State v. Clark

2015 Ohio 2978
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 27, 2015
Docket14AP0002
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 2015 Ohio 2978 (State v. Clark) 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. Clark, 2015 Ohio 2978 (Ohio Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Clark, 2015-Ohio-2978.]

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

STATE OF OHIO C.A. No. 14AP0002

Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE MARK CLARK WAYNE COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT COUNTY OF WAYNE, OHIO Appellant CASE No. CRB-13-07-01183

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: July 27, 2015

MOORE, Judge.

{¶1} Defendant, Mark Clark, appeals from the judgment of the Wayne County

Municipal Court. We affirm.

I.

{¶2} In July of 2013, Officer Christopher Grabowski of the City of Wooster Police

Department responded to Freedlander Park in Wooster, Ohio, where Mr. Clark was reported to

have engaged in a physical altercation with his fifteen-year-old daughter, A.C. Officer

Grabowski spoke to A.C. and witnesses, and the officer noted a red mark on A.C.’s chest that

was consistent with being struck. As a result of the witnesses’ statements and the mark on

A.C.’s chest, Mr. Clark was charged with domestic violence in violation of R.C. 2919.25(A),

which provides that “[n]o person shall knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to a

family or household member.” 2

{¶3} Mr. Clark pleaded not guilty to the charge, and the case proceeded to a jury trial.

The jury found Mr. Clark guilty, and the trial court imposed sentence in an entry dated January

14, 2014. Mr. Clark timely appealed from the sentencing entry, and he now raises one

assignment of error for our review.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

THE JURY’S FINDING OF GUILT WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE AND WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.

{¶4} In his sole assignment of error, Mr. Clark argues that his conviction was not

supported by sufficient evidence and was against the manifest weight of the evidence. We

disagree.

{¶5} Initially, we note that R.C. 2919.25(A) does not prevent “a parent from properly

disciplining his or her child.” State v. Suchomski, 58 Ohio St.3d 74, 75 (1991). There is a split

of authority pertaining to whether the State must disprove proper parental discipline as an

element of domestic violence, or whether the exercise of proper parental discipline is an

affirmative defense to domestic violence. See State v. Rosa, 7th Dist. Mahoning No. 12 MA 60,

2013-Ohio-5867, ¶ 26, fns.1 and 2 (identifying the First, Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Districts as

treating parental discipline as an element of the offense, and the Second, Third, Fifth, Tenth,

Eleventh, and Twelfth Districts as treating parental discipline as an affirmative defense). If it is

an element of the offense, on which the State bears the burden of proof, then it is properly

reviewed in a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, but if it is an affirmative defense, on

which the defendant bears the burden of proof, it is not properly reviewed in the context of the

sufficiency of the evidence. See R.C. 2901.05(A) (prosecution bears the burden of proof, beyond 3

a reasonable doubt, for all elements of the offense, and defendant bears the burden of proof, by a

preponderance of the evidence, for an affirmative defense) and State v. Hancock, 108 Ohio St.3d

57, 2006-Ohio-160, ¶ 37 (affirmative defenses are not properly argued in a challenge to the

sufficiency of the evidence).

{¶6} Although this Court has addressed the issue of parental discipline in the context of

domestic violence and assault, it does not appear that we have been squarely presented with an

argument on the issue of the burden of proof. State v. Barker, 9th Dist. Lorain No.

04CA008439, 2004-Ohio-4329, ¶ 18 (noting that the jury was instructed as to the “affirmative

defense of corporal punishment”); see also Lorain v. Prudoff, 9th Dist. Lorain No. 93CA005684,

1994 WL 709667, *3-*4 (Dec. 21, 1994) (noting in analysis of the sufficiency of the evidence

that, assuming nonparent defendant was permitted to use proper and reasonable discipline on the

victim, the testimony at trial was sufficient to demonstrate that defendant exceeded proper and

reasonable parental discipline.)

{¶7} Here, the parties and the trial court treated reasonable and proper parental

discipline as an affirmative defense to the domestic violence charge, and the jury was instructed

accordingly. On appeal, because Mr. Clark has not challenged the determination that reasonable

and proper parental discipline is an affirmative defense, we decline to pass upon it. See In re

Hiltabidel, 9th Dist. Summit No. 21009, 2002-Ohio-3627, ¶ 58 (“An appellant bears the burden

of affirmatively demonstrating error on appeal”). Instead, we will confine our discussion of

parental discipline to our analysis of the manifest weight of the evidence, where we will address

it as an affirmative defense as the trial court did without challenge below or on appeal.

Sufficiency of the Evidence 4

{¶8} The issue of whether a conviction is supported by sufficient evidence is a

question of law, which we review de novo. State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 386 (1997).

When considering a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, the court must determine

whether the prosecution has met its burden of production. Id. at 390 (Cook, J. concurring). In

making this determination, an appellate court must view the evidence in the light most favorable

to the prosecution:

An appellate court’s function when reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction is to examine the evidence admitted at trial to determine whether such evidence, if believed, would convince the average mind of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The relevant inquiry is whether, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991), paragraph two of the syllabus.

{¶9} As part of the State’s case-in-chief, it presented the testimony of A.C. A.C.

maintained that she was, at the time of hearing, fifteen years old. She explained that, on the date

at issue, she was living with her grandmother, and Mr. Clark came to pick her up with her two

brothers. She got into Mr. Clark’s car, and they drove around before heading to Freedlander’s

pool. In the car, A.C. and Mr. Clark were arguing about A.C.’s living arrangements, because

A.C. did not want to live with Mr. Clark and his girlfriend. When they got to the park, Mr. Clark

parked the car, and told A.C.’s two brothers to get out of the car and walk around. While he and

A.C. were still in the car, Mr. Clark smacked her with the back of his hand on her chest, and that

scared her because he had never hit her like that before. She got out of the car and ran up a hill,

until she had to stop because she was out of breath. Mr. Clark then came up behind A.C. and

grabbed her hair. A.C. described the harshness of the hair pull as a ten on a scale of one to ten.

She explained that she had never been hurt like that before, and it felt like someone was ripping 5

out her hair. He then started pulling her, and A.C. was screaming for help. One of her brothers

then told Mr. Clark to let go, which he did, and A.C. left with some lifeguards that had come to

help her.

{¶10} A.C.’s testimony, when viewed in the light most favorable to the State, was

sufficient evidence to establish that Mr. Clark caused or attempted to cause physical harm to a

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

Related

State v. Stevens
2023 Ohio 2153 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Rivera
2023 Ohio 1788 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Walter
2022 Ohio 1982 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)
State v. Yates
2020 Ohio 6991 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Wrasman
2020 Ohio 6887 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
In re T.A.
2020 Ohio 3613 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Thomas
2020 Ohio 3538 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Andrews
2020 Ohio 2703 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Horn-Epling
2020 Ohio 1478 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Koudelka
2020 Ohio 1199 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Piatt
2020 Ohio 1177 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Simmons
2020 Ohio 614 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Boggs
2020 Ohio 616 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Birch
2020 Ohio 90 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Tyler
2019 Ohio 4661 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Conkle
2019 Ohio 4242 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. McCormick
2019 Ohio 2204 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Cherry
2019 Ohio 208 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Hunter
2018 Ohio 4249 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Heater
2018 Ohio 4250 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2015 Ohio 2978, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-clark-ohioctapp-2015.