State v. Garn

91 N.E.3d 109, 2017 Ohio 2969
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Fifth District, Richland County
DecidedMay 19, 2017
DocketCase Nos. 16CA26; 16CA32
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 91 N.E.3d 109 (State v. Garn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Fifth District, Richland County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Garn, 91 N.E.3d 109, 2017 Ohio 2969 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2017).

Opinion

Hoffman, J.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant Michael Garn appeals his convictions entered by the Richland County Court of Common Pleas on numerous counts including: unauthorized use of LEADS, dereliction of duty, tampering with evidence, sexual battery and menacing by stalking. Plaintiff-appellee is the state of Ohio.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE.1 ,2

{¶ 2} At all times relevant, Appellant was employed as a police officer with the *112Mansfield Police Department. As part of his job responsibilities, Appellant was assigned to traffic enforcement detail, including the STEP detail (Selective Traffic Enforcement Program) as an overtime detail.

{¶ 3} Appellant was certified in the use of the Law Enforcement Automated Database System (LEADS), and completed recertification tests, scoring high percentages. Appellant testified at trial he ran LEADS searches routinely as part of his traffic enforcement duties. Appellant testified he understood LEADS could not be used for an unlawful purpose or for personal gain.

{¶ 4} On February 26, 2015, in Case No. 2015CR197, the Richland County Grand Jury indicted Appellant on 17 counts of LEADS violations, 14 counts of dereliction of duty, one count of burglary, one count of trespass, one count of attempted gross sexual imposition, one count of attempted sexual battery, one count of menacing, two counts of tampering with evidence, one count of sexual battery, and one count of public indecency. On July 10, 2015, the Richland County Grand Jury indicted Appellant on one count of menacing by stalking, in violation of R.C. 2903.211(A)(1), in case number 2015 CR 637. On July 24, 2015, the trial court joined 2015 CR 197 with the indictment in 2015 CR 637.3

{¶ 5} On March 25, 2016, Appellant moved the trial court to dismiss the LEADS violation charges as being unconstitutionally vague. The State filed a response to the motion. Via Judgment Entry of March 31, 2016, the trial court denied Appellant's motion to dismiss the LEADS violations.

{¶ 6} Following a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of 12 counts of unauthorized use of LEADS, in violation of R.C. 2913.04(C), a fifth degree felony (Counts 3, 5, 6, 9-17); 11 counts of dereliction of duty, in violation of R.C. 2921.44(E), a misdemeanor of the second degree (Counts 19, 22-29, 31); one count of tampering with evidence, in violation of R.C. 2921.12(A)(1), a third degree felony (Count 37); and one count of sexual battery, in violation of R.C. 2907.03(A)(1) (Count 39).4 Appellant was also convicted of one count of menacing by stalking, in violation of R.C. 2903.211(A)(1), in Case No. 2015 CR 637.

{¶ 7} The trial court entered sentence on April 20, 2016, imposing a twelve month prison term on Counts 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. The trial court found counts 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 31 merged with Appellant's sentence on other counts. The trial court imposed a thirty-six month prison term on count 37 (tampering with evidence), and a 60 month prison term on count 39 (sexual battery). The trial court ordered the sentences on counts 3, 15, 16, 37, 39 and the sentence imposed in case number 2015 CR 637 run consecutively, and the other remaining counts run concurrently. The trial court classified Appellant a Tier III sex offender for his conviction on a sexually oriented offense. Via separate Sentencing Entry in 2015 CR 637, the trial court sentenced Appellant to eighteen months in prison on *113the conviction for menacing by stalking, to run consecutive to Appellant's sentence in 2015 CR 197, for a total sentence of 12 ½ years in prison.5

{¶ 8} Appellant appeals, assigning as error:

I. APPELLANT'S CONVICTIONS FOR VIOLATION OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTOMATED DATABASE SYSTEM (LEADS) STATUTE AND FOR DERELICTION OF DUTY IN THAT REGARD VIOLATED HIS RIGHTS TO DUE PROCESS UNDER THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE I, SECTION 16 OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION, ON THE GROUNDS THAT THE STATUTE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
II. THE DEFENDANT'S CONVICTION FOR VIOLATION OF THE LEADS STATUTE IS BASED UPON INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE, AND AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE, IN VIOLATION OF DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS UNDER THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE I, SECTION 16 OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION.
III. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN EXCLUDING EVIDENCE OF KRYSTAL SAWYER'S PRISON DISCIPLINE RECORD REGARDING A FALSE ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY, TO THE PREJUDICE OF DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO CONFRONT WITNESSES AND TO PRESENT A DEFENSE UNDER THE SIXTH AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, AND ARTICLE I, SECTION 10 AND ARTICLE I, SECTION 16 OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION.
IV. THE DEFENDANT'S CONVICTION FOR TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE IS BASED UPON INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE, AND AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE, IN VIOLATION OF DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS UNDER THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE I, SECTION 16 OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION.
V. THE DEFENDANT'S CONVICTION FOR MENACING BY STALKING IS BASED UPON INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE, AND AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE, IN VIOLATION OF DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS UNDER THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE I, SECTION 16 OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION.

I.

{¶ 9} In the first assigned error, Appellant maintains his convictions for LEADS violations are unconstitutional as the statute is void for vagueness. Specifically, Appellant asserts the statute fails to provide notice of proscribed behavior, and the statute impermissibly allows the executive branch to determine what constitutes a violation of law.

{¶ 10} R.C. 2913.04 (C) and (D) read,

(C) No person shall knowingly gain access to, attempt to gain access to, cause access to be granted to, or disseminate *114information gained from access to the law enforcement automated database system created pursuant to section 5503.10 of the Revised Code without the consent of, or beyond the scope of the express or implied consent of, the chair of the law enforcement automated data system steering committee.
(D) No person shall knowingly gain access to, attempt to gain access to, cause access to be granted to, or disseminate information gained from access to the Ohio law enforcement gateway established and operated pursuant to division (C)(1) of section 109.57 of the Revised Code without the consent of, or beyond the scope of the express or implied consent of, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation.

{¶ 11} The trial court's March 31, 2016 Judgment Entry overruling Appellant's motion to dismiss states,

Notice in cases charged under this statute comes, not from the statute, but from work place manuals, policies and, to some extent, common sense. An employee should be on notice that committing crimes or engaging in conduct that has a negative impact on the company while using a work computer would be against the implied consent granted by his or her workplace.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
91 N.E.3d 109, 2017 Ohio 2969, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-garn-ohctapp5richlan-2017.