State v. Scott, 22446 (6-6-2008)

2008 Ohio 2725
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 6, 2008
DocketNo. 22446.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2008 Ohio 2725 (State v. Scott, 22446 (6-6-2008)) 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. Scott, 22446 (6-6-2008), 2008 Ohio 2725 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant Craig L. Scott appeals from his conviction and sentence for Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol, under the section of the statute, R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(h) that proscribes operation with a prohibited level of alcohol in one's breath. Scott pled no contest to this charge after his motion to suppress *Page 2 the results of a breath test was overruled.

{¶ 2} Scott contends that evidence was admitted at his suppression hearing in violation of his right to confrontation of witnesses underCrawford v. Washington (2004), 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354,158 L.Ed. 2d 177; that the State failed to meet its burden of proving that the breath test machine was properly calibrated; that there was not a reasonable and articulable suspicion justifying the administration of field sobriety tests; and that there was no probable cause to arrest him for OMVI. We agree with Scott that the arresting police officer lacked probable cause for the arrest, which led to the obtaining of the breath test result. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court erred when it overruled Scott's motion to suppress, and the other issues he raises on appeal are moot.

I
{¶ 3} Scott was driving his vehicle eastbound on State Route 725, just east of State Route

{¶ 4} 741, some time after midnight on October 1, 2006, when he came to the attention of Miami Township Police Officer Shane Duffy. Scott had two passengers. What happened next is described by Duffy as follows:

{¶ 5} "A. I was assisting Officer Arenoff (phonic) who I believe was on a traffic stop in the Wendy's lot and at that time we both noticed a truck go by, an extended cab truck I believe, heading east bound on 725 with no lights on.

{¶ 6} ". . . .

{¶ 7} "Q. And based on those observations of no lights, what did you do if anything? *Page 3

{¶ 8} "A. I got in my car and tried to catch up with the vehicle.

{¶ 9} "Q. Why is that?

{¶ 10} "A. Because he was driving with no lights on, the roadways were a little wet and the traffic was moderate at that time of night and he had no lights. It was dark.

{¶ 11} "Q. And ultimately did you catch up with the truck?

{¶ 12} "A. In the area of Kingsridge Drive, I come across him on 725.

{¶ 13} "Q. And what did you do?

{¶ 14} "A. I turned on my lights. He did not immediately pull over. As he approached about the area of O' Charleys he drifted left of center by approximately three feet and kind of maintained that until he got back over for Fridays.

{¶ 15} "Q. When you say left of center, is there a dividing lines [sic] there?

{¶ 16} "A. Yes, he was in the inner lane and three foot of his truck was left of center.

{¶ 17} "Q. And does that indicate anything to you by itself?

{¶ 18} "A. Yes, well out of lanes is common for impaired or intoxicated drivers to drive like that.

{¶ 19} "Q. And are you going to make a traffic stop at that point?

{¶ 20} "A. Yes.

{¶ 21} "Q. Already determined that?

{¶ 22} "A. Yes.

{¶ 23} "Q. Okay, what do you do?

{¶ 24} "A. I already had my lights on. I was occasionally chirping my siren to get *Page 4 his attention, but that wasn't working and after a little bit o him [sic] not pulling over, I went ahead and left my siren on. He eventually pulled over directly on top of the I-675 overpass.

{¶ 25} "Q. About how long was it from when you first hit your lights to when you stopped?

{¶ 26} "A. I would say that is probably not quite a half mile.

{¶ 27} "Q. So at this point you have no lights on and marked lanes?

{¶ 28} "A. Correct.

{¶ 29} "Q. What happens next?

{¶ 30} "A. I spoke to the driver. He said that there was a group of persons in the vehicle, they said that they were arguing over the Ohio State game, which that is where they were coming from that day. They all had been drinking and he had a moderate odor of an alcoholic beverage on or about his person. He said that he had three drinks. One at Cheeks, one at the game earlier that day and one at another bar I believe.

{¶ 31} "Q. And based on that, did you make a determination to get him out for the tests?

{¶ 32} "A. Yes.

{¶ 33} "Q. Why is that?

{¶ 34} "A. To make sure that he was not impaired to drive, to make sure that he was good to go from there.

{¶ 35} "Q. Did you take him out of the car?

{¶ 36} "A. Yes.

{¶ 37} "Q. Okay, what happened? *Page 5

{¶ 38} "A. He had an injured right leg I believe it was from a football injury, so he was limping. So my tests were limited, I performed the horizontal gaze nystagmus test.

{¶ 39} ". . . .

{¶ 40} "Q. And did you make any observations of his face?

{¶ 41} "A. I don't recall.

{¶ 42} "Q. Did you make any observations about his speech?

{¶ 43} "A. Not that I can remember at this time.

{¶ 44} "Q. After performing that test [the horizontal gaze nystagmus test], did you make other tests?

{¶ 45} "A. Yes.

{¶ 46} "Q. Okay, what did you do?

{¶ 47} "A. I did what we call a finger/nose test. The person has their feet together or they are standing, they have their head tilted back slightly, their eyes are closed and what they have to do is touch the tip of their nose with arms extended, with their index fingers out.

{¶ 48} "Q. Is there any kind of specialized training for that kind of test?

{¶ 49} "A. No.

{¶ 50} "Q. Okay. Have you performed that test in the past?

{¶ 51} "A. Yes I have.

{¶ 52} "Q. And have you used it to indicate whether or not a person is under the influence?

{¶ 53} "A. Yes. *Page 6

{¶ 54} "Q. Okay and in this case, you did that test?

{¶ 55} "A. Correct.

{¶ 56} "Q. And how did the defendant perform?

{¶ 57} "A. On his, I believe it was his right finger, he touched up here on the bridge of his nose.

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Bluebook (online)
2008 Ohio 2725, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-scott-22446-6-6-2008-ohioctapp-2008.