Daily Case Update Archive

As a service to our members, we monitor opinions issued from the Ohio Supreme Court, the Ohio State First District Court of Appeals, and the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.  You can read the latest summaries or archived summaries from 2005 , 2006 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010.

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March 23, 2005

Today's topics:  child support, criminal appellate procedure, death penalty, NLRB, paternity determination relief, prosecutiorial misconduct, sentencing minimum, sentencing phase

Ohio Supreme Court | Ohio First District | U.S. 6th Circuit - Ohio | U.S. 6th Circuit - Other States

Ohio Supreme Court

Ohio Consumer's Counsel v. Public Util. Comm'n of Ohio (March 23, 2005)
http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/newpdf/0/2005/2005-ohio-1023.pdf
Motion to dismiss Public Utilities Commission is granted without comment. Dissent notes that dismissal occurred because OCC failed to file a certificate of filing and a case-information statement.

First District Court of Appeals

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*** Judgment Entries ***

Boyd v. Sanders (March 23, 2005)
../../firstdistrict/2004/C-040121.pdf
Sanders was adjudicated the father in a child support action in 1978. In 1995, Sanders had a DNA test and was shown not to be the father. He moved to vacate the paternity determination, but the juvenile court denied the motion, which was affirmed on appeal, for being outside the time limit for an appeal. Sanders filed a second motion to vacate, after Ohio Rev. Code § 3119.961 became effective in 2000, allowing motion for relief in an action which paternity is determined. The juvenile court denied the motion, finding the statute unconstitutional and the motion was time-barred. Affirmed, based on res judicata.

State v. Anderson (March 23, 2005)
../../firstdistrict/2004/C-040304.pdf
Anderson appealed his conviction, arguing that he had ineffective counsel for failing to inform him that his plea would bar him from appealing the denial of his motion to suppress. Affirmed.

State v. Bell (March 23, 2005)
../../firstdistrict/2004/C-040488.pdf
Bell was convicted and sentenced to 7 years. He appealed and the sentence was reversed and vacated because the court had failed to inform him of his post-release control rights. He was again sentenced to 7 years. Affirmed.

State v. Bohannon (March 23, 2005)
../../firstdistrict/2004/C-040415.pdf
Bohannon was convicted, and lost appeals to the state Appeals and Supreme courts. He filed a motion for post-conviction relief after his petition for writ of habeas in Federal district court was stayed for failure to exhaust state remedies. The motion was denied by the trial court as time-barred. Affirmed.

State v. Hunter (March 23, 2005)
../../firstdistrict/2004/C-040119.pdf
Hunter was sentenced to the minimum term for her third-degree felony conviction on bribery, which had occurred while she was on community control for a prior conviction. Hunter appealed conviction, arguing that she should have be sentenced to a drug treatment program, not to jail and community control. Affirmed, because trial court's findings justified consecutive sentences and term of sentence.

State v. Norris (March 23, 2005)
../../firstdistrict/2004/C-040154.pdf
Police were tipped off that Norris, a 16 year old, had shot at a bus, wounding a passenger. Norris' father allowed police to enter the apartment and search Norris' room, where they found ammunition and shell casings. Norris confessed to the shooting, but moved to suppress the evidence. The motion was denied, with the trial court finding that police did not need reasonable cause, since the parent had voluntarily consented to the search. Norris pled no contest and appealed. Affirmed.

State v. Seay (March 23, 2005)
../../firstdistrict/2004/C-040260.pdf
Seay appealed his sentences for two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, which were within the range allowed. Affirmed, but sentences modified to minimums, because of State v. Montgomery (2005 Ohio 1018).

State v. Straughn (March 23, 2005)
../../firstdistrict/2004/C-040093.pdf
Trial court indicated 2 year sentence but, upon request for reconsideration by prosecution because Straughn's co-defendant received a 5 year sentence. The trial court, in its final order, increased Straughn's sentence to 4 years. Straughn appealed the sentence. Court of appeals found that the trial court's statements could be reconsidered, because they weren't final, and so trial court did not err; nor was the 4 year sentence beyond the statutory range; but in light of State v. Montgomery, sentence is reduced to 2 year (minimum) since Straughn has not previously served a prison term.

U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals:  Ohio Cases

Dayton Newspapers Inc. v. Nat' Labor Rel. Board (March 23, 2005) (Appeal from NLRB)
http://pacer.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/05a0143p-06.pdf
Union staged one day strike, and newspaper locked the union out and laid off some members. The Union offered to return to work but the lockout continued. The union filed a unfair labor practices charges with the NLRB. An administrative law judge found that the newspaper had violated the NLRA, finding coercion, direct dealing, for failing to provide the Union with enough information to end the lockout. Affirmed in part, but reversed findings that newspaper committed unfair labor practices with respect to the laid off union members, and the award of back pay.
 

U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals: Other States Cases

Bates v. Bell (March 23, 2005) (Appeal from E.D. Tenn.)
http://pacer.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/05a0144p-06.pdf
Bates was sentenced to death in state court and he sought habeas relief after exhausting state post-conviction proceedings. His petition was denied by the district court. Affirmed in part, but reversed and vacated the death sentence, because prosecutors engaged in prejudicial misconduct during the sentencing phase.

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