State v. Edwards

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 641

Syllabus

Objection; abuse of discretion; Evid.R. 613; impeachment by self-contradiction; prior inconsistent statement; Evid.R. 404(B); prior bad acts; prosecutorial misconduct; closing argument; ask jury to make inferences upon evidence; prejudicial; plain error; prosecutor may comment on credibility; ineffective assistance of counsel; failure to raise Daubert challenge; expert scientific testimony; trial strategy; jury is presumed to follow instructions given by trial court; self-defense; separate verdict form; Crim.R. 29; motion for acquittal; sufficiency of the evidence; manifest weight of the evidence; cumulative effect of errors; firearm specifications; consecutive sentences; mandatory; discretionary; R.C. 2929.14. The trial court did not err in overruling the defense's objection to the State's characterization of the victim as a battered woman and allowing the State to use text messages between the victim and appellant for impeachment; these did not constitute prior bad acts evidence under Evid.R. 404(B). The trial court also did not err in telling potential jurors they would \become the government\ during the trial, or in declining to provide a separate verdict for the self-defense verdict. The court properly imposed consecutive prison sentences on all three firearm specifications. In addition, the prosecutor did not engage in misconduct in his questioning of appellant or closing argument, and appellant's trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise a Daubert challenge or declining to object to certain statements made by counsel for the State. Finally, the verdict was supported by sufficient evidence and not against the manifest weight of the evidence.