State v. Hardy

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 5723

Syllabus

MURDER — SUFFICIENCY AND WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE — INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE — COUNSEL: Defendant's conviction for murder was supported by sufficient evidence and not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence where the evidence presented at trial established that an individual wearing camouflage clothing was walking near the scene of the shooting at the time that the shooting occurred, a pair of camouflage pants and a camouflage jacket were found in defendant's apartment, the camouflage jacket tested positive for gunshot residue, the murder weapon was found in defendant's safe, and defendant's DNA was recovered from the weapon and the camouflage jacket. Defense counsel were not ineffective for failing to move for a mistrial after a juror may have seen defendant in handcuffs where the record failed to definitively establish which juror was implicated and whether that juror, in fact, saw defendant in handcuffs, and where counsel weighed all potential options before electing not to question the jurors or move for a mistrial. Where the testimony that any expert may have offered was purely speculative, defense counsel were not ineffective for failing to engage an expert witness in crime scene reconstruction.