State v. Heiney, Unpublished Decision (9-28-2001)
State v. Heiney, Unpublished Decision (9-28-2001)
Opinion of the Court
Trooper Clark of the Ohio State Highway Patrol was on duty and sitting in a stationary position when Heiney drove by in her car. Heiney's car had a "spider crack" in the center of the windshield which was about one foot from top to bottom. The trooper did not observe any erratic driving or other traffic law violations. On the basis of the cracked windshield, the trooper initiated a traffic stop. Upon speaking to Heiney, the trooper detected a strong odor of alcohol and administered field sobriety tests. Heiney was arrested. Heiney was given a breath test at the patrol post and it was determined she had a prohibited blood-alcohol level when driving.
Heiney filed a motion to suppress the evidence. A hearing was conducted on January 27, 2000. Heiney contended, among other things, that the trooper did not have lawful cause to stop her vehicle. At the hearing, the state introduced into evidence all the documentation in its possession regarding the BAC DataMaster test administered to Heiney. State's exhibits Nos. 4, 5, and 7 were photocopied documents, exhibit No. 4 was a single page, and Nos. 5 and 7 were two pages each. On the back of each page of these exhibits, the custodian of records of the Ohio State Highway Patrol certified that these were true and accurate copies of the original.
Exhibit No. 5 consisted of two documents, one being a photocopy of a certificate issued by the Ohio Department of Health ("ODH"). This was the certificate of approval of the solution used in this case to test the accuracy of the BAC DataMaster in accordance with O.A.C.
Heiney's motion to suppress was overruled. She was convicted after a bench trial. From this judgment, she timely filed her notice of appeal.
In her first assignment of error, Heiney argues that the trooper did not have reasonable suspicion, based on specific, articulable facts, to initiate a traffic stop. Therefore, she argues, the stop and all subsequent evidence should have been suppressed. In Dayton v. Erickson
(1996),
R.C.
In Heiney's second assignment of error, she raises three issues regarding the admissibility of evidence presented by the state at the suppression hearing. First, Heiney argues that each of the photocopied documents submitted by the state was inadmissible due to improper certification. We disagree. Heiney's argument is based on this court's holding in Aurora v. Lesky (1992),
In the second issue presented for review, Heiney argues that state's exhibit No. 5 was inadmissible. The exhibit was a photocopy of a certificate issued by the ODH to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The photocopy submitted as evidence was not certified by the ODH, rather, it was certified by the Ohio State Highway Patrol as a true and accurate copy of the original. This certificate "approved" the solution used in this case by the Ohio State Highway Patrol to test the accuracy of the BAC DataMaster in accordance with O.A.C.
"[T]his court has previously held that when the custodian of records for the local law enforcement agency testifies that the Department of Health permits were received in the regular course of business and kept in his custody, the permits are `patently authentic absent a genuine challenge by [the defendant].' State v. Lewis, 1992 Ohio App. LEXIS 5022, *9 (Sept. 30, 1992), Portage App. No. 92-P-0013, unreported. In the present case, appellant did not challenge the authenticity of the permit in question. Also, the custodian of records for the Windham Police Department executed an affidavit in which he stated that the certificate was a true and accurate copy of the original which was kept in his custody. Thus, the copy of the permit presented was prima facie admissible as a copy of an original document under Evid.R. 1003; as a self-authenticating document under seal by the State of Ohio under Evid.R. 902(1) and 902(4); and as a properly authenticated document under Evid.R. 901(A)." Id. at *6-7.
See, also, State v. Easter (1991),
75 Ohio App.3d 22 ,25 ; State v. Flauto (Dec. 23, 1994), Portage App. No. 93-P-0073, unreported, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 5863; Cleveland v. Smialek (Nov. 27, 1996), Cuyahoga App. No. 70606, unreported, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 5334, *7-8; Cleveland Metroparks v. Ponsford (Oct. 10, 1996), Cuyahoga App. No. 68257, unreported, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 4508.
Consistent with this court's prior holdings, we find that the certification by the custodian of records of the Ohio State Highway Patrol that the copy presented as evidence in this case was a true and accurate copy of the original certificate of approval of the testing solution issued by the ODH was sufficient to authenticate the document and render it admissible as evidence. Heiney's second issue presented for review is without merit.
In Heiney's third issue for review, she argues that the state failed to prove that the particular bottle containing the BAC DataMaster calibration solution used in this case to calibrate the machine was continuously refrigerated in accordance with O.A.C.
Heiney's second assignment of error is without merit. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
JUDGE DIANE V. GRENDELL, O'NEILL, P.J., concurs in judgment only, NADER, J., concurs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.