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.