State v. Albanese, Unpublished Decision (9-15-2006)

2006 Ohio 4819
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 15, 2006
DocketNo. 2005-P-0054.
StatusUnpublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 2006 Ohio 4819 (State v. Albanese, Unpublished Decision (9-15-2006)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law.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
State v. Albanese, Unpublished Decision (9-15-2006), 2006 Ohio 4819 (Ohio Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

OPINION
{¶ 1} Appellant, Dana Albanese, appeals from the May 20, 2005 judgment entry of the Portage County Municipal Court, Ravenna Division, in which she was sentenced for speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol ("DUI").

{¶ 2} On June 24, 2003, a complaint was filed against appellant charging her with one count of speeding, a minor misdemeanor, in violation of R.C. 4511.21(C), and one count of DUI, a misdemeanor of the first degree, in violation of R.C.4511.19(A)(1). On June 24, 2003, appellant entered a plea of not guilty at her initial appearance.

{¶ 3} On December 15, 2003, appellant filed a motion to suppress.1 A suppression hearing was held on May 24, 2004.

{¶ 4} At that hearing, Officer Jason Sackett ("Officer Sackett"), with the Streetsboro City Police Department, was the sole witness to testify. He testified for appellee, the state of Ohio, that he was on duty on June 24, 2003, and came in contact with appellant shortly after 3:00 a.m. Officer Sackett was traveling in his marked cruiser, and observed appellant driving eastbound on State Route 14 in Streetsboro, Portage County, Ohio. He visually estimated that her vehicle was traveling in excess of the speed limit, which was confirmed by radar. Appellant was clocked at fifty-five m.p.h., fifteen miles over the posted forty m.p.h. speed limit. At that time, he initiated a traffic stop of appellant's vehicle.

{¶ 5} Upon approaching appellant's car, Officer Sackett noticed a strong odor of alcohol, and indicated that appellant's eyes were glassy and bloodshot. Appellant's speech appeared to be normal. He asked appellant whether she had consumed any alcoholic beverages. Officer Sackett indicated that appellant replied that she had a couple of drinks. He ordered appellant out of her vehicle, and administered three field sobriety tests, including the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus ("HGN"), the one-legged stand, and the walk and turn. Officer Sackett testified that appellant failed all three tests. He then arrested appellant for DUI, and transported her to the station. At the station, she declined B.A.C. testing and signed Form 2255.

{¶ 6} Pursuant to its May 24, 2004 judgment entry, the trial court denied appellant's motion to suppress, concluding that reasonable cause existed for the stop, and probable cause existed for appellant's arrest.

{¶ 7} On September 7, 2004, appellant filed a demand for trial by jury pursuant to Crim.R. 23. A jury trial commenced on May 5, 2005.

{¶ 8} At the trial, Officer Sackett testified for appellee to the same sequence of events as he did at the hearing on appellant's motion to suppress. In addition, Officer Sackett indicated that the traffic stop was not recorded on video, since at that time, the cruisers were not equipped with cameras. He established the standardized manner of conducting field sobriety tests as required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA"), and maintained that he administered the tests in substantial compliance with the testing standards.2

{¶ 9} On cross-examination, Officer Sackett stated that he fills out police reports generally a couple hours after an arrest. He said that the only reason that he stopped appellant's vehicle was due to her speeding. Officer Sackett testified that appellant was slightly off-balance when she exited her car. Officer Sackett was asked by defense counsel whether he had ever seen appellant before, and he replied that he had.3 He indicated that when grading the field sobriety tests, they are based on the NHTSA training. According to Officer Sackett, the booking room at the station contains a video camera. He stated that a tape should have been in evidence if the camera was functioning. Officer Sackett did not have the booking photographs of appellant at the trial.

{¶ 10} On re-direct examination, Officer Sackett testified that he had come in contact with appellant about three months prior to the incident at issue on a routine traffic stop, but indicated that no citation was issued.

{¶ 11} At the end of appellee's case, appellant's counsel moved for an acquittal pursuant to Crim.R. 29, which was overruled by the trial court.

{¶ 12} According to appellant, when asked by Officer Sackett during the stop whether she had consumed any alcohol, she replied that she had two glasses of wine. Appellant testified that Officer Sackett's demeanor was aggressive and intimidating. With respect to the field sobriety tests, appellant stated that Officer Sackett never informed her that there were points given or that she was being graded. Appellant said that she had back problems. At the station, she refused the breathalyzer test and requested an attorney.

{¶ 13} On cross-examination, appellant admitted that she was traveling in excess of the posted speed limit. She said that she would have followed Officer Sackett's instructions whether he had told her it was a "test" or not. Appellant never volunteered to Officer Sackett that she had back problems.

{¶ 14} At the close of the defense's case, appellant's counsel renewed the Crim.R. 29 motion, which was overruled by the trial court.

{¶ 15} Following the jury trial, on May 6, 2005, the jury found appellant guilty of DUI. In addition, appellant was found guilty of speeding by the trial court.

{¶ 16} Pursuant to its May 20, 2005 judgment entry the trial court sentenced appellant to one hundred eighty days in jail, with one hundred seventy days conditionally suspended; ordered her to pay a $350 fine; and suspended her driver's license for two years. Appellant's sentence was stayed pending appeal. It is from that judgment that appellant filed a timely notice of appeal and makes the following assignments of error:4

{¶ 17} "[1.] The trial court committed error and abused its discretion to the prejudice of [appellant] due to the misconduct of the prosecuting attorney that prejudicially affected the substantial rights of [appellant] to receive a fair trial.

{¶ 18} "[2.] [Appellant] was denied a fair and impartial trial as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 10 of the Ohio Constitution where the trial court erred in violating [appellant's] right to cross examination.

{¶ 19} "[3.] The trial court erred allowing the admission of irrelevant evidence, and as a result of this abuse, appellant was denied her right to a fair trial and the court in its action showed support or bias toward the prosecution.

{¶ 20} "[4.] [Appellant] was denied a fair trial because of the cumulative prejudicial errors that occurred at trial."

{¶ 21} In her first assignment of error, appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying her motion for a mistrial due to the misconduct of the prosecutor which prejudicially affected her substantial rights to receive a fair trial.5

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2006 Ohio 4819, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-albanese-unpublished-decision-9-15-2006-ohioctapp-2006.