State v. Brewer

549 N.E.2d 491, 48 Ohio St. 3d 50, 1990 Ohio LEXIS 21
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 10, 1990
DocketNo. 88-1852
StatusPublished
Cited by200 cases

This text of 549 N.E.2d 491 (State v. Brewer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Brewer, 549 N.E.2d 491, 48 Ohio St. 3d 50, 1990 Ohio LEXIS 21 (Ohio 1990).

Opinion

H. Brown, J.

R.C. 2929.05(A) requires us to undertake a three-stage review in capital cases. First, we must review the judgment and consider the claims of error as in all criminal cases. Second, we must independently weigh the evidence of aggravating and mitigating factors. Finally, we must decide whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the conviction and uphold the sentence of death.

I

Admission of Victim Impact Statement

In his first proposition, appellant [55]*55contends that the trial court improperly considered Joe Byrne’s letter in its sentencing decision, in violation of Booth v. Maryland (1987), 482 U.S. 496.1

We have previously considered this issue in State v. Post (1987), 32 Ohio St. 3d 380, 513 N.E. 2d 754, certiorari denied (1988), 484 U.S. 1079, 98 L. Ed. 2d 1023, 108 S. Ct. 1061. Booth concerned the admission of a victim impact statement in the sentencing proceedings of a capital jury trial. The Booth court held that the introduction of “emotionally charged” statements by the victim’s next of kin “* * * can serve no other purpose than to inflame the jury and divert it from deciding the case on the relevant evidence concerning the crime and the defendant. * * *” (Emphasis added.) Id. at 508. In Post, as in the case sub judice, the defendant was tried by a three-judge panel rather than a jury. Indulging in “* * * the usual presumption that in a bench trial in a criminal case the court considered only the relevant, material, and competent evidence in arriving at its judgment,” State v. White (1968), 15 Ohio St. 2d 146, 151, 44 O.O. 2d 132, 136, 239 N.E. 2d 65, 70, we held that “[a]bsent an indication that the panel was influenced by or considered the victim impact evidence in arriving at its sentencing decision, the admission of the victim impact statement * * * did not constitute prejudicial error.” Post, supra, at 384, 513 N.E. 2d at 759; see, also, State v. Sowell (1988), 39 Ohio St. 3d 322, 328, 530 N.E. 2d 1294, 1302, certiorari denied (1989), 490 U.S___ 104 L. Ed. 2d 200, 109 S. Ct. 1766. Appellant asserts that Booth makes no distinction between jury trials and bench trials, and thus our holding in Post should be overruled and the sentence of death vacated.

We do not agree. Ip Booth, the court expressed concerns that the presentation of victim impact evidence might “* * * distract the sentencing jury from its constitutionally required task [of] * * * determining whether the death penalty is appropriate * * Booth, supra, at 507, or “inflame the jury and divert it from deciding the case on the relevant evidence concerning the crime and the defendant.” Id. at 508. There is no mention of bench. trials. If the United States Supreme Court intended Booth to apply to bench trials, it would have said so.2

[56]*56Appellant also contends that, even under the test enunciated in Post, he was prejudiced by the introduction of Joe’s letter. We find no mention of the victim impact evidence in the trial court’s opinion, nor any indication that the three-judge panel relied on it in arriving at the sentence of death. Accordingly, we reject appellant’s first proposition of law.

Evidence of Forcible Sexual Acts

At trial, the prosecution introduced testimony from a police officer that appellant told them Sherry may not have been a willing sexual partner. The deputy coroner testified that Sherry’s body exhibited bruises which may have been caused by forcible thrusting of a man’s body on top of her. Appellant argues in his twelfth proposition of law that this was “evidence of another crime, rape, for which appellant was not indicted,” and that its introduction constituted a violation of his rights under the Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

Appellant advances a related claim in his fifth proposition, where he argues that the prosecutor injected rape as an unspecified aggravating circumstance into his cross-examination of Dr. Schramm. Our review of the transcript indicates that the cross-examination was directed at the factual basis for Dr. Schramm’s diagnosis, not at proving an unspecified charge of rape.

We find no indication that the trial court considered rape as an additional crime or as an aggravating circumstance. Moreover, no effort was made by the prosecution to demonstrate appellant’s bad character in violation of Evid. R. 404(B). The evidence in question was used by the prosecution to explain and refute the various versions offered by the appellant with regard to the specific crime for which he was charged.

Accordingly, we reject appellant’s fifth and twelfth propositions of law.

Weighing of Aggravating and Mitigating Factors

In his tenth proposition of law, appellant attacks the process of weighing aggravating and mitigating factors used by the courts below. He contends that the court of appeals failed to give proper weight to appellant’s lack of criminal history, good work record, and concern for the members of his family. He also claims that the court below improperly failed to consider his claim of mental illness, expressions of remorse, and potential for rehabilitation.

The United States Supreme Court consistently stresses the need for “ * * individualized consideration of mitigating factors * * *.’ ” Eddings v. Oklahoma (1982), 455 U.S. 104, 105, quoting Lockett v. Ohio (1978), 434 U.S. 586, 606. The court has expressly refused to dictate what weight or importance to assign to particular mitigating factors. Id. at 114-115, 117. The focus has always been “on the circumstances of the crime and the character of the individual defendant * * Proffitt v. Florida (1976), 428 U.S. 242, 251. See, also, Booth, supra, at 502; Zant v. Stephens (1983), 462 U.S. 862, 879.

Our review satisfies us that these mandates were met. The court of appeals’ opinion indicates that the court assigned no weight to Dr. Schramm’s diagnosis because it concluded that his testimony failed to establish the existence of a mental defect which impaired appellant’s ability to conform his conduct to law. Nothing in the Ohio statutes or the decisional law mandates that a court give weight to a mitigating factor which it finds is not present.

[57]*57The court’s refusal to consider appellant a “youthful offender” was also proper. Appellant was twenty-five years old, has attended college and, prior to this crime, was a successful member of the adult work force. Nothing suggests a lack of the maturity one would reasonably expect of an adult.

Accordingly, we find no error in the weighing process used by the court of appeals. Pursuant to R.C.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
549 N.E.2d 491, 48 Ohio St. 3d 50, 1990 Ohio LEXIS 21, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-brewer-ohio-1990.