State v. McConnaughey

Citations

• 2021 Ohio 3320

Syllabus

SEPARATION OF WITNESSES – PRIOR CONSISTENT STATEMENTS – APPELLATE REVIEW/CRIMINAL – INVITED ERROR - MENACING – ALLOCUTION: The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion for separation of witnesses and allowing the two victims to remain in the courtroom where the victims had the right to be present under Marsy's Law and R.C. 2930.09 and where defendant failed to demonstrate that the exclusion of the victims was necessary to protect his right to a fair trial. The trial court did not err in admitting video recordings from the police officers' body cameras as prior consistent statements of the victims under Evid.R. 801(D)(1)(b) where defendant's trial strategy was to show that the victims had changed their stories over time and were embellishing their testimony, and sufficient impeachment occurred to amount to a charge of recent fabrication. Defendant's conviction for aggravated menacing was not against the manifest weight of the evidence when the victim's testimony showed that she had a subjective belief of fear of serious physical harm. Defendant's conviction for menacing was not against the manifest weight of the evidence when the victim's testimony showed that he had a subjective belief of fear of physical harm. The defendant was not denied his right to allocution where the trial court's failure to afford him the opportunity to make a statement on his own behalf was invited error because defense counsel specifically stated that she had advised her client not to speak.