State v. Mills

Citations

• 200 N.E.3d 716
• 2022 Ohio 4010

Syllabus

Sufficiency of the evidence dereliction of duty R.C. 2921.44(C)(2) R.C. 2921.44(C)(5) definition of \officer\ falsification R.C. 2921.13(A)(1) R.C. 2921.13(A)(3) prejudicial evidence Evid.R. 403(A) other acts evidence Evid.R. 404(B) abuse of discretion harmless error probative value Crim.R. 52 limiting instruction prejudicial error App.R. 12. There was sufficient evidence to support the misdemeanor convictions of appellant, who was Cuyahoga County's former regional director of corrections, for dereliction of duty and falsification. Appellant was an \officer\ under the dereliction-of-duty statute. Because the word \officer\ is not defined in the statute, we give the term its common, ordinary, and accepted meaning. Although appellant was appointed by the county executive, substantial evidence showed he held an office of trust, authority, or command. There was also sufficient evidence that appellant lied to county council during a council meeting when he said that he never blocked the hiring of nurses at the county jails. The trial court abused its discretion and committed prejudicial error warranting a new trial when it allowed into evidence substantial testimony regarding nine inmate deaths that occurred before, during, and after appellant's tenure as regional director of corrections. The probative value of the evidence was substantially outweighed by the unfair prejudice to appellant. The multiple, combined errors were not harmless. The errors had an impact on the verdict. The conduct of the state combined with evidentiary error to cause greater impact. There was no probative value to the admission of an image taken from a jail security camera of an inmate shortly before the inmate died. The minimal limiting instructions the trial court gave to the jury were insufficient to overcome the admission of inadmissible evidence of inmate deaths. Even if the remaining evidence established appellant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the blatant prejudice warrants a new tria