In re H.R.

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 739

Syllabus

Mandatory bindover probable cause identification evidence that raises more than a mere suspicion of guilt. Judgment affirmed and remanded. The juvenile court's role in bindover proceedings is that of a gatekeeper because it is charged with evaluating whether sufficient credible evidence exists to warrant transfer to adult court. The state's burden in a bindover proceeding is to produce evidence that raises more than a mere suspicion of guilt. A juvenile court's probable cause determination in a bindover proceeding involves questions of both fact and law. An appellate court will defer to the juvenile court's determinations regarding witness credibility but will review de novo the legal conclusion whether the state presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed the acts charged. The juvenile court's determination that the state's evidence did not raise more than a mere suspicion of guilt is affirmed. The state failed to present sufficient credible evidence — probable cause — on the issue of identification to warrant transfer of the case from juvenile court to adult court. The investigating detective did not identify the juvenile from the video evidence the second person on the video (also unidentified) appeared to be looking for something on or about the victim's person the entire incident occurred in under 30 seconds at night the masked perpetrator attacked the victim from behind and immediately tackled him to the ground and there was no evidence that the juvenile had threatened the victim, or even knew where he lived.