State v. Roy - merger of trafficking and possession

In State v. Roy, the 12th Appellate District of Ohio reversed a sentencing pursuant to Johnson. The appellate court found that the trafficking and corresponding drug possession charges were allied offenses for the purpose of Johnson and, therefore, the state would be required to choose which charge to proceed with at sentencing.

State v. McCree - search / seizure and drug trafficking

In State v. McCree, the 12th Appellate District of Ohio upheld the 17 + 6 month sentence for trafficking cocaine + possession of cocaine. The sentences were imposed consecutively, meaning that the sentence was effectively a 23 month sentence.

The defendant claimed that the search was unlawful because he verbally refused consent. However, the court noted that he subsequently consented to the search by his actions and, therefore, found that the evidence uncovered in the search was admissible.

Sims, charged with rape of a minor, has bail set at $250,000

Bruce Sims was wanted for allegedly raping a minor just after midnight on Tuesday, April 19, 2011. He voluntarily turned himself in later that same day. This morning, he appeared before Judge Shriver of Clermont County Municipal Court for a bail hearing. Bail was set at $250,000 due to the nature of the offense. Sims also waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

The case will now be turned over to the Clermont County grand jury for a formal indictment on felony charges of rape of a minor.

State v. Cooper - sexual battery

The Twelfth Circuit upheld the 3 year sentence of Cooper. Cooper was charged with four counts of rape and four counts of felonious sexual battery. The court found him guilty of the four counts of felonious sexual battery. The court sentenced Cooper to four different 3 year sentences, although all of them were to run concurrently (at the same time). Cooper appealed, claiming that the conviction was against the weight of the evidence. In a bench trial, such an appeal is only successful if the trial court "clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction must be reversed and a new trial ordered." In Cooper, the court of appeals found no miscarriage of justice and affirmed the conviction.

Appellate Court Affirms 43 year sentence for accomplice to rape

Cory Israel was sentenced to 43 years as an accomplice to a rape and kidnapping of a Middletown woman. He appealed, claiming that the evidence did not support his conviction, that the prosecutor's closing argument was prejudicial, and that his sentence was unfair given that the other two defendants received lessor sentences. The Twelfth Appellate District of Ohio affirmed the conviction and sentence. The most interesting point in the appeal was that Isreal was the accomplice and received a sentence of 43 years. Meanwhile, the two other defendants - that actively participated in the rape - received sentences of 24 and 31 years. However, Isreal's sentence was within the statutory range and, therefore, presumed to be reasonable.

Mark Gerth charged with murder after high-speed chase

A grand jury indicted Gerth on 12 counts, including 2 counts of murder, related to the high-speed chase that killed two individuals. Gerth faces life in prison if convicted.

Widmer seeks delay prior to motion for a new trial

Ryan Widmer, convicted in the drowning death of his wife, previously brought a motion for a new trial related to accusations, including others, of juror misconduct. Widmer claimed that he needed more time to prepare for the motion hearing after discovering information last week on facebook pages. He alleges that jurors, and relatives of jurors, posted comments, videos, etc. on facebook prior to and during the trial. Such conduct could result in a mistrial if proven.

The Judge denied Widmer's motion for more time and kept the motion hearing at its currently scheduled time.

Dawn Dixon escaped from hospital prior to appearing in court

Dawn Dixon, accused of stealing a minivan with a 4-year-old child inside, was hospitalized for unknown reasons while charges were pending against her. She escaped from the hospital last evening.

DUI Checkpoint

The Enquirer reports that the Butler County OVI Task Force will conduct a checkpoint in Middletown tonight on Verity Parkway. As always, make sure that you have a designated driver. If you don't, call a taxi. Driving while intoxicated is a costly mistake in terms of life and in terms of your personal finances.

Riverfront restaurant became river restaurant

NKY.com is reporting about the floating restaurant in Covington last night. Ruby's Riverfront restaurant floated away as a result of the rising floodwaters. I would venture a guess that many of the 100 customers were intoxicated, although none of them were guiding the restaurant "boat", so I doubt that there will be any boating while intoxicated charges (BWI).

In all seriousness, there will be a significant amount of civil liability arising from this. There will be issues between the diners and the owner, the owner and the insurance company, and the owner and the city. At least everyone remained calm and the situation was handled properly by those involved.

UC Choking

Kimball Perry reports that a University of Cincinnati student was sentenced to jail for five years as a result of a disturbing choking incident. The student, Jonathan Denman, admitted that he walked into the first open room in his dorm and choked a female student. She escaped after fighting him off.

Kasich proposes sale of prisons

The AP is reporting that Governor Kasich may propose the sale of 5 prisons to private operators. A sale of the prisons would purportedly raise $200 million. Those savings, although, would hardly put a dent in the $8 BILLION deficit facing Ohio.

State v. McCullough - allied offenses

The Twelfth District Court of Appeals of Ohio handed down another opinion regarding allied offenses. We previously explained allied offenses:

• Typically, Ohio law prohibits a defendant from being sentenced for two crimes if the underlying conduct is the same for both crimes and if the crimes were committed for a single purpose.

