State v. Johnson

739 N.E.2d 1249, 137 Ohio App. 3d 847, 2000 Ohio App. LEXIS 2465
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 12, 2000
DocketNo. CA99-10-028.
StatusPublished
Cited by124 cases

This text of 739 N.E.2d 1249 (State v. Johnson) 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. Johnson, 739 N.E.2d 1249, 137 Ohio App. 3d 847, 2000 Ohio App. LEXIS 2465 (Ohio Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

Valen, Judge.

Defendant-appellant, Jeffrey Johnson, appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence of breath testing performed by the Washington Court House Police Department.

On December 15, 1998, Sergeant Mark Rossiter of the Washington Court House Police Department observed appellant’s vehicle travel slightly left of center two times. Sergeant Rossiter continued to follow the vehicle and observed' appellant make a hard left into the left-hand lane, coming within a few feet of the opposite curb. Sergeant Rossiter stopped appellant’s vehicle. He noticed that appellant had an odor of an alcoholic beverage about his person and bloodshot eyes. When questioned, appellant responded that he had only consumed two *850 drinks. Appellant failed to correctly perform field sobriety tests. Appellant was arrested and transported to the Washington Court House Police Department, where he consented to administration of a breath test. The results of the breath test indicated a concentration of .165 grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath.

Appellant was charged with driving under the influence, driving with a prohibited concentration, and driving left of center in violation of Washington Court House Codes 72.055(A)(1), 72.055(A)(3), and 72.001, respectively. Appellant filed a motion to suppress evidence of the stop, including the breath test results. A hearing was held on the motion June 9, 1999. After listening to the evidence, the trial court overruled the motion to suppress. Appellant subsequently pled no contest to the per se charge of driving with a prohibited concentration, and the other two charges were dismissed. The court entered a finding of guilty to the no contest plea. Appellant appeals the denial of his motion to suppress and raises the following assignment of error:

“The trial court erred to the prejudice of the defendant-appellant by admitting into evidence a breath test result after the plaintiff-appellee had failed to prove substantial compliance with the Ohio Department of Health rules and regulations governing the administration of breath tests.”

Appellant contends that the evidence of breath testing should not have been admitted because the city did not meet its required burden to show substantial compliance with the administrative regulations. In particular, appellant argues four areas in which the prosecution’s evidence was insufficient: (1) no evidence was presented to prove that the instrument check solution was approved by the director of health, (2) no evidence was presented to prove hand-held radios normally used by the law enforcement agency were used for the radio frequency interference (“RFI”) check, (3) there was no evidence that the instrument check solution had been properly refrigerated, and (4) no evidence established that the instrument check solution was used before the manufacturer’s expiration date or more than three years after the date of manufacture. In response to these arguments, the city contends that appellant’s motion to suppress was not stated with sufficient particularity as required by Crim.R. 47.

When ruling on a motion to suppress evidence, the trial court serves as the trier of fact and is the primary judge of the credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence. State v. Morton (May 10,1999), Warren App. No. CA9810-131, unreported, at 2, 1999 WL 296700. An appellate court may not disturb a trial court’s decision on a motion to suppress where it is supported by substantial and credible evidence. State v. Williams (1993), 86 Ohio App.3d 37, 41, 619 N.E.2d 1141, 1144.

*851 We first examine whether appellant’s motion to suppress was stated with sufficient particularity to put the prosecution on notice of the issues to be decided. Crim.R. 47 requires a motion to “state with particularity the grounds upon which it is made.” In State v. Shindler (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 54, 636 N.E.2d 319, the Ohio Supreme Court discussed the sufficiency of motions to suppress filed in cases involving the results of breathalyzer tests. The court found that a defendant’s motion, which was virtually identical to a sample motion in a handbook, was sufficient to give the prosecutor and court notice of the basis of the challenge and therefore met the requirements of Crim.R. 47. Id. at 58, 636 N.E.2d at 322. We addressed this issue and found a that motion almost identical to the motion in the Shindler case presented a specific legal and factual basis to support a defendant’s motion to suppress. State v. Huening (Sept. 19, 1994), Butler App. No. CA94-01-017, unreported, at 3, 1994 WL 506218.

The city argues that the motion in this case differs because, unlike the Shindler motion, no factual allegations were included in appellant’s motion. We disagree. Appellant challenged, the admission of his breath test results on the basis of specific regulations he believed had been violated. Appellant’s motion sets forth nine paragraphs and is very similar, and in some parts identical, to the motion in Shindler. We find that appellant’s motion was stated with sufficient particularity to meet the requirements of Crim.R. 47.

Once a defendant sets forth a sufficient basis for a motion to suppress, the burden shifts to the state to lay a foundation that demonstrates proper compliance with the regulations involved. State v. Plummer (1986), 22 Ohio St.3d 292, 294, 490 N.E.2d 902. Rigid compliance with the Ohio Department of Health (“ODH”) regulations is not required and absent prejudice to the defendant, if the prosecution shows substantial compliance with the regulations, the results of the alcohol test may be admitted into evidence. Id.

However, we find it necessary to address the extent of the state’s burden to show substantial compliance. Once a defendant raises issues with sufficient particularity in a motion to suppress, the burden shifts to the prosecution to show substantial compliance, but only to the extent that the defendant takes issue with the legality of the test. State v. Shelby (Feb. 28, 1995), Scioto App. No. 94CA2247, unreported, 1995 WL 84579. When a defendant’s motion to suppress raises only general claims, along with the Administrative Code sections, the burden imposed on the state is fairly slight. State v. Williams (Apr. 24, 1998), Montgomery App. No. 16554, unreported, 1998 WL 214595. With a general motion to suppress, the state is only required to demonstrate, in general terms, that it substantially complied with the regulations. Unless the defendant raises a specific issue in a motion, specific evidence is not required.

*852 The issues raised by appellant are instructive with regard to the state’s burden. Appellant contends that the breath test results should have been suppressed because no evidence was produced to establish that the RFI check was conducted using radios normally used by the police agency.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
739 N.E.2d 1249, 137 Ohio App. 3d 847, 2000 Ohio App. LEXIS 2465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-johnson-ohioctapp-2000.