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.