Opinion ID: 2279946
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Alleged Constitutional Violations During Trial

Text: [¶ 13] Defendant challenges several evidentiary rulings made during trial on constitutional grounds. At the trial, the court refused to allow defendant to impeach the officer by using a hearsay document. The court also refused to permit defendant to ask the officer about the margin of error of the intoxilyzer machine in the absence of some foundation that he was qualified to testify about that subject. Finally, the court precluded any inquiry into the voluntariness of nystagmus because it was irrelevant given that the State was not relying on the horizontal gaze nystagmus test result to prove impairment. Defendant contends that the combined effect of these evidentiary rulings deprived him of a meaningful opportunity to cross-examine the officer in violation of his right to confront adverse witnesses and his right to a fair trial. In addition, defendant argues that his right to a fair trial was violated by certain remarks made by the prosecutor during closing argument. [5] [¶ 14] Even constitutional errors must be preserved for appellate review. State v. Jones, 580 A.2d 161, 163 (Me.1990). At no time before the trial court did defendant assert his rights under the Confrontation Clauses of either the federal or state constitutions. None of what happened below can fairly be said to have raised for the presiding Justice's consideration the issue of the constitutional right of confrontation now being asserted on appeal. State v. Christianson, 404 A.2d 999, 1005 n. 1 (Me.1979). Similarly, defendant, after an initial objection to the State's remark in question and a correction by the State, requested no further relief from the trial court. A defendant who fails to move for a mistrial due to an improper closing remark or to request other relief is taken to have acquiesced in the corrective measures adopted by the trial justice. State v. Rose, 622 A.2d 78, 79 (Me.1993) (citation omitted). Because of defendant's failure to raise his constitutional objections to the trial court's evidentiary rulings and to the State's closing at trial, we will only review those rulings and that remark for obvious error. Christianson, 404 A.2d at 1005; State v. Jacques, 537 A.2d 587, 589 (Me.1988). Defendant has failed to demonstrate the obviousness of any error committed or that any injustice done was so great that we cannot in good conscience let the conviction stand. State v. Boyle, 560 A.2d 556, 557-558 (Me. 1989) (quoting State v. True, 438 A.2d 460, 469 (Me.1981)).