State v. Ross

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 3117

Syllabus

INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL – EVID.R. 404 - EVID.R. 609 - LIMITING INSTRUCTIONS – SPEEDY TRIAL – SELF-DEFENSE: Defendant was not denied the effective assistance of counsel where counsel failed to object to alleged improper character evidence and the use of prior convictions for impeachment because the use of that evidence was part of a trial strategy to be candid about his previous convictions and other bad acts to enhance his credibility to the jury on his self-defense claim. Defendant was not denied the effective assistance of counsel where counsel failed to request a limiting instruction regarding the limited purpose for which the jury could consider his prior convictions and bad acts because that failure was a matter of trial tactics and because an instruction would have been inconsistent with the defense's theory of the case. The trial court did not err in failing to sua sponte instruct the jury regarding the limited purpose for which the jury could consider character evidence where counsel did not request such an instruction as a matter of trial strategy. Defendant was not denied his right to a speedy trial on a new indictment for tampering with evidence because that charge was based on new and additional facts that the state did not know at the time of the original indictment. Defendant's conviction for murder was not against the manifest weight of the evidence where the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant did not have a bona fide belief of imminent danger, thereby negating his self-defense claim.