08/03/2023
Case Caption | Case No. | Topics and Issues | Author | Decided | WebCite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State v. Copley | 111960 | Reagan Tokes, constitutionality, indefinite sentence, ineffective assistance of counsel, maximum sentence, R.C. 2929.11, 2929.12. Trial court did not err when it issued an indefinite sentence under S.B. 201, the Reagan Tokes Law. Furthermore, appellant cannot establish he received ineffective counsel for his counsel failing to fully preserve an objection to his sentence. The Supreme Court has recently determined that Copley’s constitutional arguments fail. State v. Hacker, Slip Opinion No. 2023-Ohio-2535. An appeals court reviews a sentence solely to determine whether the sentence is clearly and convincingly not supported by the record or contrary to law. Appellant failed to establish that the sentence was contrary to law where the court’s finding that appellant did not show “much” remorse was within its discretion under R.C. 2929.12(D)(5). | Groves | 8/3/2023 | 2023-Ohio-2687 |
| State v. Evans | 111964 | Involuntary manslaughter; discharge of firearm on or near prohibited premises; having weapons while under disability; sufficiency of the evidence; proximate cause element of involuntary manslaughter; complicity. Defendant’s conviction for involuntary manslaughter is reversed because it is not supported by sufficient evidence in the record. The defendant shot his gun into the hood of a woman’s car at a crowded vigil. Other people then shot their guns into this woman’s car, killing her fetus. No evidence was presented at trial that the defendant's shooting his gun was the cause of the fetus’s death. Furthermore, no evidence was presented at trial that the defendant was complicit with the person who fired the fatal shot. Defendant’s conviction for discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises is amended from a first-degree felony to a first-degree misdemeanor because there was no evidence that the defendant caused physical harm to another person by shooting his gun into the hood of a car. | Forbes | 8/3/2023 | 2023-Ohio-2688 |
| State v. Walker | 112142 | Motion for leave; motion for new trial; Crim.R. 33; clear and convincing proof; unavoidably discovered; abuse of discretion; State v. Bethel, 167 Ohio St.3d 362, 2022-Ohio-783, 192 N.E.3d 470. Judgment reversed and remanded. Defendant is entitled to a hearing on his motion for leave to file a motion for a new trial because the affidavit he submitted, on its face, supports his claim that he was unavoidably prevented from discovering the evidence at issue. | Boyle | 8/3/2023 | 2023-Ohio-2689 |
| State v. Austin | 112174 | Reagan Tokes Law; indefinite sentence; constitutional challenges; due process; separation of powers; right to jury trial. Pursuant to State v. Hacker, Slip Opinion No. 2023-Ohio-2535, appellant’s constitutional challenges to the Reagan Tokes Law are overruled. | E.A. Gallagher | 8/3/2023 | 2023-Ohio-2690 |
| State v. Kyles | 112202 | Cruelty to animals, companion animal; domestic animals, feral, R.C. 959.131; plain meaning; kept; evidence; R.C. 956.01; R.C. 959.131(A); residential dwelling; legislative intent; H.B. 108; sufficient evidence; misdemeanor; enhanced penalty. Judgment reversed and vacated. R.C. 959.13 prohibits cruelty to animals. A conviction for animal cruelty is generally a misdemeanor offense; however, abuse of a companion animal may be a felony. In order to establish that an animal is a companion animal, there must be sufficient evidence that the animal is kept in a residence. In the case of dogs or cats, there must be sufficient evidence that the animal is kept in order to sustain a felony conviction pursuant to R.C. 959.131. | Groves | 8/3/2023 | 2023-Ohio-2691 |
| Smith v. Gall | 112371 | Dismiss; declaratory judgment; postconviction; immunity; de novo; justiciable controversy; real controversy; trial judge; jurisdiction; judicial notice. The trial court did not err in granting the defendants’ Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion to dismiss. Declaratory relief does not provide a means whereby previous judgments by state or federal courts may be reexamined, nor is it a substitute for appeal or postconviction remedies. Where judges possess jurisdiction over a controversy, they are not civilly liable for actions taken in their judicial capacity because they have absolute immunity. | E.T. Gallagher | 8/3/2023 | 2023-Ohio-2692 |
| State v. Fisher | 111953 | App.R. 26(B) application for reopening, allied offenses, merger of sentences, reasonable probability of different result on appeal, guilty plea, and waiver of error. Appellant’s application for reopening is denied. There exists no reasonable probability that, but for appellate counsel’s claimed error on appeal, the results of the appellant’s appeal would have been different. Appellant has failed to establish any prejudice through the sole assignment of error raised in support of his claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. The offenses of rape, gross sexual imposition, and endangering children are not allied offenses of similar import. A guilty plea waives a defendant’s right to challenge his conviction on potential error except for jurisdictional issues or that the plea of guilty was less than knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. | Kilbane | 8/3/2023 | 2023-Ohio-2693 |