McClain v. State

Citations

• 171 N.E.3d 1228
• 2021 Ohio 1423

Syllabus

JURY TRIAL – R.C. 2743.48 – WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT: R.C. 2743.48 does not provide a statutory right to a jury trial for the initial determination of innocence by the common pleas court in an action filed under R.C. 2743.48(B)(1). Because a wrongful-imprisonment action under R.C. 2743.48 is a special proceeding that did not exist at common law, R.C. 2311.04 does not provide a right to a jury trial for such an action. The application of R.C. 2721.10 is limited to actions brought under R.C. Chapter 2721 and does not provide a right to a jury trial in a wrongful-imprisonment action under R.C. 2743.48. Article I, Section 5 of the Ohio Constitution does not preserve a right to a jury trial for a wrongful-imprisonment action filed against the state because the action did not exist at common law. [But see DISSENT: A wrongful-imprisonment claim under R.C. 2743.48 functions as a modern, statutory extension of the common-law tort of false imprisonment, and this is enough to satisfy Ohio's \type of claim\ standard for a jury trial right further, R.C. 2743.48 recognizes a cause of action to recover money damages, a classic form of legal relief that justifies a jury trial.]