State v. Harding

Citations

• 225 N.E.3d 1202
• 2023 Ohio 3508

Syllabus

Appellant's convictions for failure to confine a dog and abandoning an animal were supported by sufficient evidence and were not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The State, however, failed to present evidence establishing an element of the offense of failure to register a dog accordingly, appellant's conviction for that offense was not supported by sufficient evidence. Appellant's claim that certain testimony should not have been permitted at trial because it was inadmissible hearsay and violated the best evidence rule does not involve a substantial right and thus amounts to harmless error. Appellant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim fails because appellant cannot establish that she was prejudiced by her counsel's alleged deficient representation. Judgment affirmed as to the convictions for failure to confine a dog and abandoning an animal and vacated as to the conviction for failure to register a dog.