Judge, Ohio Court of Appeals
State v. Valdez
Ohio Court of Appeals · 2017-01-23 · cited 4×
The case involved Jose Valdez, Jr.'s appeal of his convictions for cocaine and heroin trafficking arising from controlled buys conducted by a confidential informant at his home in 2015. Valdez challenged the denial of his motion to suppress evidence from the warrantless, recorded buys, the trial court's handling of the state's discovery violations, and the sufficiency and weight of the evidence supporting his convictions and penalty enhancements. The Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions in part and the denial of suppression, holding that the informant’s consent eliminated any Fourth Amendment issue and that other claims lacked merit. It reversed in part and remanded, however, because the state presented insufficient evidence to prove the weight of pure cocaine (rather than the total mixture) needed for the first-degree felony enhancement under the statute as interpreted in State v. Gonzales. The court noted that the statute must be strictly construed against the state on this point.
criminal lawprocedure
State v. Thiel
Ohio Court of Appeals · 2017-01-23 · cited 6×
State v. Thiel involved defendant Scott Thiel’s conviction for complicity to commit felonious assault arising from a 2014 bar fight in which he allegedly held the victim in a chokehold while a codefendant punched him. Thiel appealed, claiming the trial court wrongly excluded a hearsay statement by the codefendant, sustained objections that impaired his self-defense claim, gave incomplete jury instructions on complicity and self-defense, rendered a verdict against the weight of the evidence, denied a new-trial motion, and imposed restitution without a hearing. The Third District Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and most rulings, finding the evidence sufficient, the instructions adequate, and the evidentiary decisions within the trial court’s discretion, but reversed the restitution order. It held that because Thiel disputed the $21,519.37 amount at sentencing, R.C. 2929.18(A)(1) required the trial court to hold a restitution hearing before imposing that obligation, and remanded for that purpose.
criminal law
In re C.B.
Ohio Court of Appeals · 2016-04-18
In re C.B. involved a juvenile court proceeding in which C.B., adjudicated delinquent in 2010 and placed on probation, faced repeated violations, including a 2015 incident in which he argued with his mother and squirted ketchup on her. After C.B. admitted the violations, the trial court continued probation with conditions, imposed a stayed commitment to foster care, and later granted the county Department of Job and Family Services’ motion to lift that stay following further noncompliance and safety concerns. The Court of Appeals of Ohio, Third Appellate District, affirmed the order placing C.B. in temporary foster care. It reasoned that the record showed ongoing behavioral problems, prior services and interventions had failed, safety risks existed for both C.B. and his mother, and C.B. had improved when previously placed in foster care.
criminal lawfamily law
State v. Sutherly
Ohio Court of Appeals · 2016-04-18
The case involved Cody Sutherly’s appeal of his jury-trial conviction in Lima Municipal Court for public indecency, for which he received a 180-day jail sentence (90 suspended) and a fine. The Court of Appeals reversed the conviction and sentence. It held that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to vacate its earlier dismissal of the case, which had occurred after the State failed to serve Sutherly with the summons. The appellate court determined that the officer’s erroneous return of the unserved summons did not qualify as a clerical error under Crim.R. 36 that would permit the trial court to reopen the matter sua sponte, so the dismissal remained a final judgment rendering all later proceedings void.
criminal lawprocedure
Crapnell v. Dir., Ohio Dept. Job & Family Servs.
Ohio Court of Appeals · 2016-03-21
The case concerned whether Larry Crapnell was eligible for unemployment benefits after the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services denied his November 2014 application for lacking the required minimum of 20 qualifying weeks of employment in his base or alternate base period under R.C. 4141.01(R). ODJFS and the Unemployment Compensation Review Commission determined, based on payroll records and Crapnell’s testimony at a hearing, that he had only 11 weeks in Q3 2013, 1 week in Q4 2013, 0 weeks in Q1 2014, 7 weeks in Q2 2014, and 8 weeks in Q3 2014. The Logan County Common Pleas Court reversed the Commission, concluding it was reasonable to infer an additional week from Crapnell’s earnings. The Third District Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and remanded, holding that the trial court improperly considered a new, unsupported factual claim of an extra week that had not been presented to the Commission and that the Commission’s decision was not unlawful, unreasonable, or against the manifest weight of the evidence actually before it.
labor & employment
Thompson v. Oberlander's Tree & Landscape Ltd.
Ohio Court of Appeals · 2016-03-21 · cited 5×
In Thompson v. Oberlander's Tree & Landscape Ltd., an employee sued his landscaping company employer (and related parties) for intentional tort after suffering a hand injury from a chainsaw kickback, alleging the company deliberately failed to repair or replace a required safety hand guard on the tool; the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation intervened to recover benefits paid. The trial court granted summary judgment to the employer, finding insufficient evidence that it had deliberately removed the guard or intended to injure the plaintiff. The Third District Court of Appeals reversed as to the company and remanded, holding that the plaintiff had presented enough evidence—through coworker affidavits and his own testimony about complaints and the guard's ongoing absence despite prior repairs—to create a presumption of intent under R.C. 2745.01(C), which the employer's self-serving denial affidavits did not rebut.
labor & employmenttorts & liability