avenue Suite 200 Cleveland, Ohio 44113

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Victor R. Perez Chief Assistant Prosecutor City of Cleveland, Law Department The Justice Center 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Mark V. Guidetti Thomas M. Hanculak Prosecutors, Village of Bratenahl Joseph W. Diemert & Associates 1360 SOM Center Road Cleveland, Ohio 44124

FRANK D. CELEBREZZE, JR., P.J.:

{¶1} Appellant, Jimmy Evans, bring this appeal from his conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol (“O.V.I.”). Appellant argues that his right to a speedy trial as well as his rights against double jeopardy were violated. After a thorough review of the record and law, we affirm.

I. Factual and Procedural History

{¶2} On October 5, 2012, close to midnight, appellant was driving within the village of Bratenahl. Officer Benjamin Izor of the Bratenahl Police Department initiated a traffic stop of appellant’s vehicle after observing that no headlights were on while appellant was driving on Interstate 90. He also witnessed appellant make an illegal “U” turn and other traffic violations. Officer Izor indicated that, on approaching the vehicle, he smelled a strong odor of alcohol. When asked for identification and vehicle registration, appellant indicated his license was suspended. He also admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages and that he felt “buzzed.” Officer Izor conducted a battery of field sobriety tests and developed probable cause to believe that appellant was intoxicated based on the results. Appellant was arrested and submitted to a breath alcohol test, which determined his blood alcohol level to be 0.179 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath. However, Officer Izor did not issue appellant a citation for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Instead, he issued appellant a citation for illegal “U” turn in violation of Bratenahl Codified Ordinance (“B.C.O.”) 331.12, driving while under suspension in violation of B.C.O. 335.07; failure to control/weaving in violation of

B.C.O. 331.34; driving without headlights illuminated when required in violation of B.C.O. 337.02; and possession of marijuana in violation of B.C.O. 513.03.

{¶3} On October 15, 2012, a complaint was filed by the village of Bratenahl (the “Village”) in the Cleveland Municipal Court charging appellant with the above infractions.

{¶4} Because appellant had several prior arrests for other O.V.I. offenses, police referred potential charges for violating Ohio’s O.V.I. statute, R.C. 4511.19, to the county prosecutor for a potential felony indictment. A Cuyahoga County Common Pleas case number was assigned, but ultimately, a felony prosecution did not go forward.

{¶5} On October 30, 2012, as part of a negotiated plea agreement, appellant entered a plea of no contest to driving under a suspended license in violation of B.C.O. 335.07, for which he was ordered to pay a fine. The trial court also imposed a jail sentence, but suspended all days not previously served.

{¶6} On February 10, 2013, appellant was served with a citation for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(a) and 4511.19(A)(1)(h). A criminal complaint was filed on February 14, 2013, listing the same charges. Appellant filed a motion to suppress the breath test as unreliable on March 22, 2013. Appellant also filed a motion to dismiss on March 9, 2013, arguing that his rights to a speedy trial and against double jeopardy were violated. After numerous continuances at appellant’s request and a few necessitated by the court’s schedule, a hearing on these motions was held on September 10, 2013. The trial court denied both motions the same day. The court issued a lengthy opinion setting forth its reasoning. On November 5, 2013, appellant entered a no contest plea to the first count, and the second count was dismissed in conformity with a plea agreement.

{¶7} The trial court ordered a presentence investigation report and set a date for a sentencing hearing. There, appellant was fined $525 and ordered to serve 180 days in jail. Appellant then filed this appeal, assigning three errors for review:

I. [Appellant’s] prosecution for O.V.I. violated his right to a speedy trial guaranteed under R.C. 2945.71(B) and the Ohio Constitution.

II. [Appellant’s] prosecution for O.V.I. violated his rights under the Constitution’s Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments where he had entered into a plea agreement resolving the matter and the [Village] had not expressly reserved the right to pursue the additional charge.

III. The trial court violated [appellant’s] right to due process and his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment when it denied his motion challenging the results of his B.A.C. testing as unreliable without a hearing.

II. Law and Analysis

A. Speedy Trial

{¶8} The right to a speedy trial is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This right must be observed by the states as mandated by the Fourteenth Amendment. Section 10, Article I of the Ohio Constitution guarantees an accused this same right. State v. MacDonald, 48 Ohio St.2d 66, 68, 357 N.E.2d 40 (1976).

{¶9} When reviewing a trial court’s decision granting or denying a motion to dismiss for violation of the right to a speedy trial, we are to accord deference to the lower court’s findings of fact, but we review the lower court’s application of those facts to the law de novo. State v. Robertson, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 93396, 2010-Ohio-2892, ¶ 11, citing State v. Henley, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 86591, 2006-Ohio-2728. Ohio speedy trial statutes, “R. C. 2945.71 et seq., constitute a rational effort to enforce the constitutional right to a public speedy trial of an accused charged with the commission of a felony or a misdemeanor and shall be strictly enforced by the courts of this state.” State v. Pachay, 64 Ohio St.2d 218, 416 N.E.2d 589 (1980), at the syllabus.

{¶10} The Village had 90 days within which to bring appellant to trial on his two first-degree misdemeanors. R.C. 2945.71(B)(2). There is no indication in the record before this court that appellant was in jail awaiting trial other than the day of his arrest, so the triple-count provision of R.C. 2945.71 is inapplicable.1

{¶11} Once the statutory limit has expired, the defendant has established a prima facie case for dismissal. State v. Howard, 79 Ohio App.3d 705, 607 N.E.2d 1121 (8th Dist.1992). At that point, the burden shifts to the state to demonstrate that sufficient time was tolled pursuant to R.C. 2945.72. State v. Geraldo, 13 Ohio App.3d 27, 468 N.E.2d 328 (6th Dist.1983). Conflicts in the court’s trial schedule and motions for continuance at the defendant’s request will toll the days. R.C. 2945.72(H). If the state fails to meet

1 There was a capias warrant issued in this case, but the record does not reflect any period of arrest as a result. After the warrant was issued, a motion to recall capias was filed on May 21, 2013, and the court reinstated “original bond determination” on June 4, 2013.

its burden, the defendant must be discharged. State v. Butcher, 27 Ohio St.3d 28, 500 N.E.2d 1368 (1986). But the Ohio Supreme Court also recognized that

“the prescribed times for trial set forth in R.C. 2945.71 are not absolute in all circumstances, but a certain measure of flexibility was intended by the General Assembly by the enactment of R.C. 2945.72, wherein discretionary authority is granted to extend the trial date beyond the R.C. 2945.71 time prescriptions.”

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