State v. Thomas

Citations

• 208 N.E.3d 125
• 2023 Ohio 302

Syllabus

Sufficiency manifest weight Crim.R. 16 discovery violation hearsay excited utterance aggravated murder aggravated burglary felonious assault having weapons while under disability Reagan Tokes Law ineffective assistance of counsel. Defendant's convictions were supported by sufficient evidence and were not against the manifest weight of the evidence where the victim testified that she saw the defendant shoot and kill the victim while trespassing in her apartment. The state's delayed disclosure of the defendant's incriminating statements to a witness did not constitute a willful discovery violation in violation of Crim.R. 16 where the witnessed disclosed the evidence to the prosecutor during the trial. The indefinite sentence imposed on defendant pursuant to the Reagan Tokes Law was constitutional. Defendant could not establish a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel due to counsel's failure to object to imposition of the sentence under the Reagan Tokes Law because he could challenge the sentence in a postconviction proceeding if the Reagan Tokes Law is declared unconstitutional and therefore, he was not prejudiced by the failure to object.