State v. Schwartz, Unpublished Decision (6-27-2003)
State v. Schwartz, Unpublished Decision (6-27-2003)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} Appellant Rebecca Schwartz appeals the decision of the Perry County Court which denied her motion to suppress the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus ("HGN") test results and denied her the right to cross-examine the arresting officer concerning the manner in which he administered the HGN tests. The following facts give rise to this appeal.{¶ 2} On November 1, 2000, appellant was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 3} On December 12, 2000, appellant filed a motion to suppress the results of the BAC and field sobriety tests. In her motion, appellant alleged the officer who stopped her did not have probable cause to require her to submit to the BAC test and the officer failed to strictly comply with the standardized procedures required for the administration of the HGN tests. The trial court held a hearing on appellant's motion. In a February 2, 2001 judgment entry, the trial court denied appellant's motion to suppress without giving its reasons for doing so.
{¶ 4} This matter proceeded to a jury trial on April 27, 2001. On this same day, the jury found appellant guilty of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and operating a motor vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration. The trial court also found appellant guilty of failing to wear a seatbelt and driving left of center. In a judgment entry filed May 11, 2001, the trial court sentenced appellant to sixty days in jail on each count of DUI, but suspended 52 of the days and placed appellant on probation for a period of two years.
{¶ 5} On May 11, 2001, appellant filed a notice of appeal. On February 7, 2002, the Court reversed the trial court's judgment of conviction and remanded the case with the following instruction: "The judgment of the Perry County Court is reversed. This cause is remanded to that court with instructions to state findings of fact on the record in relation to the motion to suppress. In addition, the sentences are vacated. In the event that there is no further appeal following the court stating findings related to the motion to suppress, the court is instructed to re-sentence appellant on only one of the two convictions."State v. Schwartz, Perry App. No. 01-CA-9, 2002-Ohio-516.
{¶ 6} The trial court issued findings of fact relative to appellant's motion to suppress on March 20, 2002. Thereafter, appellant timely appealed the trial court's newly issued findings of fact. However, we again remanded the case, to the trial court, for want of jurisdiction. We instructed the trial court "* * * to reenter its convictions and sentences on the minor misdemeanor offenses and reenter conviction and sentence on one of the two DUI convictions pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 7} Upon remand, the trial court sentenced appellant, on the finding of guilt, under R.C.
{¶ 8} "I. The trial court erred by denying appellant's motion to suppress evidence regarding the horizontal gaze nystagmus test.
{¶ 9} "II. The trial court violated appellant's Sixth Amendment right to confrontation by denying appellant's counsel the opportunity to cross examine the officer concerning the horizontal gaze nystagmus test."
{¶ 11} Appellant contends the state failed to introduce either the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Manual or any testing from the officer that establishes the officer administered the HGN tests in strict compliance with those procedures as required by State v. Homan,
{¶ 12} We will not address the merits of this assignment of error because the record indicates appellant failed to file a transcript of the suppression hearing. Further, the record contains no other documents from which we can determine the officer improperly administered the HGN tests. In Knapp v. Edwards Laboratories (1980),
{¶ 13} "The duty to provide a transcript for appellate review falls upon the appellant. This is necessarily so because an appellant bears the burden of showing error by reference to matters in the record. See State v. Skaggs (1978),
{¶ 14} In light of appellant's failure to file a transcript of the suppression hearing, we find appellant has failed to sustain her burden of showing error in the trial court's decision to deny her motion to suppress the results of the HGN tests. Further, the trial court's Findings of Fact, on remand, indicate the HGN tests were conducted pursuant to the Highway Traffic Safety Manual.
{¶ 15} Appellant's First Assignment of Error is overruled.
{¶ 17} As noted, in the statement of facts, on the most recent remand of this matter, we ordered the trial court to reenter conviction and sentence appellant on one of the two DUI convictions pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 18} Although the evidence of a violation under R.C.
{¶ 19} Appellant's Second Assignment of Error is overruled.
{¶ 20} For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the County Court, Perry County, Ohio, is hereby affirmed.
Gwin, P.J., and Farmer, J., concur.
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