State v. Myers

2015 Ohio 160
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided January 20, 2015·No. CA2014-02-002 CA2014-02-004·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO CLINTON COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO, :

CASE NOS. CA2014-02-002

Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee, : CA2014-02-004

: OPINION

- vs - 1/20/2015 :

MELISSA C. MYERS, :

Defendant-Appellee/Cross-Appellant. :

CRIMINAL APPEAL FROM CLINTON COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Case No. CRI 2013-5163

Michael DeWine, Ohio Attorney General, Christopher L. Kinsler, 30 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 4315 and Richard W. Moyer, Clinton County Prosecuting Attorney, Wilmington, Ohio 45177, for appellant/cross-appellee

John D. Smith Co., LPA, John D. Smith, Andrew P. Meier, 140 North Main Street, Suite B, Springboro, Ohio 45066, for appellee/cross-appellant

HENDRICKSON, P.J.

{¶ 1} Plaintiff-appellant/cross-appellee, the state of Ohio, appeals a decision of the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas granting a motion to suppress filed by defendant- appellee/cross-appellant, Melissa C. Myers. Myers cross-appeals a decision of the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas denying her motion to dismiss the indictment. For the reasons stated below, we reverse in part and affirm in part the decision of the trial court.

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{¶ 2} On April 4, 2013, Detective Dennis M. Luken of the Greater Warren County Drug Task Force received a complaint from the Police Chief of the Wilmington Police Department to investigate Myers. Myers was employed as a Wilmington police officer at the time. The request stemmed from Myers' statement to one of her supervisors at the Wilmington Police Department that a physician accused Myers of "doctor-shopping" and refused to treat her. Based solely on this information, Detective Luken opened an investigation into Myers for prescription drug abuse.

{¶ 3} As part of Detective Luken's investigation into Myers, he ran a query with the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS). OARRS is an electronic database maintained by the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy that stores information for prescription drugs that are Schedule II through Schedule V controlled substances and other dangerous drugs.1 Among the information stored on the database for each prescription is patient identification, prescriber and pharmacy information, and the name, dosage, and strength of the drug dispensed. Detective Luken received an OARRS report which contained Myers' prescription information, including the names of prescribing physicians, the pharmacies that filled those prescriptions, and the specifics as to what type of drug she was prescribed. Detective Luken did not obtain a warrant or Myers' consent prior to running the query on OARRS.

{¶ 4} Under the subscriber rules of OARRS, Detective Luken is not permitted to give the OARRS report directly to Myers' physicians or pharmacies. Therefore, Detective Luken transferred the information contained on the OARRS report to a spreadsheet and then sent the spreadsheet to the listed pharmacies to confirm the information was accurate. Detective Luken also sent Myers' physicians the spreadsheet and asked for a written statement from

1. Schedule I, II, III, IV, and V drugs are listed in R.C. 3719.41.

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each of the physicians. Several of Myers' physicians reviewed the OARRS spreadsheet and indicated that had they known she was receiving controlled substances from other physicians they would not have prescribed medications to her.

{¶ 5} On June 6, 2013, Myers was indicted on seven counts of deception to obtain a dangerous drug in violation of R.C. 2925.22(A). On October 25, 2013, Myers filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, a motion to inspect grand jury testimony, a motion to suppress, and a motion in limine. The trial court granted Myers' request for an in camera inspection of the grand jury testimony, without objection from the state. Subsequently, the state filed a motion indicating the grand jury transcript could not be transcribed because the proceedings were not recorded.

{¶ 6} On January 30, 2014, the trial court granted Myers' motion to suppress. The court found that Myers had a reasonable expectation of privacy in her prescription drug information stored on OARRS. Therefore, the Fourth Amendment required Detective Luken obtain a search warrant before accessing Myers' prescription drug information on OARRS. The trial court suppressed all evidence "gleaned by Detective Luken in accessing OARRS without a warrant in furtherance of his targeted, criminal investigation of [Myers]" and all evidence "flowing from that constitutional violation." However, the trial court denied Myers' motion to dismiss the indictment. The court reasoned that the indictment should not be dismissed on the basis of the failure to record the grand jury testimony because Myers had not demonstrated a "particularized need" to view the grand jury transcripts.

{¶ 7} The state now appeals, asserting a sole assignment of error. Myers cross-

appeals, also asserting an assignment of error.

{¶ 8} Assignment of Error No. 1:

{¶ 9} THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN GRANTING DEFENDANT-APPELLEE'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS.

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{¶ 10} The state argues that Detective Luken's warrantless search of Myers'

prescription records did not implicate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures because Myers did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in her prescription records stored on OARRS. The state also maintains that even if Myers did have a reasonable expectation of privacy in her records, the administrative and good faith exceptions to the warrant requirement apply.

Standard of Review

{¶ 11} Appellate review of a ruling on a motion to suppress presents a mixed question of law and fact. State v. Cochran, 12th Dist. Preble No. CA2006-10-023, 2007-Ohio-3353. Acting as the trier of fact, the trial court is in the best position to resolve factual questions and evaluate witness credibility. Id. Therefore, when reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress, a reviewing court is bound to accept the trial court's findings of fact if they are supported by competent, credible evidence. State v. Oatis, 12th Dist. Butler No. CA2005-03- 074, 2005-Ohio-6038. "An appellate court, however, independently reviews the trial court's legal conclusions based on those facts and determines, without deference to the trial court's decision, whether as a matter of law, the facts satisfy the appropriate legal standard." Cochran at ¶ 12.

Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System

{¶ 12} In 2005, the Ohio General Assembly enacted R.C. 4729.75, authorizing the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy to maintain a database of prescription records to "monitor the misuse and diversion of controlled substances * * * and other dangerous drugs * * *." R.C. 4729.75. The Board of Pharmacy responded to this grant of authority by creating OARRS. OARRS stores information for prescription drugs that are Schedule II through Schedule V controlled substances and dangerous drugs containing tramadol. Ohio Adm.Code 4729-37- 02. Pharmacies and other distributors of controlled substances are required to submit

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prescription information for inclusion on OARRS, including: patient and prescriber identification; date the prescription was issued; date the drug was dispensed; name, strength, and national code of the drug; quantity of the drug; and number of days' supply of the drug dispensed. R.C. 4729.77, 4729.78, and 4729.79. Any information on OARRS that identifies a patient will be kept for a period of two years. R.C. 4729.82.

{¶ 13} Disclosure of the information stored in OARRS is governed under R.C.

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