[Cite as State v. Fails, 2026-Ohio-1107.]
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT ALLEN COUNTY
STATE OF OHIO, CASE NO. 1-25-23
PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,
v.
JEFFERY W. FAILS, OPINION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
Appeal from Lima Municipal Court Trial Court No. 24CRB02160-A2
Judgment Affirmed
Date of Decision: March 30, 2026
APPEARANCES:
William T. Cramer for Appellant
Matthew A. Pheneger for Appellee Case No. 1-25-23
ZIMMERMAN, P.J.,
{¶1} Defendant-appellant, Jeffery W. Fails (“Fails”), appeals the April 21,
2025 judgment entry of conviction and sentencing of the Lima Municipal Court.
For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
{¶2} This case stems from a traffic stop of Fails initiated by Officer Amy
Glanemann (“Officer Glanemann”) of the Lima Police Department. During the
early morning hours of November 17, 2024, Officer Glanemann stopped Fails’s
vehicle after observing that the rear license plate light was not properly illuminated.
When Officer Glanemann approached the vehicle, Fails informed her that he did not
have a valid driver’s license. Officer Glanemann returned to her police cruiser to
issue a citation.
{¶3} Shortly thereafter, Officer Justin Wireman (“Officer Wireman”) and
Officer Jacob Cox (“Officer Cox”) of the Lima Police Department arrived on the
scene with a trained dog to conduct an open-air sniff of the stopped vehicle. During
the open-air sniff, Fails was seated in the driver’s seat, with a passenger in the front
seat and another in the back. The dog alerted to the presence of possible narcotics
on the passenger side of the vehicle. An investigation for illegal drugs ensued.
{¶4} Officer Cox instructed Fails to step out of the vehicle. After Officer
Cox conducted a pat-down search for weapons, Fails was led to the front bumper of
Officer Glanemann’s cruiser—which was parked directly behind the stopped
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vehicle. Fails was told to stay at the bumper of cruiser. Fails argued with the
officers about their investigation and used his phone to record the police encounter.
Officer Cox proceeded to the passenger side of the vehicle.
{¶5} As Officer Cox was removing the front-seat passenger from the stopped
vehicle, Officer Glanemann instructed Fails to stay at the bumper of the police
cruiser. Fails continued to argue with the officers about their investigation. At this
point, Officer Brandon Stephenson (“Officer Stephenson”) of the Lima Police
Department approached Fails, pointed to the police cruiser, and told him to stay at
the bumper. Despite being told multiple times to stay at the bumper of the cruiser,
Fails stepped away from the police cruiser and moved toward Officer Cox at the
passenger side of the stopped vehicle. As Fails was walking toward Officer Cox,
Officer Wireman yelled at Fails to move back to the bumper.
{¶6} Video footage from the dashboard camera of Officer Glanemann’s
cruiser shows Fails stepping away from the bumper and walking toward Officer
Cox. When Fails continued to take steps toward Officer Cox, Officer Stephenson
approached Fails from behind and grabbed his arms. Officer Glanemann then
ordered Fails to put his phone down. Officer Stephenson and Officer Glanemann
attempted to secure Fails in handcuffs, but Fails tensed his arms and pulled against
the officers.
{¶7} At this point, Officer Stephenson used a leg sweep to take Fails to the
ground. On the ground, Fails kept his left arm under his body and refused to put his
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hands behind his back. Both Officer Cox and Officer Wireman assisted in
restraining Fails to deescalate the situation. The officers forcibly pulled Fails’s left
arm from underneath him and placed both hands behind his back.
{¶8} During the struggle with Fails, the two passengers were outside of the
vehicle and yelling at the officers. Officer Wireman instructed the two passengers
to stay back. After the officers secured Fails in handcuffs, he was placed in the back
of Officer Glanemann’s cruiser. The officers were then able to complete their
investigation.
{¶9} On November 19, 2024, a complaint was filed in the trial court charging
Fails with obstructing official business in violation of R.C. 2921.31(A), and
resisting arrest in violation of R.C. 2921.33(A), both second-degree misdemeanors.
On November 27, 2024, Fails appeared for arraignment and entered pleas of not
guilty.
{¶10} On March 6, 2025, following a motion hearing, the trial court denied
Fails’s motion to suppress after finding that Officer Glanemann had probable cause
to initiate the traffic stop.
