State v. Jackson

565 N.E.2d 549, 57 Ohio St. 3d 29, 1991 Ohio LEXIS 25
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 9, 1991
DocketNo. 89-2128
StatusPublished
Cited by200 cases

This text of 565 N.E.2d 549 (State v. Jackson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Jackson, 565 N.E.2d 549, 57 Ohio St. 3d 29, 1991 Ohio LEXIS 25 (Ohio 1991).

Opinion

Moyer, C.J.

We have reviewed Jackson’s seventeen propositions of law, independently assessed the evidence relating to the death sentence, balanced the aggravating circumstance against possible mitigating factors, and evaluated the proportionality of the sentence to those imposed in similar cases. As a result, we affirm the convictions and sentence of death.

I

Exculpatory Evidence

In his first proposition of law, Jackson asserts the prosecution [33]*33violated his constitutional rights by failing to disclose crucial and material exculpatory evidence. The state argues that Jackson failed to prove suppression of material exculpatory evidence within the meaning of Brady v. Maryland (1963), 373 U.S. 83.

Just before the sentencing hearing, defense counsel discovered a twelve-year-old witness, Terrence Myrieckes, who testified at the hearing that he had stopped outside the laundromat around 11:15 or 11:30 a.m. on June 25. He looked in the laundromat’s window, noticed the cash register was not in its normal place, and saw Zak, alone, standing near the bathroom door. Myrieckes saw a man other than Jackson, carrying a white duffel bag over his shoulder, walk out of the laundromat and place the bag in an automobile trunk. Myrieckes, who played basketball with Jackson, had earlier talked with the police, but had not told them about the duffel bag.

During their extensive investigation, police assigned three detective teams and interviewed hundreds of witnesses. Hence, Jackson does not argue the prosecutor personally knew about Myrieckes or directly suppressed his evidence. However, Jackson argues Myrieckes’ testimony suggests someone other than Jackson committed the robbery. Jackson reasons that if the register was missing, this tends to prove that the robbery and murder were not connected.

In State v. Johnston (1988), 39 Ohio St. 3d 48, 529 N.E. 2d 898, we recognized that suppressing material evidence favorable to an accused violates due process regardless of the prosecutor’s good or bad faith. See Brady v. Maryland, supra.

State v. Johnston further held that:

“In determining whether the prosecution improperly suppressed evidence favorable to an accused, such evidence shall be deemed material only if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A ‘reasonable probability’ is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. * * *” Id. at paragraph five of the syllabus.

The Brady test, applied in State v. Johnston, supra, is stringent. “The mere possibility that an item of undisclosed information might have helped the defense, or might have affected the outcome of the trial, does not establish ‘materiality’ in the constitutional sense.” United States v. Agurs (1976), 427 U.S. 97, 109-110; see United States v. Bagley (1985), 473 U.S. 667.

Brady requires a “reasonable probability” of a different outcome with the exculpatory evidence, that is, an undermined confidence in the trial result obtained without the exculpatory evidence. United States v. Bagley, supra, at 682. The defense must prove a Brady violation and denial of due process. Talamante v. Romero (C.A.10, 1980), 620 F. 2d 784; Monroe v. Blackburn (C.A.5, 1979), 607 F. 2d 148. See, also, State v. Wickline (1990), 50 Ohio St. 3d 114, 117, 552 N.E. 2d 913, 917.

In this case, there is no “reasonable probability” that the trial result would have been different. Confidence in the fairness of the trial is not undermined by Myrieckes’ failure to testify in the guilt phase. The jury considered his testimony in sentencing, and it made no difference then. Myrieckes did see Zak alive after 11:00 a.m., but so did one of the laundromat patrons, who testified at trial. The fact that an unknown man left the laundromat, carrying a duffel bag, does not tend to prove he had a cash register in it. More crucially, standing outside and [34]*34looking into the laundromat, over the machines, and noticing if a cash register was missing would be very difficult, as the photographs and cross-examination proved.

Moreover, the evidence linked Jackson to both the robbery and the murder. Both the robbery and murder occurred within a short time. Jackson knew the register’s location and the amount of money missing, and he admitted his fingerprints would be on the register. The register keys had been taken from Zak’s body. Plastic bags in Jackson’s apartment matched one found with the register, and Jackson was seen a few days after the murder carrying a plastic bag towards the wooded area where police found the register. Also, Jackson admitted complicity in the robbery. Neither logic nor other evidence supports Jackson’s speculation that the robbery and murder were unrelated events or that Jackson may have killed Zak out of rage because Zak had not given him a refund two days earlier.

Additionally, the prosecution proved Jackson’s guilt of the robbery and murder by abundant evidence: fingerprints, handwriting analysis, and his own admissions as well as circumstantial evidence. The jury chose to reject Jackson’s testimony and that of three alibi witnesses; Myrieckes’ testimony would have made no difference. As the United States Supreme Court said in United States v. Agurs, supra, at 112-113:

“The proper standard of materiality must reflect our overriding concern with the justice of the finding of guilt. * * * This means that the omission must be evaluated in the context of the entire record. If there is no reasonable doubt about guilt whether or not the additional evidence is considered, there is no justification for a new trial. [Footnotes omitted.]”

II

Improper Interrogation

In his second proposition of law, Jackson argues that Police Captain Newkirk violated his Miranda rights and his right to counsel by questioning him after Jackson asked for an attorney. The state argues that even though a suspect has ended interrogation by requesting counsel, he may nonetheless reinitiate a police interview before counsel is provided.

On September 5, Detective Schafer advised Jackson of his Miranda rights, and Jackson said he wanted to think about it overnight before making a statement. On September 6, Schafer again advised Jackson of his rights. Jackson waived his rights and wrote out a statement. Then Jackson changed his mind, scratched his signature off the waiver, and said, “I better talk to a lawyer first.” Schafer stopped questioning Jackson and returned him to his cell. Captain Newkirk was not present during this interview.

On September 7, Newkirk was working, but Detective Schafer was not. Around 5:00 p.m., right before quitting time on Labor Day, Newkirk received a jailer’s message that Jackson wanted to see him. Newkirk did not know that Jackson had asked for an attorney the day before. Newkirk then talked with Jackson and advised him of his rights.

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

Related

State v. Hudson
2025 Ohio 4969 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
State v. Ellis
2025 Ohio 4675 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
State v. Jones
2025 Ohio 2337 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
State v. Huffman
2024 Ohio 889 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2024)
State v. Santana
2023 Ohio 3405 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Carpenter
2023 Ohio 2523 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Todd
2023 Ohio 2139 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Sanders
2023 Ohio 2092 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Carr
2020 Ohio 1523 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Ropp
2020 Ohio 824 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Riffle
2019 Ohio 3271 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Riggins
2019 Ohio 3254 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Spurgeon
2019 Ohio 2951 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Blevins
2016 Ohio 2937 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2016)
State v. Gray
2016 Ohio 1419 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2016)
State v. Wood
2016 Ohio 143 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2016)
Toledo v. Zapata
2015 Ohio 3946 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2015)
State v. Ward
2014 Ohio 4579 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Blair
2014 Ohio 1279 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Beavers
2012 Ohio 6222 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
565 N.E.2d 549, 57 Ohio St. 3d 29, 1991 Ohio LEXIS 25, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jackson-ohio-1991.