State v. Wilson

2003 Ohio 3180, 791 N.E.2d 484, 124 Ohio Misc. 2d 25
CourtMarion County Municipal Court
DecidedMay 28, 2003
DocketNo. 02 TRC 13184-1-2
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2003 Ohio 3180 (State v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Marion County Municipal Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Wilson, 2003 Ohio 3180, 791 N.E.2d 484, 124 Ohio Misc. 2d 25 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2003).

Opinion

William R. Finnegan, Judge.

{¶ 1} This day this case came on to be heard upon the motion in limine of the defendant seeking to exclude the results of a urine test that was positive for marijuana. The plaintiff has filed a memorandum in opposition to the defendant’s motion.

2} The defendant is not seeking to exclude the urine test result for drugs on the basis that the test was not administered in substantial compliance with the Rules of the Ohio Department of Health for the testing of drugs; rather, the defendant maintains that its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. See Evid.R. 403(A). The prosecution, on the other hand, maintains that the drug test, administered in substantial compliance with the requirements of the Ohio Department of Health, is, by that fact alone, admissible. The state relies upon R.C. 4511.19(D)(1) which states:

“In any criminal prosecution * * * for a violation of this section, * * * relating to operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or alcohol and a drug of abuse * * * the court may admit evidence on the concentration of alcohol, drugs of abuse, or alcohol and drugs of abuse in the defendant’s blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substance at the time of the alleged violation as shown by chemical analysis of the defendant’s blood, urine, breath, or other bodily substance withdrawn within two hours of the alleged violation * * *
“Such bodily substance shall be analyzed in accordance with methods approved by the director of health by an individual possessing a valid permit issued by the director of health pursuant to section 3701.143 of the Revised Code.”

{¶ 3} To resolve this issue, it is appropriate to review the history of the development of Ohio’s DUI statute, R.C. 4511.19.

{¶ 4} Prior to 1968, R.C. 4511.19 was a simply worded statute, only 24 words long. The statute read as follows:

“No person who is under the influence of alcohol, narcotic drugs, or opiates, shall operate any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley within this state.”

{¶ 5} At that time, there were no-statutory presumptions of alcohol impairment or per se prohibited concentrations of alcohol for operating a motor vehicle. There were, however, chemical tests to determine the level of alcohol in a person’s system. In order to have the chemical tests received in evidence, it was necessary for the person who conducted the test to testify as to the manner of the [27]*27taking of the test, and then a second expert witness would then interpret the test results for the benefit of the trier of fact, to demonstrate that the test results indicated that the person was under the influence of alcohol. Cuyahoga Falls v. Mikolajczyk (M.C.1962), 90 Ohio Law Abs. 28, 26 O.O.2d 33, 187 N.E.2d 197. Where the results of a test conducted to determine the percentage of alcohol in a defendant’s bloodstream were not explained by a competent witness, such tests results were of no probative value and should have been disregarded by the trier of facts. Cuyahoga Falls v. Mikolajczyk, supra.

{¶ 6} In 1968, R.C. 4511.19 was substantially amended and created for the first time a statutory presumption of being under the influence of alcohol. As part of this legislation, and in recognition of the greater importance placed upon chemical tests for the level of alcohol, the Ohio Legislature imposed requirements that the chemical tests be administered within two hours of the time of operation of the vehicle, and that the chemical test for alcohol be analyzed in accordance with methods approved by the Ohio Department of Health by an individual possessing a valid permit issued pursuant to R.C. 3701.143. R.C. 3701.143 was also enacted as part of the same legislation, authorizing the Ohio Department of Health to determine techniques or methods for chemically analyzing a person’s blood, urine, or breath, in order to ascertain the amount of alcohol in a person’s system. The 1968 legislation did not have any provisions for the promulgation of standards for the testing of drugs, nor did it have any presumed levels of being under the influence of drugs.

{¶ 7} In State v. Myers (1971), 26 Ohio St.2d 190, 55 O.O.2d 447, 271 N.E.2d 245, the Ohio Supreme Court stated that when R.C. 4511.19 was amended to provide for a presumed level of intoxication,

“the General Assembly has expressed its conviction that the relationship between the objective determination by chemical test of the percentage of alcohol by weight in the blood (.15% or more), and its effect, on people, is so well scientifically established that it need not be demonstrated by evidence, and may take the place of evidence at trial. The purpose of the presumption is to eliminate the need for expert testimony ivhich would otherwise be necessary to relate the numerical figure representing a percentage of alcohol by weight in the blood as shown by the result of a chemical test, with the common understanding of being under the influence of alcohol.” (Emphasis added.) State v. Myers, supra, at 198, 55 O.O.2d 447, 271 N.E.2d 245.

{¶ 8} The Ohio Supreme Court, in Cincinnati v. Sand (1975), 43 Ohio St.2d 79, 72 O.O.2d 44, 330 N.E.2d 908, syllabus, held that the results of a breathalizer test, administered pursuant to R.C. 4511.19, may only be admitted in evidence upon the affirmative establishment of facts supporting the following conditions:

[28]*28“(a) The bodily substance must be withdrawn within two hours of the time of such alleged violation.
“(b) Such bodily substance shall be analyzed in accordance with methods approved by the Director of Health.
“(c) The analyses shall be conducted by qualified individuals holding permits issued by the Director of Health pursuant to R.C. 3701.148.”

{¶ 9} Cincinnati v. Sand involved a person under the influence of alcohol, not a person under the influence of a drug of abuse.

{¶ 10} After 1968, R.C. 4511.19 was amended a number of times. In 1987, R.C. 4511.19 was amended such that chemical tests for drugs of abuse were now also to be done within two hours of the time of operation of the vehicle and also required that chemical tests for drugs of abuse be analyzed in accordance with methods approved by the Ohio Department of Health by an individual possessing a valid permit issued by the Director of the Department of Health pursuant to R.C. 3701.143. It is not clear why the Ohio legislature made that amendment, although it appears that the statute was amended merely to make the language of R.C. 4511.19 consistent in regard to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of drugs. By 1987, the reason for the different treatment of chemical tests for alcohol, as opposed to drugs of abuse, was apparently forgotten. This court makes this conclusion on the basis that the Ohio legislature failed to include in R.C.

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Related

State v. Myers
271 N.E.2d 245 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1971)
City of Cincinnati v. Sand
330 N.E.2d 908 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1975)
City of Newark v. Lucas
532 N.E.2d 130 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1988)
State v. Ripple
637 N.E.2d 304 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1994)
Cuyahoga Falls v. Mikolajczyk
187 N.E.2d 197 (Cuyahoga Falls Municipal Court, 1962)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2003 Ohio 3180, 791 N.E.2d 484, 124 Ohio Misc. 2d 25, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wilson-ohmunictmarion-2003.