State v. Burnette

2022 Ohio 1103
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 31, 2022
Docket20AP0036
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2022 Ohio 1103 (State v. Burnette) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Burnette, 2022 Ohio 1103 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Burnette, 2022-Ohio-1103.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF WAYNE )

STATE OF OHIO C.A. No. 20AP0036

Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE SCOTT BURNETTE WAYNE COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT COUNTY OF WAYNE, OHIO Appellant CASE No. 2020 CR-B 000270

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: March 31, 2022

CALLAHAN, Judge.

{¶1} Defendant-Appellant, Scott Burnette, appeals from the judgment of the Wayne

County Municipal Court. This Court affirms.

I.

{¶2} Late one evening, police officers responded to an apartment Mr. Burnette shared

with his male partner, J.K., because J.K. had called 911. Officers separately interviewed the two

men and learned that an altercation had taken place in their shared bedroom. Both Mr. Burnette

and J.K. reported that J.K. had locked the bedroom door from the inside, Mr. Burnette had

demanded to be let in, and, when J.K. refused, Mr. Burnette had broken through the door. The

details of their accounts varied after that point, but there was no dispute that Mr. Burnette pulled

J.K. from the bed by his leg before holding him down on the bed and punching him in the face.

Mr. Burnette claimed that he held J.K. down on the bed because J.K. kicked him in the chest. He

further claimed that he punched J.K. in the face because J.K. bit down on his thumb and would not 2

let go. Meanwhile, J.K. claimed that he freed his leg without kicking Mr. Burnette and only bit

Mr. Burnette’s thumb because Mr. Burnette was pinning him to the bed and holding a closed fist

to his face in a threatening manner. After speaking with both men, the police determined Mr.

Burnette was the primary aggressor and arrested him.

{¶3} Mr. Burnette was charged with domestic violence, unlawful restraint, and

disorderly conduct. He initially pleaded guilty on all charges, but later withdrew his plea and

requested a jury trial. A jury found him guilty on all counts, and Mr. Burnette was sentenced to

fines and 90 days in jail. The trial court agreed to stay the execution of his sentence for purposes

of an appeal.

{¶4} Mr. Burnette now appeals from the trial court’s judgment and raises five

assignments of error for this Court’s review.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

THE EVIDENCE WAS INSUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT THE JURY VERDICT OF GUILTY.

{¶5} In his first assignment of error, Mr. Burnette argues that his convictions are based

on insufficient evidence. This Court disagrees.

{¶6} “Whether a conviction is supported by sufficient evidence is a question of law that

this Court reviews de novo.” State v. Williams, 9th Dist. Summit No. 24731, 2009-Ohio-6955, ¶

18, citing State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 386 (1997). The relevant inquiry is whether the

prosecution has met its burden of production by presenting sufficient evidence to sustain a

conviction. Thompkins at 390 (Cook, J., concurring). For purposes of a sufficiency analysis, this

Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Jackson v. Virginia, 443

U.S. 307, 319 (1979). We do not evaluate credibility, and we make all reasonable inferences in 3

favor of the State. State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259, 273 (1991). The evidence is sufficient if it

allows the trier of fact to reasonably conclude that the essential elements of the crime were proven

beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

{¶7} A person commits domestic violence if he “knowingly cause[s] or attempt[s] to

cause physical harm to a family or household member.” R.C. 2919.25(A). The crime of unlawful

restraint occurs when a person knowingly, and without privilege to do so, “restrain[s] another of

the other person’s liberty.” R.C. 2905.03(A). Finally, a person engages in disorderly conduct if

he “recklessly cause[s] inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm to another by * * * [e]ngaging in

fighting, in threatening harm to persons or property, or in violent or turbulent behavior[.]” R.C.

2917.11(A)(1).

{¶8} J.K. testified that, when these events transpired, he and Mr. Burnette were in a

relationship and living together. He testified that they had a verbal disagreement one evening,

after which he decided to go to bed. J.K. ultimately locked the bedroom door and refused to open

it when Mr. Burnette demanded that he do so. J.K. testified that Mr. Burnette repeatedly screamed

at him through the locked door before using his body to break through it. Mr. Burnette then

approached the bed, ripped the covers off J.K., and started shaking him while “saying nasty

things.” J.K. testified that he told Mr. Burnette to stop and tried to turn away, but Mr. Burnette

punched him in the back, grabbed his leg, and dragged him out of bed and onto the floor. J.K.

indicated that it was painful when he fell to the floor and felt like a rug burn. According to J.K.,

he shook his leg from Mr. Burnette’s grasp and climbed back into bed, but Mr. Burnette climbed

on top of him and held him down. He stated that they wrestled on the bed as he tried to free himself

from Mr. Burnette, who was continuing to scream at him. J.K. managed to break free, but Mr.

Burnette then grabbed him by the face and held him down again. J.K. testified that Mr. Burnette 4

made a fist with one hand and hovered his fist over J.K.’s face while screaming at him. At that

point, J.K. felt Mr. Burnette meant to strike him, so he bit Mr. Burnette’s thumb to try to break his

hold. J.K. testified that the bite caused Mr. Burnette to let him go, but Mr. Burnette then punched

him twice in the face. J.K. described how he suffered a bloody nose, lip swelling, bruises, and red

marks as a result of the incident. The police took pictures of his injuries, and the State introduced

those pictures at trial.

{¶9} Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier

of fact reasonably could have concluded that the State proved each element of Mr. Burnette’s

convictions beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d at 273. There was evidence that

Mr. Burnette caused physical harm to J.K, a household member, by pulling him from their shared

bed and repeatedly punching him. See R.C. 2919.25(A). There was evidence that Mr. Burnette

knowingly restrained J.K.’s liberty when he ignored J.K.’s protests and held him down on the bed.

See R.C. 2905.03(A). Finally, there was evidence that Mr. Burnette recklessly caused J.K. to

suffer inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm by engaging in fighting. See R.C. 2917.11(A)(1). Mr.

Burnette has not challenged any of the specific elements of his three offenses. His argument

consists strictly of a recitation of the sufficiency of the evidence standard and related case law.

Absent any further argument on his part, this Court declines to engage in a more exhaustive review

of his convictions. See App.R. 16(A)(7); Cardone v. Cardone, 9th Dist. Summit No. 18349, 1998

WL 224934, *8 (May 6, 1998). Mr. Burnette has not shown that his convictions are based on

insufficient evidence. Accordingly, his first assignment of error is overruled.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2

[MR. BURNETTE’S] CONVICTION WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE. 5

{¶10} In his second assignment of error, Mr. Burnette argues that his convictions are

against the manifest weight of the evidence. This Court disagrees.

{¶11} When considering whether a conviction is against the manifest weight of the

evidence, this Court must:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Fischer
2025 Ohio 2551 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
State v. Walls
2023 Ohio 3459 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Warner
2023 Ohio 1083 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Wilk
2023 Ohio 112 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. McManaway
2022 Ohio 2086 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2022 Ohio 1103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-burnette-ohioctapp-2022.