State v. Hughes

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 1730

Syllabus

Sufficiency of the evidence; lay-opinion testimony; Evid.R. 701; character evidence; Evid.R. 404(A); character for truthfulness; Evid.R. 608(B); endangering children; felony murder. Hughes appeals convictions including endangering children and felony murder, asserting there was insufficient evidence that he pushed a wipe down his baby's throat, causing him to die by asphyxiation. The record contained sufficient evidence to support his convictions, including that Hughes was the only person present when the baby choked on the wipe, the medical-examiner's testimony that the baby did not have the developmental ability to force a wipe down his own throat, and videos in which the baby's arms hang or reach or flail without direction. The court did not err in allowing a doctor to testify without providing an expert report that she was concerned the baby could not have pushed the wipe down his own throat. This testimony was given to explain why she called the police and any opinion she provided was a permissible lay-opinion based on facts within her perception. The court did not commit plain error by allowing the State to question appellant about a variety of unrelated matters that were relevant to his character for truthfulness and to which he opened the door during his own testimony.