State v. Jones

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 5896

Syllabus

ASSAULT — CRIM.R. 33 — MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL — INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE — MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE: The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's Crim.R. 33(A) motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence where the allegedly newly discovered evidence could have been discovered prior to trial with due diligence and did not disclose a strong probability that it would change the result if a new trial was granted. Where there was not a reasonable probability that the outcome of the proceedings would have been different but for defense counsel's failure to introduce evidence corroborating defendant's alibi, defendant did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel. Where the trial court was in the best position to judge the credibility of the witnesses, it was entitled to believe the testimony offered by the victim of the offense and to reject the conflicting testimony offered by defendant's witnesses as not credible, and the court did not lose its way and create a manifest miscarriage of justice in convicting defendant of assault.