Daily Case Update Archive

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April 6, 2007

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

TOPICS:
- Search & Seizure - Miranda - Weapons - ORC 2941.25
- Sentencing
- Certificate of Appealability
- National Labor Relations Act
- Federal Employers Liability Act - Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
 

Ohio Supreme Court

 

No Opinions.
 

First District Court of Appeals

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State v. Render (April 6, 2007) (2007-Ohio-1606)
-  http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/newpdf/1/2007/2007-ohio-1606.pdf
-  An officer does not engage in an investigatory stop, for purposes of the Fourth Amendment, when he approaches an individual to ask for identification; although such a consensual encounter can escalate to an investigatory stop when an individual runs from police in an area known for criminal activity, if the individual does not obey commands to stop, no seizure has occurred since a seizure requires either physical force or submission to the assertion of authority. When, at a suppression hearing, an officer testifies that Miranda rights have been explained to and waived by an individual, but that individual testifies to the contrary, the court must make a purely factual determination, and in its role as the trier of fact, it is entitled to accept the officer's testimony and to rule in the state's favor. A charge of having a weapon while under a disability pursuant to R.C. 2923.13(A)(2) due to a prior conviction for a felony of violence and a charge of having a weapon in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(3) for a past drug offense do not involve allied offenses of similar import:  One offense can be committed without also committing the other.  [But, see, DISSENT:  When only one gun is involved, and its possession is illegal for two reasons, it is absurd to conclude that the defendant has not committed allied offenses of similar import.]
 

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

 

Nields v. Bradshaw (April 6, 2007) (Appeal from S.D. Ohio)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/07a0127p-06.pdf
-  In 1997, an Ohio jury convicted Richard Nields of aggravated murder with prior calculation and design, aggravated felony murder, and aggravated robbery. At the conclusion of the penalty phase, the state trial court imposed the jury's recommended sentence of death. Nields appealed, but both the Ohio Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court found his claims to be without merit. Subsequently, Nields filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court that raised 30 alleged constitutional errors in the state-court proceedings. Adopting the Report and Recommendation of the designated magistrate judge in its entirety, the district court both denied the petition and declined to certify any of Nields's claims for appeal. This court, however, granted Nields a Certificate of Appealability (COA) as to five of his claims. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court. Judgment AFFIRMED.
 
Fielden v. CSX Trans (April 6, 2007) (Appeal from S.D. Ohio)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/07a0129p-06.pdf
-  This appeal concerns the scope of the expert report requirement of Rule 26(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In particular, the issue is whether a plaintiff pursuing a claim under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq., must file an expert report before the plaintiff's treating physician can testify as to the cause of the plaintiff's carpal tunnel syndrome. In this case, Jesse Fielden did not file a timely expert report from his treating physician about the cause of Fielden's carpal tunnel syndrome. The district court held that Rule 26(a)(2)(B) required the filing of the expert report and refused to consider the treating physician's testimony that Fielden's use of a "plate jack" while working at CSX Transportation caused Fielden's carpal tunnel syndrome. Without the treating physician's testimony, there was no expert evidence that CSX Transportation caused Fielden's injury, and the district court therefore granted summary judgment for the defendant. Because Rule 26(a)(2)(B) did not require the filing of an expert report in this case, we reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment.
 

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

 

USA v. Nance  (April 6, 2007) (Appeal from W.D. Tenn.)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/07a0126p-06.pdf
-  Defendant-appellant Richard Nance was convicted by a jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). The district court determined that Nance was an armed career criminal and sentenced him to 235 months, which was at the bottom of the advisory guidelines range. Nance appeals his conviction and sentence. For the following reasons, we affirm the district court's judgment.
 
NLRB v. Local 334  (April 6, 2007) (Appeal from National Labor Relations Board Agency)
-  http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/07a0128p-06.pdf
-  The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board") seeks enforcement of an order that directs Local 334, Laborers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO, ("Local 334") and Kvaerner Songer, Inc., ("Kvaerner") to cease and desist unfair labor practices and interference with employees' rights under the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), 29 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. Local 334 and Kvaerner cross-petition for review of the NLRB's order. For the following reasons, we deny Local 334's and Kvaerner's petitions for review and enforce the NLRB's order.
 

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