State v. Cooper

104 Ohio St. 3d 293
Ohio Supreme Court·Decided December 15, 2004·No. No. 2003-1637·Published·Cited by 40 cases

Opinion

O’Donnell, J.

[294] {¶ 1} The issue for resolution in this appeal arises from the peculiar facts of this case in which the trial court held and the court of appeals agreed that based on our decision in State v. Rance (1999), 85 Ohio St.3d 632, 710 N.E.2d 699, James A. Cooper’s separate convictions for involuntary manslaughter and for child endangering constituted allied offenses of similar import and that, therefore, he could only be sentenced on the greater offense. The state contends that the trial court erred and seeks clarification of Ranee and a reversal of the decision reached by the court of appeals.

{¶ 2} Here, we are called upon to revisit the allied-offense statute, R.C. 2941.25, and to clarify the law in the context of the facts of this case. After careful review, we have determined that the state presented evidence of two separate acts of child endangering — one involving slamming the infant’s head against an object, as a predicate offense to the act of involuntary manslaughter, in violation of R.C. 2903.04, and the other involving shaking the infant, in violation of R.C. 2919.22. The jury returned verdicts finding Cooper guilty of involuntary manslaughter, involving one offense of child endangering, and a separate and distinct act of child endangering. Therefore, as explained below, we conclude that these acts are not the “same conduct * * * constituting] two or more allied offenses of similar import” within the meaning of R.C. 2941.25(A) and, thus, do not involve analysis under State v. Rance.

{¶ 3} On February 22, 2001, Cooper telephoned for emergency assistance and reported that Jordan McElhatten, his 18-month-old stepson, had fallen down a flight of stairs at his home and was having difficulty breathing. When the ambulance crew arrived, they found only Cooper and Jordan in the home and transported both to the Galion Community Hospital.

{¶ 4} Upon assessment of Jordan’s injuries in the emergency room, the medical team life-flighted Jordan to the MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. There, Dr. Dennis Super, a pediatrician in the intensive-care unit, determined that Jordan had elevated intracranial pressure, or swelling of the brain. At trial, Dr. Super stated that Jordan had sustained one of the worst head injuries he had seen in his 18 years at that hospital and that the injuries were not, in his view, consistent with a fall down a padded flight of stairs. In his testimony, Dr. Super stated that the elevated intracranial pressure could have been caused by either a severe blow to the head or being shaken. Because of his suspicions, he consulted Dr. Thomas L. Steinemann, an ophthalmologist. Dr. Steinemann found “massive intraocular hemorrhage” in Jordan’s right eye and “multiple areas of retinal hemorrhages” in the left eye and concluded that his findings were consistent with shaken-baby syndrome, rather than a fall down a flight of stairs.

{¶ 5} In determining how to alleviate the swelling in Jordan’s brain, Dr. Judith Simon, a neuroradiologist, examined Jordan’s CT scans. She testified that [295] injuries as severe as Jordan’s were typically seen in victims of high speed automobile accidents or falls from great heights and would not be typical of a fall down a flight of stairs. The CT scans revealed that the entire right side of Jordan’s brain swelled, indicating that he had sustained a serious blow to the right side of his head. Dr. Roseanna Lechner, a neurosurgeon, completed several surgical procedures, including removal of part of Jordan’s skull to alleviate the pressure by giving the brain more room to swell.

{¶ 6} None of these efforts, however, proved successful, and as a result, doctors disconnected Jordan’s life support. Cuyahoga County Deputy Coroner William Bligh-Glover performed an autopsy, which revealed that Jordan had bruises all over his body, but particularly on his face and head, which the coroner determined had been inflicted at the same time as the brain injuries.

{¶ 7} The coroner further testified that Jordan “had injuries to all the layers of the organs in the head,” and he opined that Jordan’s head and brain injuries could be attributed to either vigorous shaking or slamming the child against a hard surface. The autopsy report stated that Jordan died by homicide and noted the cause of death as “[bjlunt impacts to [the] head with soft tissue and brain injuries.”

