State v. Neuhoff

695 N.E.2d 825, 119 Ohio App. 3d 501
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 19, 1997
DocketNo. 96CAC05027.
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 695 N.E.2d 825 (State v. Neuhoff) 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. Neuhoff, 695 N.E.2d 825, 119 Ohio App. 3d 501 (Ohio Ct. App. 1997).

Opinions

*503 John W. Wise, Judge.

On January 15, 1996, the Genoa Township Police Department received a call concerning a domestic dispute at appellant Eric Neuhoffs residence. When the officers arrived at appellant’s residence, they observed a vehicle leaving the driveway. Officer Hill stopped the vehicle, which appellant was driving.

Officer Hill noticed an odor of alcohol and awaited the arrival of Officer Mays, who performed a field sobriety test. Based upon his performance of the field sobriety tests, appellant was arrested and transported to the Delaware County Jail. Appellant submitted to a breath test on a B.A.C. Verifier. He tested over the legal limit. Appellant was subsequently charged with domestic violence, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, and driving with a prohibited concentration of alcohol.

Following his arraignment, appellant filed a motion to suppress, challenging the radio frequency interference (“RFI”) survey. On March 3, 1994, the trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing on appellant’s motion. The trial court overruled appellant’s motion. Thereafter, appellant entered a plea of no contest to driving with a prohibited concentration of alcohol in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(3). The trial court found appellant guilty and imposed sentence.

Appellant timely filed his notice of appeal and sets forth the following assignments of error:

“I. The trial court erred in not suppressing the results of defendant-appellant’s breath test because of a failure to perform a proper RFI survey on the breath testing instrument.
“II. The trial court erred in not suppressing the results of defendant-appellant’s breath test because of a failure to prove that the breath testing instrument used to test defendant-appellant had not been repaired -with original or new factory authorized replacement parts meeting the same specifications as the original equipment parts.”

Standard of Review

As an appellate court, when reviewing the trial court’s decision not to suppress evidence, we are guided by the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling in State v. Smith (1991), 61 Ohio St.3d 284, 574 N.E.2d 510, and State v. Fanning (1982), 1 Ohio St.3d 19, 1 OBR 57, 437 N.E.2d 583. Pursuant to these cases, it is well-settled law that “[a]t a suppression hearing, the evaluation of evidence and the credibility of witnesses are issues for the trier of fact.” Smith at 288, 574 N.E.2d at 515, citing Fanning at 20, 1 OBR at 57-58, 437 N.E.2d at 584-585. We are therefore required to accept the trial court’s findings of fact if they are supported by *504 competent, credible evidence. State v. Klein (1991), 73 Ohio App.3d 486, 488, 597 N.E.2d 1141, 1142-1143.

I

Appellant contends in his first assignment of error that the state failed to demonstrate that it had conducted a proper RFI survey on the breath-testing instrument and, therefore, the trial court should have suppressed his breath test-results. Specifically, appellant challenges the RFI survey of the hand-held radio units.

Pursuant to Ohio Adm.Code 3701-53-02(0), when testing with hand-held radio units, one officer is required to walk along eight different axes while continuously transmitting with the hand-held radio. The other officer remains at the machine to observe it for RFI.

In the case sub judice, Trooper Szabo conducted the RFI survey with the help of Lieutenant Hatten. At the suppression hearing, Trooper Szabo testified that he gave Hatten instructions to walk along the various vectors starting from a distance of thirty feet. However, due to the structure of the building, he was unable to see Hatten as he walked in on each axis. Trooper Szabo could only observe the actions of Lieutenant Hatten when he was within the room where the breath-testing instrument was located. The state did not present the testimony of Lieutenant Hatten to establish that he received, understood or followed Trooper Szabo’s instructions.

Due to the state’s failure to present the testimony of Hatten concerning his conduct while performing the RFI survey, appellant contends that the state failed to prove that it complied with the Ohio Department of Health’s procedures for conducting an RFI survey.

In Ohio, it is well established that the state bears the burden of proof upon proper motion by a defendant. Xenia v. Wallace (1988), 37 Ohio St.3d 216, 524 N.E.2d 889, paragraph two of the syllabus. The Ohio Supreme Court set forth three reasons for placing the burden upon the state. First, a party charged from the outset with the burden of persuasion on a particular issue ordinarily has the subsidiary burden of going forward with evidence regarding the issue. Id. at 219, 524 N.E.2d at 892-893. Second, the state has primary access to persons with relevant information. Id. Finally, it is less burdensome for a party to produce evidence on the existence of probable cause than the lack of probable cause. Id. at 219-220, 524 N.E.2d at 892-894.

Based upon the above case law, appellant maintains that the state had the burden of presenting the testimony of Lieutenant Hatten, the person who aided Trooper Szabo in conducting the RFI survey. Without this testimony, appellant *505 contends, he was denied the opportunity to confront and cross-examine the person who helped perform the RFI survey. Therefore, appellant argues that he does not know whether a proper RFI survey was conducted by Trooper Szabo, without the testimony of Lieutenant Hatten.

In reviewing this assignment of error, we begin by noting that Crim.R. 47 requires that “[a] motion, other than one made during trial or hearing, shall be in writing unless the court permits it be made orally. It shall state with particularity the grounds upon which it is made and shall set forth the relief or order sought.”

In the case of State v. Shindler (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 54, 636 N.E.2d 319, the court recognized this particularity requirement contained in Grim.R. 47 and stated as follows:

“In order to require a hearing on a motion to suppress evidence, the accused must state the motion’s legal and factual bases with sufficient particularity to place the prosecutor and the court on notice of the issues to be decided.” Id. at syllabus.

Appellant’s motion to suppress, filed on February 13, 1996, contained thirteen numbered paragraphs in support of his suppression motion. The motion was merely a listing, which alleged that every requirement needed to perform a proper RFI survey had been violated by the state. The motion did not contain any other facts.

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Bluebook (online)
695 N.E.2d 825, 119 Ohio App. 3d 501, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-neuhoff-ohioctapp-1997.