State v. Thomas

Citations

• 2018 Ohio 2841

Syllabus

Assault R.C. 2903.13(A) felony caretaker developmentally disabled hearsay Evid.R. 801(C) Evid.R. 802 exceptions Evid.R. 804(B)(5) unavailable incompetent Evid.R. 803(3) state of mind Evid.R. 803(2) excited utterance Confrontation Clause harmless error reasonable probability conviction. Appellant's conviction for assault of a developmentally disabled person was affirmed. Trial court's allowance of hearsay testimony and alleged Confrontation Clause violation concerning statements made by nontestifying physically and mentally impaired victim was determined to be harmless because there was no reasonable possibility that the improperly admitted evidence contributed to the conviction. The jurors heard other evidence of the assault, including testimony from an eyewitness who described the assault in detail and testimony from another witness, whom the appellant called, who testified appellant admitted to the assault. Photographs of the victim depicted an injury to his inner lip that was consistent with being slapped across the face.