Posts tagged with "weight of the evidence"

Defendant’s Motions to Suppress Evidence from Urinalysis and Field Sobriety Tests After Boating Incident

Case Background

This case arose from a boating incident that occurred on July 8, 2007. The defendant consumed six ounces of bourbon whiskey over the course of approximately an hour and a half, and then traveled down the Connecticut River on his motorboat. The river was extremely crowded with other vessels due to the holiday. At 3:46pm, the defendant was traveling at 30 knots (or 34.5mph) when he fell out of the boat, which then struck a nearby sailboat and killed one of the passengers.

The defendant was quickly rescued, and brought to the dock an hour after the accident. Police officers on the scene observed the defendant as unsteady, disoriented, and confused, and had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and an odor of alcohol. While the officers conducted a series of field sobriety tests, for which they received extensive training, the defendant became belligerent and argumentative. After the tests were complete, the defendant was brought to the police station, where officers conducted two urinalysis tests at 5:56pm and then 6:30pm.

The Charges

The defendant was charged with reckless operation of a vessel while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, second-degree manslaughter, and seven other counts in violation of various General Statutes. The defendant filed three motions to suppress the urinalysis tests, to suppress evidence of the field sobriety tests, and to request a Porter hearing to determine whether the urinalysis procedure used by Connecticut agencies was proper.

General Statutes § 15-140l makes it a crime to recklessly operate a vessel while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs. A person may be charged in the first degree if, while under the influence, they operate a vessel in such a way that it results in serious physical injury to others or damages property in excess of $2,000. “Operate” in this context means that “the vessel is underway or aground and not moored, anchored or docked.”

Alcohol Analysis Evidence

Evidence that is used to establish the amount of alcohol or drug in the defendant’s blood or urine is admissible under General Statutes § 15-140r(a), as long as the test occurred within two hours from the operation of a vessel. In this case, the urinalysis tests were taken more than two hours after the accident. Therefore, the Superior Court granted the defendant’s motion to suppress this evidence.

Evidence derived from field sobriety tests is admissible so long as the State lays the foundation that the testing officer “is qualified to perform the tests, and that the tests were conducted in substantial accord with relevant procedures and standards.” That is to say, officers do not need to perform the tests perfectly, because ideal conditions are not always present. In this case, the officers testified as to the extent of their training, and the defendant had ample opportunity to cross-examine them. Because this was a matter of the weight of the evidence and not its admissibility, the Court denied the defendant’s motion in limine to suppress this evidence.

In State v. Porter, the State Supreme Court ruled that where a party objects to scientific evidence offered by the other party, the burden rests with the proponent to establish that the evidence is admissible. Generally, evidence will be admissible so long as it tends to support a relevant fact and is neither prejudicial nor cumulative. The Porter court held that scientific evidence should only be inadmissible if “the methodology underlying such evidence is sufficiently invalid to render the evidence incapable of helping the fact finder determine a fact in dispute.”

Testing for the Presence of Alcohol

Connecticut recognizes three methods of testing for the presence of alcohol – blood, breath, and urine – and each of these methods is statutorily recognized as reliable for legal purposes. Thus, “[o]nce a scientific process or methodology has been approved after a Porter analysis, it can be admitted in subsequent cases without a second Porter-type analysis.” In this case, because urinalysis is statutorily approved, the defendant did not have a right to a Porter hearing. Therefore, his motion for this hearing to determine the admissibility of the chemical urinalysis was denied.

Written by Lindsay E. Raber, Esq.

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When faced with a charge of operating a motor vehicle or vessel while intoxicated (a.k.a. driving under the influence), an individual is best served by consulting with an experienced criminal law practitioner. Should you have any questions regarding criminal defense, please do not hesitate to contact Attorney Joseph C. Maya in the firm’s Westport office in Fairfield County at 203-221-3100 or at JMaya@Mayalaw.com.

High Court of Connecticut Sustains DUI Conviction, Noting Field Sobriety Test Evidence Was Properly Admitted

Case Details

This case arose from an incident that occurred in the early morning hours of December 18, 2005. The defendant was involved in a single-car accident after consuming several alcoholic beverages. Suspecting the defendant was intoxicated after making observations of his appearance and demeanor, a police officer administered several field sobriety tests, including the nystagmus test, all of which the defendant either failed or was unable to perform. The defendant was then arrested for and charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (OMVUI) of alcohol in violation of General Statutes § 14-227a, among other charges.

Prior to trial, the defendant filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude all evidence related to the nystagmus test. He argued that “it had not been administered according to the ‘strict’ standards established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration” (NHTSA). The court denied the motion, stating that compliance with the NHTSA standards “went to the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility.” After the officer who performed the nystagmus test testified at trial, the defendant filed a motion to strike, which was denied. The defendant was convicted on all counts and thereafter appealed.

Administering a Nystagmus Test

The nystagmus test is one of three standard field sobriety tests administered by police officers in Connecticut when they suspect that an individual is intoxicated. In a previous case, the Appellate Court described what this test involves:

To administer the [nystagmus] test, the officer positions a stimulus approximately twelve to eighteen inches away from and slightly above the subject’s eyes. The stimulus, usually a pen or the officer’s finger, is then moved slowly from the midline of the nose to maximum deviation, the farthest lateral point to which the eyes can move to either side.

The officer observes the subject’s eyes as he tracks the stimulus and looks for six clues, three for each eye, to determine whether the subject passes or fails the test. The officer looks for (1) the inability of each eye to track movement smoothly, (2) pronounced nystagmus at maximum deviation and (3) the onset of nystagmus at an angle less than forty-five degrees in relation to the center point. A finding of four clues indicates failure of the test and is a sign of intoxication.

State v. Commins, 83 Conn. App. 496, 499 (2004). However, nystagmus test evidence can potentially mislead a jury. As such, the State must “lay a proper foundation” regarding the credentials of the person who administered the test, and that the administration itself “was conducted in accordance with generally accepted standards,” such as those promulgated by the NHTSA.

The Court’s Decision

In this case, the Supreme Court found that the State laid the proper foundation regarding the officer’s credentials, and that the manner in which she administered the nystagmus test complied with NHTSA regulations. At trial, the officer testified that she received training in both the administration of field sobriety tests and the interpretation of their results. In particular, she stated that she received “advanced training” from the NHTSA.

Furthermore, her description of how she administered the test to the defendant was deemed proper by the Court. More telling, the defendant had the opportunity on cross-examination to call into question the weight of this evidence. Therefore, the Supreme Court did not view admission of this testimony as an abuse of discretion by the trial court.