State v. Terry

Citations

• 249 N.E.3d 762
• 2024 Ohio 2935

Syllabus

Appellant's conviction for operating a vehicle while under the influence was supported by sufficient evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The evidence established that she drove erratically, struck a guardrail and another vehicle, was belligerent, failed or did not complete field sobriety tests, and exhibited other signs of intoxication. The state trooper did not testify as an expert about damage to appellant's vehicle therefore Crim.R. 16 did not apply. Because forensic evaluations found appellant to have been sane at the time of the offenses and competent to stand trial, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding as irrelevant evidence related to prior injuries appellant had suffered. After appellant attempted to subvert the trial court's ruling by asserting that her belligerent conduct was a result of her prior diagnoses, the State's limited follow-up questioning did not constitute prosecutorial misconduct. The trial court did not err in overruling appellant's post-trial motion for acquittal, which was based on the trooper's failure to preserve a bottle of liquor that was in appellant's car and the receipt for its purchase. Appellant asserted that these items would have been exculpatory based on her claim that she only drank from the bottle after the accident, but she was not charged with an open container violation, and therefore the bottle was not contraband subject to seizure. Defense counsel did not act ineffectively in failing to request a psychological expert. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in imposing sentence. Judgment affirmed.