State v. Escobar

Citations

• 2021 Ohio 4001

Syllabus

COUNSEL – INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE – JURY DEMAND – RIGHT TO COUNSEL – JUDICIAL BIAS – MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE – THEFT: Defense counsel was not ineffective for failing to file a jury demand on a petty offense where defendant could not demonstrate that the result of the bench trial would have been different had defense counsel filed a jury demand. The trial court did not deprive defendant of the right to counsel where the trial court required defense counsel to conduct the trial instead of the legal intern. The trial court's comments toward defense counsel did not exhibit judicial bias where the record reflects that the trial court's rulings were based on the trial testimony and not bias or prejudice. Defendant's convictions for theft were not against the manifest weight of the evidence where the trial court determined that the testimony of the witnesses was credible.