State v. Johnson

Citations

• 2020 Ohio 2940

Syllabus

Murder motion for mistrial abuse of discretion Crim.R. 16 discovery violation willful sanction prejudice lesser included involuntary manslaughter manifest weight of the evidence. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Johnson's motion for a new trial where the record shows the prosecution's failure to provide a copy of a disc containing video from one of the camera angles was not willful, the court provided the defense additional time to review the newly discovered video, the court excluded the video containing the raw footage that the defense had not previously received, and the defense always had in its possession the portions of the video surrounding the time of the homicide. The trial court properly denied Johnson's request to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of involuntary manslaughter where there was no evidence of a drug deal gone awry, that a drug transaction had occurred, or that a drug transaction was the proximate cause of victim's death, and the evidence presented at trial did not reasonably support an acquittal on the murder charge. Johnson's convictions are supported by the manifest weight of the evidence.