Ohio Supreme Court hears Mahoning case involving portable breathalyzer

COLUMBUS — A Mahoning County case was supposed to give the Ohio Supreme Court an opportunity to rule on the reliability of portable breathalyzer devices in drunken-driving convictions.

But the case, heard before the state’s high court today, left the justices scratching their heads as to whether the devices were relevant to the legal question at hand.

The case involves a Mahoning County woman, Jessica Derov, who was stopped by a state trooper while driving in a vehicle with invalid license plates.

The trooper did not observe Derov driving erratically beforehand but did smell alcohol in the car and noted that Derov’s eyes were red and glassy, according to documents.

For the complete story, see Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com