State v. Boczar

113 Ohio St. 3d 148
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedApril 4, 2007
DocketNo. 2006-0550
StatusPublished
Cited by147 cases

This text of 113 Ohio St. 3d 148 (State v. Boczar) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Boczar, 113 Ohio St. 3d 148 (Ohio 2007).

Opinion

Lundberg Stratton, J.

{¶ 1} Today this court must determine whether R.C. 4511.19(D)(4)(b), which provides that the results of field sobriety tests are admissible if an officer administered the tests in substantial compliance with testing standards, is constitutional. For the reasons that follow, we hold that it is and affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.

Facts

{¶ 2} On August 3, 2003, Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Scott Balcomb stopped John M. Boczar, defendant-appellant, for speeding. When Trooper Balcomb asked for defendant’s license and registration, he immediately noticed a strong odor of alcohol on defendant. Aside from the odor of alcohol, Trooper Balcomb testified that defendant’s eyes were “glossy,” and he could tell that defendant had been drinking.

{¶ 3} Trooper Balcomb testified that defendant’s speech was slow and that defendant had a difficult time removing his driver’s license from his wallet. Defendant initially denied that he had been drinking and said that he was on his way home from work. When Trooper Balcomb later asked defendant how much he had had to drink, defendant stated that he had had three beers and that he was coming from Jewel’s Dance Hall in Austinburg.

{¶ 4} Sergeant George Biskup arrived on the scene and informed Trooper Balcomb that before Balcomb pulled the defendant over, Biskup had observed defendant’s vehicle cross the center line for about half a car width and swerve back. Trooper Biskup also smelled alcohol on defendant.

{¶ 5} Pursuant to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines, Trooper Balcomb asked defendant to perform three field sobriety tests: the horizontal gaze nystagmus (“HGN”), the walk-and-turn, and the one-leg stand. On the HGN test, defendant demonstrated four of the possible six clues of [150]*150intoxication. On the walk-and-turn test, defendant demonstrated two clues, and on the one-leg-stand test, defendant demonstrated one clue. The trooper testified that these tests were conducted on smooth, level pavement.

{¶ 6} Based on these tests and his initial observations, Trooper Balcomb placed defendant under arrest for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1). Defendant later submitted to a breath test at the patrol post, which indicated a breath-alcohol concentration of .117 grams per 210 liters of breath.

{¶ 7} Defendant was charged with one count of operating a motor vehicle under the influence in violation of former R.C. 4511.19(A)(1) (now (A)(1)(a)), and one count of operating a motor vehicle with a prohibited breath-alcohol content in violation of former R.C. 4511.19(A)(3) (now (A)(1)(d)). Defendant entered pleas of not guilty to the charges and filed a motion to suppress, contending that Trooper Balcomb’s failure to administer the field sobriety tests in strict compliance with accepted testing standards should bar the admissibility of the results of the field sobriety tests at trial. The trial court overruled the motion to suppress, holding that strict compliance was unnecessary and that substantial compliance was sufficient. Defendant withdrew his former pleas and pleaded no contest to operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

{¶ 8} The Ashtabula County Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court. State v. Boczar, 11th Dist. No. 2004-A-0063, 2005-Ohio-6910, 2005 WL 3528894, at ¶ 54. The court of appeals also certified that its decision was in conflict with two decisions of the Fifth District Court of Appeals in State v. Robinson, 160 Ohio App.3d 802, 2005-Ohio-2280, 828 N.E.2d 1050, and State v. Hall, 163 Ohio App.3d 90, 2005-Ohio-4271, 836 N.E.2d 614. This court determined that a conflict exists as to the following issue: “Whether R.C. 4511.19(D)(4)(b), providing that the results of field sobriety tests are admissible if the officer administered the tests in substantial compliance with the testing standards, is constitutional.” This court declined a discretionary appeal. State v. Boczar, 109 Ohio St.3d 1458, 2006-Ohio-2226, 847 N.E.2d 6.

Law and Analysis

{¶ 9} We begin by observing that all statutes are presumed constitutional, and the party challenging a statute bears the burden of proving otherwise. Arnold v. Cleveland (1993), 67 Ohio St.3d 35, 38, 616 N.E.2d 163. Further, a statute will not be invalidated unless the challenger establishes that it is unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 38-39, 616 N.E.2d 163.

{¶ 10} In 2000, this court held that “[i]n order for the results of a field sobriety test to serve as evidence of probable cause to arrest, the police must have administered the test in strict compliance with standardized testing procedures.” [151]*151State v. Homan (2000), 89 Ohio St.3d 421, 732 N.E.2d 952, paragraph one of the syllabus.

{¶ 11} In 2002, the General Assembly enacted Am.Sub.S.B. No. 163, amending R.C. 4511.19(D)(4)(b) to read as follows:

{¶ 12} “In any criminal prosecution * * * for a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section, * * * if a law enforcement officer has administered a field sobriety test to the operator of the vehicle involved in the violation and if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the officer administered the test in substantial compliance with the testing standards for any reliable, credible, and generally accepted field sobriety tests that were in effect at the time the tests were administered, including, but not limited to, any testing standards then in effect that were set by the national highway traffic safety administration, all of the following apply:

{¶ 13} “(i) The officer may testify concerning the results of the field sobriety test so administered.

{¶ 14} “(ii) The prosecution may introduce the results of the field sobriety test so administered as evidence in any proceedings in the criminal prosecution * * *.

{¶ 15} “(Hi) If testimony is presented or evidence is introduced under division (D)(4)(b)® or (ii) of this section and if the testimony or evidence is admissible under the Rules of Evidence, the court shall admit the testimony or evidence and the trier of fact shall give it whatever weight the trier of fact considers to be appropriate.” (Emphasis added.)

{¶ 16} Defendant contends that the Homan decision was based on an interpretation of Evid.R. 702 regarding the admissibility of expert testimony, and therefore legislation inconsistent with that interpretation is in contravention of Section 5(B), Article IV of the Ohio Constitution, which provides for the powers and duties of the Supreme Court, superintendence of courts, and rules. We disagree.

{¶ 17} Defendant challenges the constitutionality of R.C. 4511.19(D)(4)(b) based on an alleged conflict with the Ohio Rules of Evidence. However, the standard of evidence required is different at the suppression level. Evid.R. 101(C)(1) provides that the Rules of Evidence do not apply to “[d]eterminations prerequisite to rulings on the admissibility of evidence when the issue is to be determined by the court under Evid.R. 104.” Further, Evid.R.

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Bluebook (online)
113 Ohio St. 3d 148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-boczar-ohio-2007.