State v. White, 07 Ma 29 (6-30-2008)
State v. White, 07 Ma 29 (6-30-2008)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 3} At the hospital, Sergeant Richard Brown from the State Highway Patrol, the investigating officer, interviewed White and administered the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test. (Tr. 31). White failed the test. (Tr. 32). This test was the only field sobriety test given.
{¶ 4} As a result of the accident and investigation, White was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or a combination of both, a violation of R.C.
{¶ 6} White's arguments under the assignment of error reference both sufficiency of the evidence and manifest weight of the evidence. The legal concepts of sufficiency of the evidence and weight of the evidence are both quantitatively and qualitatively different. State v.Thompkins,
{¶ 7} When an appellate court reviews a record upon a sufficiency challenge, "the relevant inquiry is whether, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt." State v. Leonard,
{¶ 8} However, under a manifest weight standard, the appellate court, "reviewing the entire record, weighs the evidence and all reasonable inferences, considers the credibility of witnesses and determines whether in resolving conflicts in the evidence, the jury clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction must be reversed and a new trial ordered. The discretionary power to grant a new trial should be exercised only in the exceptional case in which *Page 4
the evidence weighs heavily against conviction." Thompkins,
{¶ 9} In this appeal, White contends that his conviction for driving under the influence was not supported by sufficient evidence and/or was against the manifest weight of the evidence. R.C.
{¶ 10} "No person shall operate any vehicle, streetcar, or trackless trolley within this state, if, at the time of the operation, any of the following apply:
{¶ 11} "(a) The person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them."
{¶ 12} We have previously stated:
{¶ 13} "To prove that a defendant violated this section, the state need not establish a threshold level of alcohol concentration in the defendant's body. State v. Lowman (1992),
{¶ 14} At trial Leana and Tom Woolf, the two eyewitnesses, testified that they observed the one car accident. They stated that White was traveling at a high rate of speed and was unable to negotiate the S curve; his car hit the ditch and flipped over a couple times. Both Woolfs indicated that upon approaching the vehicle, they noticed a strong odor of alcohol. (Tr. 9, 18). However, they both acknowledged that they did not disclose this observation to the investigating officer, Sergeant Brown, nor did they state this in their written witness statement. (Tr. 14, 25).
{¶ 15} Sergeant Brown testified that when he interviewed White in the hospital, he noticed a strong odor of alcohol and that White's eyes were beyond bloodshot, they were red. (Tr. 30, 34). Furthermore, White admitted during the interview that he had "one or two drinks, a screw driver or something" and took one Lorazepam pill, a drug for treating anxiety. (Tr. 33, 44, 47). *Page 5
{¶ 16} As to field sobriety tests, Sergeant Brown administered the HGN test. White displayed six out of six clues; thus, he failed the test. (Tr. 32). However, that was the only field sobriety test performed on White because he was lying on a gurney.
{¶ 17} Sergeant Brown admitted on cross-examination that a head injury might affect an offender's ability to track the prompt on the HGN test. (Tr. 38). He further admitted that he was not able to determine whether or not White had any head injury and he did not ask any medical personnel whether White had a head injury. (Tr. 38-39).
{¶ 18} White argues that a conviction based on the above testimony is both insufficient and against the manifest weight of the evidence. He contends the HGN test is suspect because of his head injuries. Thus, he contends that the only other traditional indicia of intoxication that was admitted into evidence was the odor of alcohol.
{¶ 19} We find no merit with this argument. Admittedly, performing an HGN test on an individual with a head injury could possibly affect the reliability of the test. The Eleventh District has twice indicated that sentiment. Wickliffe v. Dust, 11th Dist No. 2005-L-129,
{¶ 20} Furthermore, typically any argument regarding the reliability of the HGN test on a person with a head injury is made through a suppression motion attacking the admissibility of the results.Wickliffe, 11th Dist No. 2005-L-129,
{¶ 21} Consequently, the trial court was permitted to consider the HGN test results. As such, when the above testimony and evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, there was sufficient evidence presented at trial. White was the driver of the car that wrecked. An eyewitness noticed the car weave off the road and fail to negotiate the S curve. Both eyewitnesses and the investigating officer noticed an odor of alcohol. Additionally, White admitted to drinking one or two drinks and taking prescription medicine. Likewise, he failed the HGN test. Furthermore, when weighing the evidence, we cannot find that the trial court clearly lost its way when it convicted White of the crime charged. This assignment of error lacks merit.
{¶ 22} For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court is hereby affirmed.
DeGenaro, P.J., concurs.
Donofrio, J., concurs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.