Cleveland v. Wiggins

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 649

Syllabus

Municipal court; assault; bench trial; psychiatric referral; competency; right to trial by jury; misdemeanor offenses; petty offenses; aggregation theory; R.C. 1901.24; Crim.R. 2; Crim.R. 23; Crim.R. 29 motion; venue; 911 call; plain error; hearsay; Confrontation Clause; authentication; sufficiency; manifest weight; sentencing; misdemeanor sentencing; R.C. 2929.27(A); community control; anger-management classes; judicial bias; R.C. 2701.03; affidavit of disqualification; due process. Defendant's assault conviction and his misdemeanor sentence, which included a referral to anger-management classes as one of his community-control conditions, were both affirmed. Defendant was presumed competent to stand trial, and the record revealed no indicia of incompetence that would require a competency hearing. The trial court did not err in holding a bench trial because the case involved petty offenses, and defendant failed to file a written jury demand. Defendant's Crim.R. 29 motion based on venue was properly rejected because the victim's testimony indicated the incident occurred in the City of Cleveland. Defendant did not object to the admission of the 911 call recording, and there was no plain error in that respect. The 911 call was authenticated by the victim. The case was tried to the bench, and there was no indication that the trial court relied on inadmissible hearsay. Defendant's Confrontation Clause arguments with respect to the 911 call were unavailing because the victim/caller was subject to cross-examination and defendant did not suggest that any dispatcher statements were testimonial in nature. Defendant's assault conviction was supported by sufficient evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing defendant to community-control conditions that included anger-management classes, which the probation department had recommended. The referral to anger-management classes reasonably related to