{¶11} The case proceeded to a two-day jury trial on April 17, 2025. On April
18, 2025, the jury found Fails guilty of obstructing official business and resisting
arrest. The trial court sentenced Fails to 90 days incarceration, with 75 days
suspended on the condition of a one-year term of probation.
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{¶12} Fails filed a notice of appeal on April 24, 2025, raising five
assignments of error for our review. For ease of discussion, we will address the
first, second, third, and fourth assignments of error together.
First Assignment of Error
Appellant’s rights to due process under the state and federal constitutions were violated by a conviction for obstruction of official business that was not supported by sufficient evidence.
Second Assignment of Error
Appellant’s conviction for obstruction of official business was not supported by the weight of the evidence.
Third Assignment of Error
Appellant’s due process rights under the state and federal constitutions were violated by a conviction for resisting arrest that was not supported by sufficient evidence.
Fourth Assignment of Error
Appellant’s conviction for resisting arrest was not supported by the weight of the evidence.
{¶13} In his first, second, third, and fourth assignments of error, Fails argues
that his obstructing-official-business and resisting-arrest convictions are based on
insufficient evidence and are against the manifest weight of the evidence.
Standard of Review
{¶14} Manifest “weight of the evidence and sufficiency of the evidence are
clearly different legal concepts.” State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 389
(1997). Thus, we address each legal concept separately.
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{¶15} “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.” State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio
St.3d 259 (1981), paragraph two of the syllabus, superseded by state constitutional
amendment on other grounds as stated in State v. Smith, 80 Ohio St.3d 89, 102
(1997), fn. 4. Accordingly, “[t]he 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.”
Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d at paragraph two of the syllabus. “In deciding if the evidence
was sufficient, we neither resolve evidentiary conflicts nor assess the credibility of
witnesses, as both are functions reserved for the trier of fact.” State v. Jones, 2013-
Ohio-4775, ¶ 33 (1st Dist.). See also State v. Berry, 2013-Ohio-2380, ¶ 19 (3d Dist.)
(“Sufficiency of the evidence is a test of adequacy rather than credibility or weight
of the evidence.”).
{¶16} In contrast, when determining whether a verdict is against the manifest
weight of the evidence, a reviewing court sits as a “thirteenth juror” and examines
the conflicting testimony. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d at 387. A reviewing court
must examine the entire record, “‘weigh[ ] the evidence and all reasonable
inferences, consider[ ] the credibility of witnesses and determine[ ] whether in
resolving conflicts in the evidence, the jury clearly lost its way and created such a
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manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction must be reversed and a new trial
ordered.’” Id., quoting State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172, 175 (1st Dist. 1983).
Nonetheless, a reviewing court must allow the trier of fact appropriate discretion on
matters relating to the weight of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses.
State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230, 231 (1967). When applying the
manifest-weight standard, “[o]nly in exceptional cases, where the evidence ‘weighs
heavily against the conviction,’ should an appellate court overturn the trial court’s
judgment.” State v. Haller, 2012-Ohio-5233, ¶ 9 (3d Dist.), quoting State v.
Hunter, 2011-Ohio-6524, ¶ 119.
Sufficiency-of-the-Evidence Analysis
{¶17} Fails was convicted of obstructing official business in violation of
R.C. 2921.31(A), which provides,
No person, without privilege to do so and with purpose to prevent, obstruct, or delay the performance by a public official of any authorized act within the public official’s official capacity, shall do any act that hampers or impedes a public official in the performance of the public official’s lawful duties.
{¶18} Fails was also convicted of resisting arrest in violation of R.C.
2921.33(A), which provides that “[n]o person, recklessly or by force, shall resist or
interfere with a lawful arrest of the person or another.”
{¶19} In his first assignment of error, Fails argues that his obstructing-
official-business conviction is not based on sufficient evidence because he “did not
take any affirmative actions to hamper or impede the officers.” (Appellant’s Brief
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at 11). Fails asserts that his “specific intention was merely to record the police
encounter, not to prevent the police from doing their job.” (Id. at 12). According
to Fails, his actions did not hamper or impede the officers because “not even a
minute elapsed between officers yelling at [him] and picking him up off the ground
after he is handcuffed, resulting in only a de minimis delay at worst.” (Id. at 14).
