State v. Dotts

[Cite as State v. Dotts, 2025-Ohio-2315.] IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT SANDUSKY COUNTY State of Ohio/City of Fremont Court of Appeals No. S-24-016 Appellee Trial Court No. 23 TRC 1714 v. Robert M. Dotts DECISION AND JUDGMENT Appellant Decided: June 30, 2025 ***** James F. Melle, City of Fremont Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee. James H. Ellis, III, for appellant. ***** SULEK, P.J. {¶ 1} Appellant, Robert Dotts, appeals a judgment of the Fremont Municipal Court, following a jury trial finding him guilty of OVI. Because the judgment is supported by sufficient evidence and is not against the weight of the evidence and Dotts received effective assistance of counsel, it is affirmed.  I. Facts and Procedural History {¶ 2} On October 27, 2023, Dotts was arrested and charged with OVI following a traffic stop. The matter proceeded to a jury trial. Prior to the presentation of evidence, Dotts requested leave to call his mother as a witness. The State objected due to Dotts’ failure to disclose her during discovery or on a witness list. The trial court denied Dotts’ request. {¶ 3} State’s witness, Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Shane Spieth testified that at approximately 12:00 a.m., on October 26, 2023, in Fremont, Ohio, he observed Dotts’ vehicle travelling in excess of the 25 m.p.h. speed limit; he paced the vehicle at 40 m.p.h. Trooper Spieth explained that pacing means that he ascertained the vehicle’s speed by maintaining a constant speed in his patrol car and neither gaining nor falling back from the vehicle. {¶ 4} Trooper Spieth initiated a traffic stop and walked up to the vehicle’s passenger side. While speaking with Dotts, Spieth detected an odor of alcohol and observed that his eyes were bloodshot and glassy. Spieth observed a full 25 ounce can of Bud Light on the passenger seat. He told Dotts the reason he stopped him. Dotts explained that he had a new vehicle and was not used to its quick acceleration and that he had been trying to slow it back down. {¶ 5} During the balance of his testimony, the State played Trooper Spieth’s body worn camera (BWC) footage, pausing for questioning. Trooper Spieth stated that pursuant to this training, when evaluating a driver for impairment he uses the National 2. Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) Manual, a nationwide, standardized testing protocol consisting of multiple phases. Spieth explained that the moving violation is first and that impaired drivers are more likely to commit moving violations. {¶ 6} Next, he looks for indicators of impairment while speaking with a stopped motorist. With Dotts, he observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot, glassy eyes, and sweating. He had thick, slurred speech. Dotts admitted to being at a bar and drinking an alcoholic beverage. His movements were slow and the paperwork fumbling evidenced a decrease in fingertip dexterity— also a sign of impairment. {¶ 7} During this phase a motorist is also asked to divide his attention between two tasks. Here, Trooper Spieth asked Dotts to put his hands on the steering wheel. He had papers in his hands at the time which he dropped, picked up, and then put his hands in his lap forgetting about Spieth’s request. As he walked around Dotts’ vehicle, Trooper Spieth noticed that he put his hands down again and put them back up on the steering wheel. {¶ 8} Trooper Spieth then had Dotts exit his vehicle in order to perform the standardized field sobriety tests including the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test, the walk and turn, the one-leg stand, and the alphabet and counting test. Spieth explained his formal training and field experience in administering the tests. {¶ 9} Trooper Spieth testified that when administering the HGN test he looks for three clues in each eye. First, lack of smooth pursuit when tracking a pen with both eyes. 3. Next, distinct and sustained nystagmus (involuntary jerking of the eye) at maximum deviation. Finally, nystagmus prior to 45 degrees out from the eye. {¶ 10} Trooper Spieth stated that Dotts had difficulty completing the test. He was told multiple times to move his eyes only, not his head. Dotts scored four out of the six clues of impairment; he did not have prior to 45 on either eye. The NHTSA Manual provides that four of the six is a scientifically validated test evidencing impairment. {¶ 11} Trooper Spieth then administered the walk and turn test. Drivers are instructed to imagine a straight line, pl