City of Cleveland v. Collins
109 N.E.3d 208
Ohio Ct. App.2018Background
- At ~1:30 a.m. on Sept. 24, 2014, Trooper Morales observed Carl Collins drift outside marked lanes on I‑90 multiple times and stopped him; dashboard video corroborated at least two lane departures.
- LEADS check showed Collins was under an administrative license suspension for a prior OVI refusal from the prior month; trooper smelled alcohol on Collins’s breath after he spit gum out and Collins denied drinking.
- Trooper administered HGN, walk‑and‑turn, and one‑leg‑stand tests; observed 4/6 HGN clues, 3/8 WAT clues, and 2/6 OLS clues; Collins refused the portable breath test and was arrested.
- Collins moved to suppress and to dismiss (speedy‑trial). The trial court denied suppression; after a jury trial Collins was convicted of OVI, OVI with refusal and prior within 20 years, and driving under OVI suspension.
- Collins appealed pro se, raising: invalid traffic stop, improper/ coerced field sobriety testing and misstatements by the trooper, trial court denial of suppression, and speedy‑trial violation. Appellate court affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (City) | Defendant's Argument (Collins) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of traffic stop | Trooper observed lane departures (R.C. 4511.33), giving reasonable suspicion/probable cause to stop | No valid reason to stop; lane width/road conditions excused crossings | Stop lawful: observed drifting constituted a traffic violation and justified the stop (Mays/Erickson) |
| Basis to request field sobriety tests | Totality of circumstances (time, erratic driving, odor of alcohol, prior refusal) gave reasonable suspicion to request tests | Trooper lacked justification to initiate testing; officer mischaracterized Collins’s statements | Request to perform tests was reasonable under the totality of circumstances; officer had articulable suspicion to extend detention and request tests |
| Admissibility of FST results/substantial compliance with NHTSA | Trooper substantially complied with NHTSA in administering HGN, WAT, OLS; testimony and video support results | Tests were improperly administered (e.g., VGN/HGN errors), NHTSA forbids tests on 65+; results unreliable | Trial court properly found substantial compliance; FST evidence admissible; credibility/weight for jury to decide |
| Speedy‑trial claim | Time was tolled by defendant’s discovery demand and motions, continuances (some at defendant’s request) and prosecutor continuance for witness unavailability; any ambiguities construed for defendant but record supports tolling | Delays and continuances pushed trial beyond 90‑day statutory limit; court denied motion to dismiss | No speedy‑trial violation: multiple tolling events (defendant motions, discovery, continuances, reasonable prosecutor continuance) left well under 90 active days |
Key Cases Cited
- Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (1979) (stops of motor vehicles are searches/seizures subject to Fourth Amendment)
- Dayton v. Erickson, 76 Ohio St.3d 3 (1996) (probable cause to stop for observed traffic violation supports detention)
- State v. Mays, 119 Ohio St.3d 406 (2008) (drifting across lane markings supplies reasonable suspicion/probable cause for a stop)
- State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230 (1967) (weight and credibility of evidence reserved to trier of fact)
- State v. Awan, 22 Ohio St.3d 120 (1986) (appellate courts should not substitute their judgment for the trier of fact on credibility issues)