{¶20} To obtain a conviction for obstructing official business, the State must
provide evidence of five essential elements:
“(1) an act by the defendant; (2) done with the purpose to prevent, obstruct, or delay a public official; (3) that actually hampers or impedes a public official; ([4]) while the official is acting in the performance of a lawful duty; and (5) the defendant does so act without a privilege to do so.”
State v. Pierce, 2017-Ohio-4223, ¶ 11 (3d Dist.), quoting State v. Dice, 2005-Ohio-
2505, ¶ 19 (3d Dist.). On appeal, Fails only challenges the State’s evidence as to
the first three elements. Therefore, we will limit our analysis to the first three
elements.
{¶21} With respect to the first element, Fails argues that R.C. 2921.31(A)
requires that a defendant commit an affirmative act to be guilty of obstructing
official business. Fails contends that he did not engage in an affirmative act when
he stepped away from the front bumper of the police cruiser. Rather, “he simply
failed to immediately respond to the officers’ requests to stay at the bumper of the
cruiser.” (Appellant’s Brief at 11).
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{¶22} “‘Ohio courts have consistently held that in order to violate the
obstructing official business statute a defendant must engage in some affirmative or
overt act[.]’” Pierce at ¶ 12 (3d Dist.), quoting State v. Crowell, 2010-Ohio-4917,
¶ 11 (2d Dist.).
{¶23} Here, Officer Glanemann and Officer Stephenson both testified that
Fails was told multiple times to stay at the front bumper of the police cruiser.
Despite being instructed to stay at the front bumper, Fails stepped away from the
bumper and walked toward Officer Cox who was conducting his investigation at the
passenger side of the stopped vehicle.
{¶24} Video footage from the dashboard camera of Officer Glanemann’s
cruiser was introduced at trial and played for the jury. The video footage shows
that, despite being told at least three times to stay at the front bumper of the police
cruiser, Fails repeatedly stepped away from the bumper. The testimonial evidence
and corroborating video footage are sufficient to support the affirmative-act element
of the offense of obstructing official business.
{¶25} With respect to the second element, Fails argues that he did not act
with the purpose to obstruct the officers in their investigation. Fails contends that
“when [he] stepped off the cruiser bumper for a moment, it was just to get an angle
to record what was happening with the passengers.” (Appellant’s Brief at 12).
{¶26} A person acts “with purpose” within the meaning of R.C. 2921.31(A)
“when it is the person’s specific intention to cause a certain result, or, when the gist
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of the offense is a prohibition against conduct of a certain nature, regardless of what
the offender intends to accomplish thereby, it is the offender’s specific intention to
engage in conduct of that nature.” R.C. 2901.22(A).
{¶27} “‘“The purpose with which a person does an act is determined from
the manner in which it is done, the means used, and all other facts and circumstances
in evidence.”’” State v. Swaney, 2019-Ohio-3141, ¶ 11 (3d Dist.), quoting State v.
Puterbaugh, 142 Ohio App.3d 185, 189 (4th Dist. 2001), quoting State v. Hardin,
16 Ohio App.3d 243, 245 (10th Dist. 1984).
{¶28} In this case, Officer Glanemann testified that Fails had his phone in
his hand and was recording the encounter when he was told to stay at the front
bumper of the police cruiser. Officer Glanemann further testified that Fails was
arguing with the officers and was “upset that we have the dog there and that the dog
had ran around the vehicle.” (Apr. 17, 2025 Tr. at 106). Moreover, Officer
Stephenson testified that Fails’s demeanor “progressed and escalated” during the
pat-down search for weapons. (Id. at 145). When Fails was brought to the front of
the police cruiser, Officer Stephenson stated that Fails became “[v]ery animated,
aggressive it appeared, uncooperative.” (Id.).
{¶29} The video footage played for the jury depicts Fails’s agitation with the
officers and their investigation. Even though Fails contends that his purpose in
stepping away from the front bumper of the cruiser was to get a better angle to
record the passengers being removed from the vehicle, Fails’s affirmative act in
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continuing to walk toward Officer Cox resulted in all four officers having to restrain
him to deescalate the situation. The facts and circumstances in evidence, including
Fails’s aggressive demeanor and his failure to obey police orders, demonstrate that
Fails acted with purpose to prevent, obstruct, or delay the officers in performing
their investigation. See Swaney at ¶ 41 (concluding that sufficient evidence exists
from which a rational trier of fact could infer that the defendant purposely acted to
prevent, obstruct, or delay the officer from performing his official duties when the
defendant failed to heed the officer’s repeated requests to step aside and exhibited
argumentative and uncooperative behavior). Thus, the State presented sufficient
evidence to support the purpose element of the offense of obstructing official
business.
