State v. Isaac
| Decision Date | 28 December 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 17CA9,17CA9 |
| Citation | 2018 Ohio 5433,127 N.E.3d 350 |
| Parties | STATE of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Inielsis Guillot ISAAC, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
DECISION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY
{¶1} Defendant-appellant, Inielsis Guillot Isaac ("Isaac"), appeals from the Meigs County Court of Common Pleas judgment, which convicted him of possession of drugs and trafficking in drugs and sentenced him to eleven years of incarceration and a $20,000 fine. According to Isaac, the trial court erred in refusing to take judicial notice of the exact location of the boundary line between Ohio and West Virginia on the Ravenswood Bridge, in denying Isaac's motion to suppress, and in imposing a fine of $20,000. The State argues that Isaac failed to provide the information necessary for the trial court to take judicial notice, that the trial court did not err in denying Isaac's motion to suppress, and that Isaac failed to demonstrate that he is indigent.
{¶2} Upon careful review, although we find that the trial court did not err in refusing to take judicial notice, we do find that the trial court did err in denying Isaac's motion to suppress. Accordingly, we overrule Isaac's first assignment of error; but we sustain his second assignment of error. Isaac's third assignment of error is moot. Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand this matter for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
{¶3} On June 17, 2017, Isaac was driving down W.Va. Route 68 in Ravenswood, Jackson County, West Virginia. That day, Officer Andrew R. Boggess ("Officer Boggess") of the Ravenswood Police Department was parked in Ravenswood, West Virginia, where W.Va. Route 68 joins with U.S. Route 33. Officer Boggess testified that he observed Isaac as he drove past. According to Officer Boggess, Isaac had an "adrenaline rush look to his face," which, based on his training and experience, was a criminal indicator. At that point, Officer Boggess pulled out onto W.Va. Route 68 and followed Isaac as he made his way onto U.S. Route 33.
{¶4} Once behind Isaac, Officer Boggess observed that the license bracket on Isaac's vehicle obscured his license plate. In West Virginia, license plate obstruction is a citable offense. Officer Boggess continued to follow Isaac as he made his way onto the William M. Ritchie, Jr. Bridge ("Ravenswood Bridge"), which crosses the Ohio River and connects Jackson County, West Virginia to Meigs County, Ohio. Officer Boggess testified that he observed Isaac commit a second traffic violation while turning onto the bridge. According to Officer Boggess, Isaac's vehicle went left of center and crossed the double yellow line. Thereafter, while both vehicles were still on the bridge, Officer Boggess activated his emergency lights and sirens. Isaac complied and safely pulled his vehicle over on the right-hand shoulder once he had exited the bridge into Meigs County, Ohio.
{¶5} After approaching Isaac's vehicle, Officer Boggess asked Isaac for his license, registration, and proof of insurance. Isaac provided those materials to Officer Boggess. During this exchange, Officer Boggess observed that Isaac was presenting criminal indicators, such as shaking and avoiding eye contact. By that time, a back-up officer had arrived on the scene. Boggess asked the officer to run a license check, an insurance check, a registration check, and a warrant check.
{¶6} Officer Boggess returned to the passenger side of Isaac's vehicle and asked him to step out. Isaac complied and exited the vehicle. Officer Boggess then conducted a pat-down of Isaac and determined that he was not carrying any weapons. Officer Boggess testified that next he asked Isaac for consent to search the vehicle. According to Officer Boggess, Isaac consented to the search and was advised that he could stop the search at any time. Officer Boggess then proceeded to search the vehicle and found what he suspected to be heroin. that time, Officer Boggess contacted the Meigs County Sheriff's Office, who subsequently took Isaac into custody.
{¶7} On July 12, 2017, the Meigs County Grand Jury issued a two-count indictment charging Isaac with Count 1: Possession of Drugs, a first degree felony in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A) & (C)(6)(f) ; and Count 2: Trafficking in Drugs, a first degree felony in violation of R.C. 2925.03(A)(2) & (C)(6)(g). Isaac was arraigned on the charges on July 19, 2017, where he was appointed counsel and entered not guilty pleas.1
{¶8} On August 7, 2017, Isaac filed a motion to suppress evidence followed by a motion for judicial notice of adjudicative facts filed on September 14, 2017. The trial court issued an order on October 10, 2017, which overruled Isaac's motion to suppress and denied his motion for judicial notice. According to the trial court, Officer Boggess had statutory authority under R.C. 2935.03(D) and (E)(3) to arrest Isaac in Ohio. Additionally, the trial court found that West Virginia's jurisdiction extends to the low water mark on the Ohio side of the Ohio River.