{¶ 8} Members of the Galion Police Department arrested Cooper, and the Crawford County Grand Jury returned a two-count indictment against him: the first for involuntary manslaughter with child endangering as the predicate felony offense and the second for child endangering in violation of R.C. 2919.22. The court conducted a jury trial, which resulted in convictions on both counts. Cooper argued that the two convictions constituted allied offenses of similar import under R.C. 2941.25. The trial court agreed and imposed sentence on only the conviction for involuntary manslaughter. Cooper appealed both convictions, and the state cross-appealed the trial court’s ruling regarding allied offenses.

{¶ 9} The appellate court affirmed Cooper’s convictions and, relying on State v. Ranee, 85 Ohio St.3d 632, 710 N.E.2d 699, upheld the trial court’s allied-offense ruling. The state now appeals from that determination, arguing that involuntary manslaughter and child endangering are not allied offenses of similar import.

{¶ 10} The cause is now before this court upon our acceptance of a discretionary appeal.

{¶ 11} In State v. Rance, we held that the prohibition against cumulative punishments contained in Blockburger v. United States (1932), 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306, does not apply where the General Assembly clearly intended to impose cumulative punishment. Ranee, at paragraph three of the syllabus. In determining legislative intent, we stated:

[296] {¶ 12} “We discern the General Assembly’s intent on this subject through review of Ohio’s multiple-count statute, R.C. 2941.25. If the court’s sentencing of Ranee accords with the multiple-count statute, that harmony with the legislative intent precludes an ‘unconstitutional’ label. See Albernaz [v. United States (1981) ], 450 U.S. [333] at 344, 101 S.Ct. [1137] at 1145, 67 L.Ed.2d [275] at 285; [State v.] Bickerstaff [1984], 10 Ohio St.3d [62] at 65-66, 10 OBR [352] at 355-356, 461 N.E.2d [892] at 895-896. This court has stated that Ohio’s multiple-count statute ‘is a clear indication of the General Assembly’s intent to permit cumulative sentencing for the commission of certain offenses.’ Id. at 66, 10 OBR at 356, 461 N.E.2d at 896, fn. 1.

{¶ 13} “[I]f a defendant commits offenses of similar import separately or with a separate animus, he may be punished for both pursuant to R.C. 2941.25(B). State v. Jones (1997), 78 Ohio St.3d 12, 13-14, 676 N.E.2d 80, 81.” Rance, 85 Ohio St.3d at 635-636, 710 N.E.2d 699.

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

State v. Cooper, 104 Ohio St. 3d 293 (Ohio 2004).

104 Ohio St. 3d 293 (State v. Cooper) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State v. Pendleton (Slip Opinion)
2020 Ohio 6833 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2020)
In Re A.G.
2016 Ohio 3306 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2016)
State v. S.S.
2014 Ohio 5352 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Phipps
2014 Ohio 2905 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Vargas
2014 Ohio 843 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Rivera
2014 Ohio 842 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Maffei
2013 Ohio 5787 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
State v. Washington
137 Ohio St. 3d 427 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2013)
State v. Rogers
2013 Ohio 3235 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
State v. Morrison
2013 Ohio 2182 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
State v. Lee
2010 Ohio 5672 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2010)
State v. Helms
2010 Ohio 4872 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2010)
State v. Robinson, 8-08-05 (9-29-2008)
2008 Ohio 4956 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2008)
State v. Hundzsa, 2008-P-0012 (9-26-2008)
2008 Ohio 4985 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2008)
State v. Carroll, Ca2007-02-030 (12-28-2007)
2007 Ohio 7075 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Basham, Ct2007-0010 (12-26-2007)
2007 Ohio 6995 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Ramos, 2007-G-2773 (12-21-2007)
2007 Ohio 6934 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Nickelson, Unpublished Decision (11-30-2007)
2007 Ohio 6367 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Smith, 4-07-01 (8-27-2007)
2007 Ohio 4371 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. McKitrick, 5-06-46 (8-20-2007)
2007 Ohio 4233 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)