PEOPLE OF MI V BRIAN MICHAEL MARSLAND
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
August 2, 2005
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 253147
Livingston Circuit Court
LC No. 03-013448
BRIAN MICHAEL MARSLAND,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Borrello, P.J. and Bandstra and Kelly, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Following a bench trial, defendant was convicted of operating a vehicle while under the
influence of intoxicating liquor (OUIL), MCL 257.625(1), third offense, and operating a vehicle
without security, MCL 500.3102. The trial court sentenced him as a second habitual offender to
twelve months’ imprisonment on the OUIL conviction and six months’ imprisonment on the
failure to have security conviction. Defendant appeals as of right. We affirm. This appeal is
being decided without oral argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E).
Defendant first claims the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion to suppress
evidence and finding probable cause existed for his arrest. This Court reviews for clear error
findings of fact regarding a motion to suppress evidence; however, we review de novo the trial
court's ultimate decision on a motion to suppress. People v Fosnaugh, 248 Mich App 444, 450;
639 NW2d 587 (2001). We discern no error in this case. Most of defendant’s argument on
appeal addresses the alleged improper administration of the horizontal gaze nystagmus sobriety
test and its impact on the finding of probable cause to arrest. However, even if we were to
determine that the test was improperly administered, the results of this test were not admitted as
evidence or relied on by the trial court in its finding of probable cause to support defendant’s
arrest. Our review reveals more than sufficient evidence to support the conclusion that
defendant’s arrest was supported by probable cause.
We likewise reject defendant’s claim that the court erred in considering the results of the
blood alcohol content test results when the machine had not been tested for accuracy the week
before defendant’s arrest. Chemical analysis of blood alcohol content is admissible in
proceedings charging OUIL. The proper functioning of the machine or questions regarding the
accuracy of the results goes to the weight to be afforded the evidence, not its admissibility.
People v Wager, 460 Mich 118; 594 NW2d 487 (1999).
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Affirmed.
/s/ Stephen L. Borrello
/s/ Richard A. Bandstra
/s/ Kirsten Frank Kelly
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