Columbus v. Weber, 06ap-845 (10-11-2007)

2007 Ohio 5446
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 11, 2007
DocketNo. 06AP-845.
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 2007 Ohio 5446 (Columbus v. Weber, 06ap-845 (10-11-2007)) 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
Columbus v. Weber, 06ap-845 (10-11-2007), 2007 Ohio 5446 (Ohio Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION
{¶ 1} Plaintiff-appellant, City of Columbus, appeals from a decision of the Franklin County Municipal Court suppressing evidence obtained after the arrest of defendant-appellee, Jacob A. Weber. For the following reasons, we reverse and remand.

{¶ 2} At approximately 2 a.m., on March 24, 2006, Columbus Police Officer Thomas Casimir stopped the motor vehicle that defendant was driving because its rear license plate light was out. Before the vehicle was stopped, there was no sign of impaired driving. Officer Casimir requested the presence of his sergeant, who arrived at the scene *Page 2 of the stop. When Officer Casimir approached defendant, he asked for his license, registration, and proof of insurance. Defendant was very polite and courteous and produced those items for the officer. Defendant's speech was not slurred. Two females were in the vehicle with defendant. While defendant was still in the vehicle, Officer Casimir noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from inside the vehicle. He also noticed that defendant's eyes were glassy and bloodshot. He did not ask defendant whether he had been consuming any alcohol or drugs.

{¶ 3} Officer Casimir asked defendant to step out of the vehicle. Defendant had no trouble getting out of the vehicle, and the officer continued to observe his eyes as being glassy and bloodshot and notice the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage about his breath. Defendant told the officer that he was 19 years old. Officer Casimir also knew that he was 19 years old based on the information on defendant's license. Officer Casimir administered multiple standardized field sobriety tests. Specifically, he administered the "horizontal gaze nystagmus" ("HGN"), "walk-and-turn," and "one-leg stand" tests in front of his sergeant's cruiser, which was equipped with a video camera. After administering the field sobriety tests, Officer Casimir arrested defendant for operating a motor vehicle under the influence. Officer Casimir transported defendant to police headquarters, where defendant took a breath test that indicated a 0.187 breath alcohol content per 210 liters of breath.

{¶ 4} Defendant was charged with one count of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, in violation of Columbus City Codes ("C.C.") 2133.01(A)(1), and one *Page 3 count of operating a vehicle with a concentration of 0.17 of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per 210 liters of his breath, in violation of C.C. 2133.01(A)(2).1

{¶ 5} On June 2, 2006, defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained in connection with his arrest on March 24, 2006. In August 2006, a hearing was held on defendant's motion to suppress, during which the facts, as outlined above, were set forth. The trial court found that the walk-and-turn and one-leg-stand field sobriety tests were administered in substantial compliance with National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration ("NHTSA") standards. However, the trial court found that the officer did not substantially comply with NHTSA standards when he administered the HGN test. Consequently, the trial court did not consider the results of the HGN test for purposes of determining whether probable cause existed for defendant's arrest. The trial court concluded that, based upon the totality of the circumstances, probable cause did not exist for the arrest. Accordingly, the trial court suppressed the results of the alcohol concentration breath test.

{¶ 6} Pursuant to R.C. 2945.67(A), Crim.R. 12(K), and App.R. 4(B)(4), plaintiff appeals from the decision of the trial court granting the motion to suppress. In this appeal, plaintiff sets forth the following single assignment of error:

The trial court erred, as a matter of law, in finding that there was insufficient evidence to support a finding of probable cause for operating a vehicle while under the influence where the suspect was underage, had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, had bloodshot and glassy eyes, and failed a standardized field sobriety test.

*Page 4

{¶ 7} An appellate court's standard of review on a motion to suppress is twofold. State v. Reedy, Franklin App. No. 05AP-501, 2006-Ohio-1212, at ¶ 5, citing State v. Lloyd (1998), 126 Ohio App.3d 95, 100-101. Because the trial court is in the best position to evaluate witness credibility, an appellate court must uphold the trial court's findings of fact if they are supported by competent, credible evidence.Reedy, at ¶ 5, citing State v. Klein (1991), 73 Ohio App.3d 486, 488. Upon accepting those facts as true, an appellate court must independently determine, as a matter of law, without deference to the trial court's conclusion, whether the facts meet the applicable legal standard. Reedy, at ¶ 5, citing State v. Claytor (1993),85 Ohio App.3d 623, 627.

{¶ 8} After making a valid investigative stop, an officer may investigate a suspect for impaired driving if reasonable and articulable facts exist to support the officer's decision. State v. Downey (1987),37 Ohio App.3d 45, 46. Any subsequent arrest must be based upon probable cause to make it at that time. State v. Timson (1974),38 Ohio St.2d 122, paragraph one of the syllabus. The test for probable cause to justify an arrest is "whether at that moment the facts and circumstances within [the officers'] knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information were sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the [arrestee] had committed or was committing an offense." Beck v. Ohio (1964), 397 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223. "The subjective intentions of the [arresting] officers are irrelevant in a probable cause determination. Whether probable cause exists depends upon the reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the facts known to the arresting officer at the time of the arrest." State v. Cabell, Lucas App. No. L-06-1026, 2006-Ohio-4914, at ¶ 27, citing Devenpeck v.Alford (2004), 543 U.S. 146, 152, 125 S.Ct. 588. *Page 5

{¶ 9} Thus, in determining whether probable cause exists to arrest a suspect for driving under the influence of alcohol, the court must examine whether, at the moment of the arrest, the officer had "sufficient information, derived from a reasonably trustworthy source of facts and circumstances, sufficient to cause a prudent person to believe that the suspect was driving under the influence of alcohol." State v.Homan (2000), 89 Ohio St.3d 421, 427, citing Beck, supra.

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Bluebook (online)
2007 Ohio 5446, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/columbus-v-weber-06ap-845-10-11-2007-ohioctapp-2007.