Cleveland v. Khamies

2023 Ohio 812
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided March 16, 2023·No. 111661·Published

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO

EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA

CITY OF CLEVELAND, :

Plaintiff-Appellee, :

No. 111661

v. :

YAHYA KHAMIES, :

Defendant-Appellant. :

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION

JUDGMENT: AFFIRMED

RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: March 16, 2023

Criminal Appeal from the Cleveland Municipal Court Case No. 2021-TRC-014118

Appearances:

Mark Griffin, Cleveland Director of Law, Aqueelah A.

Jordan, Cleveland Chief Prosecuting Attorney, and Retanio AJ Rucker, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.

John H. Lawson, for appellant.

ANITA LASTER MAYS, A.J.:

In a complaint filed on June 24, 2021, plaintiff-appellee city of Cleveland (“City”) charged defendant-appellant Yahya Khamies (“Khamies”) with operating a vehicle under the influence (“OVI”) under Cleveland Codified

Ordinances (“C.C.O.”) 431.01(a)(1)(A), and failure to control (“FTC”) under C.C.O. 431.34(a). Khamies has filed a delayed appeal of his convictions. We affirm the trial court’s judgment. I. Background and Facts On June 19, 2021, at 11:42 p.m., Khamies was cited by the Cleveland Police Department (“CPD”) for violating the cited code sections. The citation indicates a prior OVI in 2014 and indicates an accident occurred. The bench trial was held on March 30, 2022. Khamies was represented by counsel and furnished with an Arabic interpreter.

CPD officer Black (“Officer Black”) testified that she responded to the accident scene. The accident occurred in the city of Cleveland on West 117th Street in front of the Rally’s restaurant. The street is located on the Cleveland-Lakewood city border and Lakewood officers were at the scene. Officer Black observed a heavily damaged Kia with deployed airbags at the scene but did not see the other vehicle. Lakewood officers advised that the drivers had been transported to Lakewood Hospital.

At the hospital, Officer Black met briefly with Daria Calloway (“Calloway”), the Kia owner, whom the officer observed had arm injuries and chest pains. Officer Black next met with Khamies who stated he was driving the other vehicle, a silver Town and Country van. Khamies stated he had been drinking alcohol.

Officer Black observed that “[Khamies’s] eyes were “really red and then he was very talkative. But I really didn’t — I (inaudible) to me. And he had slurred speech, very slurred speech, and then he kept asking (inaudible). I think he did not understand.”1 (Tr. 31.) A nurse set up a telephonic device that allowed a live translator to read the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle 2255 administrative license suspension form (“ALS form”) to Khamies in Arabic. The record contains an ALS form purportedly signed by Khamies.

The City asked Officer Black whether, based on her training, experience, and observations, the officer believed Khamies was under the influence of alcohol or drugs that made him too impaired to drive. Officer Black’s initial response regarding her opinion on whether Khamies was too impaired to drive was “inaudible.” (Tr. 35.) During redirect, Officer Black explained that the observed indications of intoxication included “slurred speech, bloody eyes, sometimes (inaudible) very talkative.” (Tr. 43.) Also, “[h]e wasn’t tuned — tuned in. He was talkative. He was, um, upset that I was there to try to get — to try to help see what was going on. I wasn’t able to reiterate anything because he kept cutting me off.” (Tr. 47.)

Officer Black also added that upon arrival, she introduced herself to Khamies, advised him that the conversation was being recorded, and asked what

1Testimony began on page 22 of the transcript and the case concluded at page 83.

From pages 22 to 83, there are over 100 indications that a portion of the testimony or inquiry was “inaudible.” However, it also appears from the record that counsel and the witnesses may have been wearing masks.

was going on. The interpreter was provided at Khamies’s request. Khamies was also upset with the interpreter and kept cutting the interpreter off. Officer Black did not recall whether she repeated the discussion that she initially had with Khamies after the translator became involved.

Calloway, the driver of the Kia, testified that she was heading southbound in the two-way center turning lane on West 117th Street waiting to turn left into Rally’s when she saw a silver minivan heading directly toward her in the turning lane. Calloway turned left to avoid a head-on collision and Khamies’s van hit the Kia on the right rear passenger side. The airbags deployed on impact. When Calloway awakened after the incident and unbuckled her seatbelt, her car was in the flower pit area of the Rally’s parking lot by the sidewalk. EMS arrived and Calloway agreed to go to the hospital. Calloway experienced pain in her back, left arm, and left leg and the Kia was totaled. Calloway recalled speaking with Officer Black at the hospital and telling the officer that Khamies was drunk.

There were no other witnesses. Khamies moved for judgment of acquittal under Crim.R. 29. The trial court asked the City whether there was any additional evidence of intoxication.

City: Outside of the medical records?

Court: You just gave me some medical records. What — what about them? I mean, you want me to go through all the medical records and make my own determination? Is that what you’re asking the court to do?

(Tr. 64-65.) The City referenced an alcohol test conducted at the hospital to which the court responded, “Well I didn’t hear anything about an alcohol test being taken at the hospital. There’s nothing in evidence about that.” (Tr. 65.) A sidebar ensued.

After the trial court walked the City through the medical records admissions procedure, the City directed the trial court’s attention to the relevant pages in the record that it had extracted and marked as exhibits. The City identified the ethanol urine results as .319, the clinical impressions, diagnostic toxicology testing, and the record of the date, time, and reason for seeing the patient in Exhibits A through D, respectively. The exhibits were admitted over defense counsel’s continuing objection. Khamies was convicted and advised the trial court at the sentencing that he does not use drugs or alcohol.

Khamies was fined and sentenced to a minimum mandatory term of ten days to be followed by wearing a SCRAM device for 60 days, placed on three years of active probation, received a five-year license suspension, and was ordered to have restorative plates and an interlock device. II. Assignments of Error Khamies poses two assignments of error:

I. Appellant’s constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel was violated when counsel failed to challenge admissibility of the urine-alcohol test results.

II. The trial transcript of March 30, 2022, is 83 pages long and has 121 “inaudibles” so that a decision on the merits cannot be rendered.

III. Discussion A. Ineffective Assistance Khamies was convicted of C.C.O. 433.01(a)(1)(A) OVI and C.C.O. 431.34(a) FTC. C.C.O. 433.01 “Driving or Physical Control While Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs; Tests; Presumptions; Penalties” provides in pertinent part:

(a) Driving under the influence.

(1) No person shall operate any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley within this City, if, at the time of the operation, any of the following apply:

A. The person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them.

C.C.O. 431.34 “Failure to Control; Weaving; Full Time and Attention”

provides:

(a) No person shall operate a motor vehicle or motorcycle upon any street or highway without exercising reasonable and ordinary control over such vehicle.

Khamies argues that counsel was ineffective for failing to attempt to have the warrantless acquisition of Khamies’s medical records suppressed to address whether Khamies had an expectation of privacy. We disagree.

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