State v. Syx

944 N.E.2d 722, 190 Ohio App. 3d 845
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 3, 2010
DocketNo. 23589
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 944 N.E.2d 722 (State v. Syx) 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. Syx, 944 N.E.2d 722, 190 Ohio App. 3d 845 (Ohio Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Fain, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, John Syx, appeals from his conviction and sentence for operating a vehicle under the influence (“OVI”), running a red light, and failure to signal. Syx argues that the trial court erred in refusing to allow him to cross-examine Officer Hooper regarding field sobriety tests. He maintains that he was denied his right to confrontation of the witnesses against him, resulting in an insufficient foundation being laid for the admission of the blood-test results, when neither the phlebotomist nor the toxicologist was called to testify at trial. He concludes, therefore, that the blood-test results should have been excluded and Dr. Marinetti should not have been allowed to testify about the typical effects of that level of blood-alcohol concentration. Syx argues that the trial court erred in refusing to allow his expert witness to testify, and he insists that as a result of cumulative evidentiary errors, he was denied his right to a fair trial.

{¶ 2} We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow Syx to cross-examine Officer Hooper regarding his training on how to conduct field sobriety testing. We conclude that the blood-test results were not properly admitted, and without those results in evidence, Dr. Marinetti could not testify about the general effects of that level of blood-alcohol concentration in one’s bloodstream. We also conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to allow expert testimony regarding Syx’s speed because excessive speed is evidence that would support an inference of driving under the influence of alcohol in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(a). Syx’s argument that he was deprived of a fair trial is rendered moot by our finding of prejudicial error in regard to his second and fourth assignments of error.

{¶ 3} Because we sustain three of Syx’s assignments of error, the judgment of the trial court is reversed, and this cause is remanded for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.

I

{¶ 4} One evening in April 2008, Dayton Police Officers Hooper and Lally were in the parking lot of the police station on Wayne Avenue when they heard the [849]*849loud sound of an engine racing past the fire station next door. The vehicle was a yellow Corvette, which they later found out Syx was driving. The officers estimated that Syx was traveling at 80 miles per hour as he passed them. The speed limit on Wayne Avenue at that location is 35 miles per hour.

{¶ 5} The officers pulled onto Wayne Avenue and followed Syx. After coming out of a curve near Wilmington Avenue, the officers paced Syx traveling at 60 miles per hour. Syx ran through a red light, and he failed to signal when changing lanes. The officers activated their lights and siren. After several blocks, Syx slowed and turned onto a side street, again without signaling, before he stopped.

{¶ 6} When the officers approached Syx, they saw that his face was very flushed, and his eyes were glossy, watery, and bloodshot. Officer Hooper smelled alcohol on Syx’s breath. Syx appeared to have difficulty finding his wallet, and he fumbled awkwardly for his driver’s license. The officers noticed that Syx’s speech was slurred. Officer Hooper asked Syx to step out of his car. Syx appeared to have trouble finding the door handle. Officer Hooper opened the car door, and Syx stepped out. As the officers began to lead Syx to the cruiser, they noticed that he was staggering and directed him onto the sidewalk instead. Throughout the encounter, Syx repeatedly asked Hooper whether he knew Syx’s son, who was a firefighter at the fire station he had just passed.

{¶ 7} Officer Hooper asked Syx whether he had any illness or injury, which Syx denied, but Syx admitted to having had two drinks. Hooper testified that as Syx walked nine paces away and back, Syx staggered and lost his balance. When Syx stood on one leg, he kept swaying. Hooper told Syx that he was under arrest for OVI, and Syx consented to having his blood drawn. His blood contained 0.11 percent alcohol.

{¶ 8} Syx was charged with OVI in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(a), and he was cited for three traffic violations: running a red light, failure to signal, and failure to wear a seat belt. Later, Syx was also charged with OVI (prohibited concentration of blood alcohol) in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(b), arising out of the same incident, but that charge was dismissed on speedy-trial grounds. Syx filed a motion to suppress, which the trial court granted in part, suppressing the results of the field sobriety tests. A jury found Syx guilty of OVI, while the trial court found him guilty of running a red light and failure to signal, but not guilty of failure to wear a seat belt. From his conviction and sentence, Syx appeals.

II

{¶ 9} In Syx’s first four assignments of error, he argues that the trial court erred in making various evidentiary rulings. The admission or exclusion of [850]*850evidence lies within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed absent an abuse of that discretion. State v. Brown, Montgomery App. No. 21540, 2007-Ohio-2098, 2007 WL 1288574, ¶ 24, citing State v. Haines, 112 Ohio St.3d 393, 2006-Ohio-6711, 860 N.E.2d 91, ¶ 50; State v. Jones (2000), 90 Ohio St.3d 403, 414, 739 N.E.2d 300. The abuse-of-discretion standard is defined as “[a]n appellate court’s standard for reviewing a decision that is asserted to be grossly unsound, unreasonable, illegal, or unsupported by the evidence.” State v. Boles, 187 Ohio App.3d 345, 2010-Ohio-278, 932 N.E.2d 345, ¶ 18, quoting Black’s Law Dictionary (8th Ed.2004) 11.

Ill

{¶ 10} Syx’s first assignment of error is as follows:

{¶ 11} “The trial court erred by prohibiting appellant from cross-examining Officer Hooper about the field sobriety test.”

{¶ 12} In his first assignment of error, Syx maintains that the trial court should have allowed him to cross-examine Officer Hooper regarding his training in how to conduct field sobriety testing. We disagree.

{¶ 13} Syx filed a motion to suppress the results of the field sobriety tests. During the suppression hearing, Officer Hooper testified that standards established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) for field sobriety testing were not yet in existence when he attended the Dayton Police Academy 23 years ago. And he had not attended any training updates in the area of field sobriety testing since his initial training at the Academy. Therefore, the trial court properly granted the motion to suppress the test results pursuant to R.C. 4511.19(D)(4)(b), because the state failed to establish that the tests were conducted in compliance with the standards established by NHTSA.

{¶ 14} Nevertheless, even when the results of field sobriety testing are suppressed, an officer may testify at trial, pursuant to Evid.R. 701, regarding his layman’s observations of defendant’s performance of field sobriety tests. State v. Schmitt, 101 Ohio St.3d 79, 2004-Ohio-37, 801 N.E.2d 446, ¶ 15. See also State v. Wells, Montgomery App. No. 20798, 2005-Ohio-5008, 2005 WL 2327125, ¶ 37-43; State v. Hall, Greene App. No. 04CA86, 2005-Ohio-4526, 2005 WL 2087754, ¶ 25; State v. Terry, Greene App. No. 04CA63, 2004-Ohio-7257, 2004 WL 3561243, ¶ 26; and State v. Faul, Montgomery App. No.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
944 N.E.2d 722, 190 Ohio App. 3d 845, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-syx-ohioctapp-2010.