In this case, Defendant McCullough was found to have taken the victim, moved her by force or threat of force a few blocks away, and then robbed and killed her. The robbery was satisfied by the taking of a person's property by force, threat of force, or deception (force in this case). The kidnapping was satisfied by transporting or restraining the victim (transporting in this case) by force, threat of force, or deception. The issue before the Court was whether the robbery and kidnapping were separate offenses or if they should be merged as allied offenses.

The test for determining whether sentences may be imposed for two different crimes is two-pronged. The first prong is to determine whether the same conduct may result in both crimes. If the answer is yes, then the second prong is to determine whether the defendant acted with a single motive.

The Court applied the two-pronged test to determine whether both robbery and kidnapping sentences could be imposed against Defendant McCullough. Regarding the first prong, it found that robbery implicitly involves the restraint of another by force, threat or deception - which fits the basic definition of kidnapping. Accordingly, the Court found that robbery and kidnapping may both be accomplished by the same conduct. Regarding the second prong, the Court found that the two offenses were not committed with the same animus. It noted that, while kidnapping could be merely incidental to a common robbery, the victim in this case was transported two blocks away. Far from incidental to the robbery, the transportation to a more secluded location was prolonged, secretive, and substantial. Accordingly, the Court held that the kidnapping was the result of a separate animus and that Defendant McCullough was properly convicted and sentenced to both offenses.

Charlie Sheen

We just couldn't help but mention Charlie Sheen's video rantings. He's wearing a Cincinnati Reds shirt (Ohio), although there's no activity that is criminal (nothing about Criminal Defense). It's not a stretch to say that something criminal will arise out of this situation, however. When it does, we'll be sure to post it.

Mother sentenced 10 months for pain killers

The USA Today is reporting that a woman of St. Paris, Teresa Milbrandt, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for using her daughter to write a prescription for her. She claimed that she was injured at work and needed pain killers. She previously made the news for falsely claiming that one of her daughters had cancer, so that she could collect donations.

For the false prescription, she was convicted of felony deception. That crime is defined in Ohio Revenue Code, sec. 2925.22. The article did not mention whether she also had her driver's license suspended pursuant to subsection C of that statute. Presumably, her license will be suspended for at least 6 months, but no longer than 5 years.

Alleged Babysitter Murderer Denied Maternity Leave

Tiffani Calise, charged with murdering an infant that she was babysitting, is awaiting trial in jail. She is pregnant, and requested a maternity leave. The court refused, noting that she may be a risk to other children.

Kelley Denied Bond

USA Today is reporting that Andrew Kelley's bond was denied on Friday. Kelley is being held for murder charges related to the shooting death of his brother at Easton Town Center. Ohio Revised Code 2903.02 definese murder as an Ohio offense.

Other than murder, Ohio recognizes aggravated murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, negligent homicide, and vehicular homicide/manslaughter.

Union Township Trustee Indicted

Trustee Carl Walker was indicted on March 4, 2011 for various crimes, relating to contracts he entered into with his son's company on behalf of Union Township.

'Police Women of Cincinnati' Last Episode

Cincinnati.com is reporting that 'Police Women of Cincinnati' is filming its last show. The last show will be this Thursday at 9 p.m.

In the final episode, we are told that police will give a citizen money to buy crack-cocaine. Police call it a "sting," defense attorneys usually cry "entrapment," but you might just consider it good television.

State v. Ignat; right to a speedy trial

Pursuant to R.C. 2945.71, defendants in Ohio have a right to a trial within 45 days.  The issue in State v. Ignat, at the 12th District Court of Appeals, was whether the defendant's right to a speedy trial was violated where the trial commenced 61 countable days after the arrest but where the state argued good cause for the delay.  In that case, the state admitted that the trial did not commence until 61 days after her arrest (excluding a few days because of a waiver of the right to a speedy trial).  The defendant claimed that the 61 days exceeded the statutory 45 day limit and requested dismissal of the case.  The state argued that its delay was reasonable, because the arresting officer suffered a heart attack and was unable to testify at an earlier scheduled trial date.  The Court of Appeals agreed, and affirmed the district court's conviction.

State v. Ford - firearm specification provision upheld in sentencing

Typically, Ohio law prohibits a defendant from being sentenced for two crimes if the underlying conduct is the same for both crimes and if the crimes were committed for a single purpose.  In other words, the law protects us from being sentenced for two crimes as a result of one act.  The issue presented before the Supreme Court of Ohio, in State v. Ford, was whether a defendant may be sentenced for an unlawful discharge of a firearm (in or at a residence) and for possession of a gun while committing that felony.  The trial court convicted the defendant of both offenses, and sentenced him to three years in jail for each offense - for a combined sentence of six years.  The Supreme Court affirmed and held that sentencing the defendant for each offense did not violate R.C. 2941.25.  To reach that conclusion, the Court found that the defendant was only sentenced for the unlawful discharge charge, and that the possession of the gun while committing the felony permitted an additional 3 years to be added to the sentence.  While it is a counterintuitive decision, it does follow the letter of the law and has a strong logical basis.  What do you think about it?

This blog will follow criminal law developments in Ohio.  We will reference recent court decisions, as well as popular news articles related to criminal law.  We hope that you find this blog helpful.