{¶9} On November 13, 2017, Isaac withdrew his not guilty pleas and entered a plea of no contest to both counts. Isaac also provided an affidavit of indigency on November 13, 2017. Thereafter, the trial court sentenced Isaac to eleven years of incarceration and ordered him to pay a $20,000 fine.
{¶10} On appeal, Isaac assigns the following errors for our review:
Assignment of Error I:
The trial court erred as a matter of law when it determined that West Virginia's "jurisdiction extends to the low water mark of Ohio's shore." (October 10, 2017 Order, p.2).
Assignment of Error II:
The trial court erred in overruling Isaac's motion to suppress. (Order, October 10, 2017).
Assignment of Error III:
The trial court abused its discretion when it imposed a mandatory fine of $20,000.00. (Judgment Entry, November 17, 2017[ ] ).
{¶11} In his first assignment of error, Isaac contends that the trial court erred in refusing to take judicial notice of the exact location of the boundary line between Ohio and West Virginia on the Ravenswood Bridge. Isaac alleges that the trial court should have held that the "Sand Creek Bar" marks the Ohio-West Virginia boundary on the Ravenswood Bridge. The State argues that Isaac failed to supply sufficient information for the trial court to take judicial notice of the exact location of the boundary line between Ohio and West Virginia.
{¶12} Evid.R. 201 governs judicial notice of "adjudicative facts," i.e., the facts of the case. Evid.R. 201(A). "A judicially noticed fact must be one not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is either (1) generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court or (2) capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned." Evid.R. 201(B). A court must take judicial notice if requested by a party and supplied with the necessary information that would allow it to do so. Evid.R. 201(D). Otherwise, it is within the trial court's discretion to take judicial notice. Evid.R. 201(C).
{¶13} Geography is particularly susceptible to judicial notice because geographic locations are generally noncontroversial facts. United States v. Piggie , 622 F.2d 486, 488 (10th Cir.1980) ; State v. Gray , 4th Dist. Ross No. 97CA2284, 1998 WL 103325, at *2 (Feb. 19, 1998). In taking judicial notice of a geographical fact, a court may rely upon sources like public documents and maps. State v. Elliott , 4th Dist. Ross No. 06CA2924, 2007-Ohio-2178, 2007 WL 1323434, ¶ 14 ; see 31 Corpus Juris Secundum, Evidence, Section 12, at 733-735. Many courts "take judicial notice of a Google map [or] satellite image as a ‘source[ ] whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned[.]’ " Pahls v. Thomas , 718 F.3d 1210, 1216 (10th Cir.2013), fn. 1, citing United States v. Perea-Rey , 680 F.3d 1179, 1182 (9th Cir.2012), fn. 1; see State v. Bradford , 2018-Ohio-1417, 101 N.E.3d 710, ¶ 69 (8th Dist.). However, some courts only use Google maps to take judicial notice of the "general location" of an event or geographical fact. See Pahls at 1216, fn. 1 ; Perea-Rey at 1182, fn. 1 ; Bradford at ¶ 74, fn. 6.
{¶14} In the case sub judice , Isaac provided the trial court a Google map of the Ohio-West Virginia border at the final pre-trial hearing held August 23, 2017. Attached to his motion for judicial notice of adjudicative facts, Isaac also provided the trial court with maps from a 2001 contract between the Ohio Department of Transportation ("ODOT") and the West Virginia Department of Transportation. Based on these documents, Isaac alleges that the state boundary line between Ohio and West Virginia is approximately one quarter of the way through the Ravenswood Bridge, heading west. Isaac also argues that the boundary line follows the contour of the Sand Creek Bar.
{¶15} The trial court refused to specify the Ohio-West Virginia boundary line in relation to the Ravenswood Bridge based on the maps Isaac provided. Instead, the trial court simply held that the true boundary line between Ohio and West Virginia was "the low water mark on the northwest or Ohio side of the Ohio River."2 In support of its finding, the trial court relied upon longstanding case law. See Handly's Lessee v. Anthony , 18 U.S. 374, 385, 5 Wheat. 374, 5 L.Ed. 113 (1820) ; Ward v. Island Creek Fuel & Transp. Co. , 261 F.Supp. 810, 813 (1966), fn. 11 ; State v. Faudre , 54 W.Va. 122, 135-136, 46 S.E. 269 (1903) (Dent., J., concurring) ().
{¶16} Upon...
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