State v. Schmitt

Francis E. Sweeney, Sr., J.

{¶ 1} In case No. 2002-1807, in June 2001, a state trooper stopped a vehicle driven by defendant-appellee, Kevin K. Schmitt, on State Route 219 in Mercer County after observing Schmitt weaving and driving left of center. The trooper smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Schmitt and observed that Schmitt was glassy-eyed and that his speech was slow. The trooper conducted three field sobriety tests: the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (“HGN”), the one-leg-stand test, and the walk-and-turn test. During these exercises, the trooper observed Schmitt’s poor balance and…