{¶30} As to the third element, Fails contends that his actions did not hamper
or impede the officers in their investigation. Fails argues that the entire incident
took less than a minute such that no “substantial stoppage” took place. (Appellant’s
Brief at 13).
{¶31} There is no “‘finite period of time [that] constitutes a “substantial
stoppage,” be the delay occasioned by the interference thirty seconds or two
minutes.’” State v. Wellman, 2007-Ohio-2953, ¶ 18 (1st Dist.), quoting State v.
Dunn, 1980 Ohio App. LEXIS 11877, *4 (1st Dist. Mar. 26, 1980). “If the record
demonstrates that the defendant’s act hampered or impeded the officer in the
performance of his duties, the evidence supports the conviction.” Wellman at ¶ 18.
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{¶32} At trial, Officer Stephenson testified that it took approximately one
minute for Fails to be taken to the ground and placed in handcuffs. Even though it
took the officers a short amount of time to restrain Fails, Officer Stephenson
explained that “it doesn’t take long to get rid of evidence or to produce a weapon
out of a vehicle, either.” (April 17, 2025 Tr. at 151). Officer Stephenson further
testified that Fails’s actions hindered the officers in their investigation because all
four officers were needed to restrain Fails. Fails’s actions also created a safety risk
for the officers since the two passengers were outside of the vehicle and neither had
been patted down for weapons. The testimonial evidence and corroborating video
footage are sufficient to support the hampering or impeding element of the offense
of obstructing official business.
{¶33} After reviewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the
prosecution, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found beyond a
reasonable doubt that Fails engaged in an affirmative act with the purpose to
prevent, obstruct, or delay the officers in their investigation, and that the officers
were actually hampered or impeded in their investigation. Thus, we conclude that
Fails’s obstructing-official-business conviction is supported by sufficient evidence.
{¶34} In his third assignment of error, Fails argues that his resisting-arrest
conviction is not supported by sufficient evidence since “there was no valid basis to
arrest [him] for obstruction.” (Appellant’s Brief at 15). In order to establish that
Fails resisted arrest, the State must demonstrate that Fails (1) recklessly or by force,
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(2) resisted or interfered (3) with a lawful arrest. State v. Harvey, 2020-Ohio-329,
¶ 39 (3d Dist.). Notably, Fails does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence as
to the first and second elements of the offense of resisting arrest. Fails only contests
the third element—that his arrest for obstructing official business was not lawful.
{¶35} “‘Under the plain language of R.C. 2921.33(A), the arrest must be
lawful in order to be convicted of the crime of resisting arrest.’” Harvey at ¶ 39,
quoting State v. Nye, 1997 Ohio App. LEXIS 5577, *5 (3d Dist. Dec. 12, 1997).
“‘An arrest is “lawful” if under the surrounding circumstances, the police officer
had a reasonable basis or probable cause to believe that an offense has been
committed.’” Harvey at ¶ 39, quoting Nye at *4.
{¶36} Fails asserts that “[b]ecause there was no reason to arrest [him] for
obstruction, there was no lawful arrest to form the basis for resisting arrest.”
(Appellant’s Brief at 15). To support this assertion, Fails summarizes the arguments
raised in his first assignment of error. However, we have already determined that
Fails’s obstructing-official-business conviction is supported by sufficient evidence.
{¶37} Here, the record demonstrates that, at the time the officers were
conducting their investigation, they had a reasonable basis or probable cause to
believe that Fails was obstructing official business. In particular, Fails repeatedly
stepped away from the front bumper of the police cruiser, despite being told multiple
times to stay at the bumper. Fails also exhibited argumentative and aggressive
behavior toward the officers and their investigation. Under these circumstances, the
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officers had reasonable cause to believe that Fails was committing the crime of
obstructing official business.
{¶38} Additionally, Fails resisted arrest by tensing his arms and pulling
against the officers. When he was taken to the ground, Fails kept his left arm under
his body and refused to put it behind his back. The officers had to forcibly pull
Fails’s left arm from underneath him and place his hands behind his back to
handcuff him.
