State v. Walker

374 N.E.2d 132, 53 Ohio St. 2d 192, 7 Ohio Op. 3d 368, 1978 Ohio LEXIS 514
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 22, 1978
DocketNo. 77-678
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 374 N.E.2d 132 (State v. Walker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Walker, 374 N.E.2d 132, 53 Ohio St. 2d 192, 7 Ohio Op. 3d 368, 1978 Ohio LEXIS 514 (Ohio 1978).

Opinion

Sweeney, J.

The single issue in this cause is whether the trial court erred in overruling the appellant’s objection to the admission in evidence of portions of a' permanent log book maintained by the Police Department of the city of Wooster introduced by the prosecution to show that the breath analysis machine used in testing the defendant was in proper working order as required by this court’s pronouncements in paragraph six of the syllabus in Mentor v. Giordano (1967), 9 Ohio St. 2d 140, and paragraph one of the syllabus in Cincinnati v. Sand (1975), 43 Ohio St. 2d 79.

Appellant contends that the two pages of the permanent log book is a business record within the meaning of B. C. 2317.40, and that as such, is inadmissible in evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule based on this court’s holding in State v. Tims (1967), 9 Ohio St. 2d 136. Appellee, on the other hand, contends that the log book is an official report kept by officers of this state as required by regulations promulgated by the Director of Health, and thus, was properly admitted in evidence under the official-reports-as-evidence exception to the hearsay rule found in B. C. 2317.42. Determination of the applicable exception to the hearsay rule directly affects the outcome in this cause, since, in authenticating the document during trial the prosecution did hot call as a witness the custodian, supervisor, or maker of the record as required under R. C. 2317.40, but rather merely submitted a certified copy of the report as permitted under R. C. 2317.42.

R. C. 2317.42 provides:

“Official reports made by officers of' this state, or certified copies of the same, on a matter within the scope of their duty as defined by statute, shall, insofar as relevant, be admitted as evidence of the matters stated therein.”

'' ' In discussing the necessity for the official-reports-aseviderice exception, this court noted that:

“The General Assembly, recognizing the need for an authority that ‘would make admissible various sorts of reports dealing with matters seldom disputable and only provable otherwise at disproportionate inconvenience and [195]*195cost’ (5 Wigmore on Evidence [3 Ed.], 699 Section 1672), enacted Section 2317.42, Revised Code, thereby greatly facilitating the production of evidence with little chance of it being untrustworthy.” State v. Colvin (1969), 19 Ohio St. 2d 86, at 89. As commented in 5 Wigmore on Evidence (3 Ed.), 618, Section 1632:

“* * * When ^ is a part of the duty of a public, officer to make a statement as to a fact coming within his official cognizance, the great probability is that he does his duty and makes a correct statement. The consideration that regularity of habit, a chief basis for the exception for regular entries * * will tend to this end is not here an essential one; for casual statements, such as certificates, may be admissible, as well as a regular series of entries in a registry. The fundamental circumstance is that an official duty exists to make an accurate statement, and that this special and weighty duty will usually suffice as a motive to incite the officer to its fulfillment.”

Applying the above statutory provisions to the cause at bar, the court finds that portions of the permanent logbook are admissible under the official-reports-as-evidence exception. . Clearly, police officers of the city of Wooster are “officers of this state” within the meaning of R. C. 2317.42. Furthermore, under the rules promulgated by the Director of Health pursuant to R. C. 3701.143,1 members of the police department of the city of Wooster have the duty of conducting calibration tests on breath analysis machines and recording the results therefrom in a permanent log book kept on file at the station. Specifically, the rules require, in part, that, except for sober-meters, breath testing instruments must be calibrated by a qualified senior [196]*196operator “using methods and techniques for calibration recommended by the manufacturer of the calibration instrunient or the director of health” no less frequently than after every ten tests, or after every nine days if fewer than ten tests are performed in any nine-day period (Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3701-53-04 [A]), and that the results of the calibration tests shall be kept in a record book for not more than three years. (Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3701-53-04[C].)

In accord with our holding that certified copies of an official report regarding the proper calibration of the breath analysis machine are sufficiently reliable to warrant their ádmissibility in evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule are Wester v. State (Alaska 1974), 528 P. 2d 1179, certiorari denied 423 U, S . 836; State v. McGeary (1974), 129 N. J. Super. 219, 322 A. 2d 830; State v. Woodward (1 Ore. App. 338), 462 P. 2d 685; Stroupe v. Commonwealth (1974), 215 Va. 243, 207 S. E. 2d 894; and Duff v. State (Crim. App. Tex. 1974), 503 S. W. 2d 785.

A common approach adopted by a growing number of jurisdictions with respect to questions concerning the proper foundation needed for the introduction of breath analysis test results in evidence is set forth by the Court of Appeals of New York in People v. Gower (1977), 42 N. Y. 2d 117, 366 N. E. 2d 69, at page 71, wherein that court stated:

“* * * Perhaps of greater importance than the procedural issue concerning the admissibility of particular forms of documentary evidence, is the underlying question of substantive law — what foundation must now be laid, for the admission of breathalyzer results. Breathalyzer equipment and procedures have become familiar and their use is now commonplace. Reliability has been demonstrated and the results of such testing where properly performed are universally accepted. This is not to say, however, that no foundation should be any longer required for introduction of breathalyzer evidence. It is to say that there may now appropriately be some relaxation of the rigorous prerequi[197]*197sites properly required to authenticate the reliability of the scientific equipment and procedures where they were first employed. Based on a wealth of practical experience greater dependence can now properly be placed on according full opportunity, through pretrial discovery and other means, to test and challenge the probative worth of the evidence. Thus, emphasis may be shifted from technical issues of admissibility of evidence to means for measuring its persuasive weight. No precise or even general guidelines can be laid down in advance; necessarily the requirements in each case will depend on the peculiar circumstances of that case.”

We find this approach persuasive. In Ohio, it is not questioned that through pre-trial discovery under Crim. R. 16 the defense may obtain the name of the individual responsible for conducting the calibration test, and determine through deposition under Crim. R. 15 whether such individual utilized the proper methods in calibrating the machine. Furthermore, the defense may subpoena the official as a witness to testify at trial under Crim. R. 17 if deemed necessary. These protections adequately provide the defense every opportunity of insuring that the breath analysis machine was in proper working order when used in testing the defendant.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
374 N.E.2d 132, 53 Ohio St. 2d 192, 7 Ohio Op. 3d 368, 1978 Ohio LEXIS 514, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-walker-ohio-1978.