State v. Thacker

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 5835

Syllabus

WEAPONS UNDER DISABILITY — SECOND AMENDMENT – DRUG TRAFFICKING – JUVENILE DELINQUENCY ADJUDICATION: The trial court correctly dismissed weapon-under-disability counts under R.C. 2913.23(A)(3) in defendant's indictment as violative of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, because the State failed to present historical evidence of a founding-era tradition sufficient to justify permanently disarming an adult defendant based upon his prior juvenile delinquency adjudication for nonviolent conduct, complicity to trafficking in marijuana, which would have constituted a felony for an adult. [But see DISSENT: The trial court erred in dismissing two weapons-under-disability counts based upon a juvenile adjudication where defendant's as-applied constitutional challenge failed because he did not avail himself of statutory remedies to relieve his disability, and where conviction on the charges would not have violated the Second Amendment because the historical tradition of firearm regulation showed that juveniles were treated the same as adult felons or the mentally ill and could be banned from possessing a firearm.]