{¶39} After reviewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the
prosecution, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found beyond a
reasonable doubt that the officers had legal grounds to arrest Fails for obstructing
official business—satisfying the element of a lawful arrest. Thus, Fails’s conviction
for resisting arrest is supported by sufficient evidence.
Manifest-Weight-of-the-Evidence Analysis
{¶40} In his second assignment of error, Fields argues that his obstructing-
official-business conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence because
the greater weight of the evidence shows that he “did not commit any affirmative
act”; he “did not act with a specific intent to hamper or impede the officers”; and
his “actions did not actually hamper or impede the officers by causing a substantial
stoppage in their work.” (Appellant’s Brief at 14).
{¶41} Fails testified in his own defense at trial. Fails testified that he
recorded the police encounter on his phone because he “wanted to document from
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start to finish what was going on.” (Apr. 18, 2025 Tr. at 262). When the front-seat
passenger was being removed from the vehicle, Fails stepped toward the passenger
side of the vehicle. Fails explained, “I wanted to make sure that my viewers could
get a good look and see exactly what was going on.” (Id. at 264). Fails stated that
it was not his intent to stop the officers in their investigation, “I simply just wanted
to document everything that was going on.” (Id. at 265).
{¶42} On cross-examination, Fails admitted that Officer Glanemann told him
to stay at the bumper of the police cruiser. Fails was shown a portion of the video
footage where Officer Stephenson can be seen patting Fails on the back and pointing
to the front bumper of the cruiser. When asked if Officer Stephenson also told him
to stay at the bumper, Fails responded, “He may have stated that, but like I said, in
the heat of the moment, I didn’t feel a tap. I didn’t see his arm point. All I heard
was stay at the bumper. I didn’t know if it was her bumper, my bumper. But she
said, stay at a bumper.” (Id. at 276).
{¶43} After reviewing the evidence, we conclude that the greater weight of
the evidence demonstrates that Fails committed an affirmative act when he
repeatedly stepped away from the front bumper of the police cruiser. Despite being
told several times to stay at the bumper, Fails walked toward the passenger side of
the vehicle where Officer Cox was conducting his investigation. Even though Fails
testified that he stepped away from the bumper to get a better angle to record the
passenger being removed from the vehicle, Fails’s conduct in stepping away from
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the front bumper and moving toward Officer Cox resulted in all four officers having
to restrain him. Fails’s actions hindered the officers in conducting their
investigation. Thus, we conclude that the greater weight of the evidence supports
Fails’s obstructing-official-business conviction.
{¶44} In his fourth assignment of error, Fails argues that his resisting-arrest
conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence because “there was no
reasonable basis to conclude that [he] committed obstruction.” (Appellant’s Brief
at 16). Fails does not challenge the State’s evidence that he resisted or interfered
with the arrest—only that his arrest for obstructing official business was not lawful.
Fails contends that “the jury lost its way in finding that [he] did anything with the
specific intention of hampering or impeding the officers” in their investigation.
(Id.).
{¶45} Based on our review of the record, we conclude the jury did not clearly
lose its way and create such a manifest miscarriage of justice that Fails’s resisting-
arrest conviction must be reversed. For the reasons previously discussed, we have
concluded that Fails’s obstructing-official-business conviction is supported by
sufficient evidence and is not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Similarly,
we conclude that his resisting-arrest conviction is not against the manifest weight of
the evidence.
{¶46} Accordingly, Fails’s first, second, third, and fourth assignments of
error are overruled.
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Fifth Assignment of Error
Appellant was deprived of his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel under the state and federal constitutions.
{¶47} In his fifth assignment of error, Fails argues that he received
ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Specifically, he contends that his trial counsel
was ineffective for failing to use a transcript of the motion hearing to cross-examine
Officer Glanemann at trial.1 According to Fails, the discrepancies between Officer
Glanemann’s testimony at the motion hearing and at trial “cut to the heart of
Glanemann’s basis for the traffic stop and bring her credibility into serious doubt.”
(Appellant’s Brief at 18).
{¶48} “‘In criminal proceedings, a defendant has the right to effective
assistance of counsel under both the United States and Ohio Constitutions.’” State
v. Sorrell, 2023-Ohio-2101, ¶ 49 (3d Dist.), quoting State v. Evick, 2020-Ohio-3072,
¶ 49 (12th Dist.). A defendant asserting a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel
must establish that (1) his counsel’s performance was deficient or unreasonable
under the circumstances, and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced the
defendant. State v. Kole, 92 Ohio St.3d 303, 306 (2001), citing Strickland v.
Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984). Reversal of a conviction or sentence based
on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel requires satisfying this two-pronged
1 A hearing on Fails’s motion to suppress was held on March 5, 2025.
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test, and the failure to make either showing is fatal to the claim. State v. Conway,
2006-Ohio-791, ¶ 165, 168.
{¶49} In order to show counsel’s performance was deficient or unreasonable,
the defendant must overcome the presumption that counsel provided competent
representation and that counsel’s actions were not trial strategies prompted by
reasonable professional judgment. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688-689. Counsel is
entitled to a strong presumption that all decisions fall within the wide range of
reasonable professional assistance. State v. Sallie, 81 Ohio St.3d 673, 675 (1998).
Tactical or strategic trial decisions, even if unsuccessful, do not generally constitute
ineffective assistance. State v. Carter, 72 Ohio St.3d 545, 558 (1995). Rather, the
error complained of must amount to a substantial violation of counsel’s essential
duties to his client. State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136, 141-142 (1989).
{¶50} “Prejudice results when ‘there is a reasonable probability that, but for
counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been
different.’” State v. Liles, 2014-Ohio-259, ¶ 48 (3d Dist.), quoting Bradley, 42 Ohio
St.3d at 142. “‘A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine
confidence in the outcome.’” Liles at ¶ 48, quoting Bradley at 142.
Analysis
{¶51} Fails claims that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because
his trial counsel failed to use the transcript of the motion hearing to cross-examine
Officer Glanemann at trial. Fails argues that “[c]ompetent defense counsel would
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have had a transcript ready for cross-examination and used it to pull apart
Glanemann’s story.” (Appellant’s Brief at 17).
{¶52} It is well established that “[t]he scope of cross-examination falls
within the ambit of trial strategy, and debatable trial tactics do not establish
ineffective assistance of counsel.” State v. Conway, 2006-Ohio-2815, ¶ 101. “[T]o
fairly assess counsel’s performance, ‘a court must indulge a strong presumption that
counsel’s conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional
assistance.’” Conway at ¶ 101, quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689.
{¶53} In this case, Fails’s trial counsel questioned Officer Glanemann on the
circumstances leading up to the traffic stop as follows:
Q. And I just had a couple other things. Kind of going back now, you had mentioned that when you went to or when you were driving, you saw the license plate light out and then went past, came back, saw the vehicle you had thought had stopped on Orena?
A. Correct.
Q. But you never saw any doors open or anything?
A. I did not see doors open.
Q. Now, do you remember testifying on the motion to suppress hearing in this case previously?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you remember if you testified then, that you did see a door open?
A. I don’t remember.
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Q. Okay. You’re not sure?
A. Yeah.
Q. But what you recall sitting here today, is that no doors opened on that vehicle?
A. Right.
(Apr. 17, 2025 Tr. at 139-140). Based on Officer Glanemann’s failure to recall her
prior testimony, trial counsel was able to cast doubt on her credibility during closing
argument to the jury. Thus, we conclude that Fails’s trial counsel’s decision to
cross-examine Officer Glanemann without the use of the transcript of the motion
hearing is trial strategy and does not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel.
{¶54} Accordingly, Fails’s fifth assignment of error is without merit.
{¶55} Having found no error prejudicial to the appellant herein in the
particulars assigned and argued, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
MILLER and WILLAMOWSKI, J.J., concur.
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JUDGMENT ENTRY
For the reasons stated in the opinion of this Court, the assignments of error
are overruled and it is the judgment and order of this Court that the judgment of the
trial court is affirmed with costs assessed to Appellant for which judgment is hereby
rendered. The cause is hereby remanded to the trial court for execution of the
judgment for costs.
It is further ordered that the Clerk of this Court certify a copy of this Court’s
judgment entry and opinion to the trial court as the mandate prescribed by App.R.
27; and serve a copy of this Court’s judgment entry and opinion on each party to the
proceedings and note the date of service in the docket. See App.R. 30.
William R. Zimmerman, Judge
Mark C. Miller, Judge
John R. Willamowski, Judge
DATED: /hls
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