State v. Jaroszyk

315 N.E.2d 516, 39 Ohio Misc. 19, 68 Ohio Op. 2d 182, 1973 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 170
CourtCarroll County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedFebruary 22, 1973
DocketNos. 2171 and 2176
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 315 N.E.2d 516 (State v. Jaroszyk) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Carroll County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Jaroszyk, 315 N.E.2d 516, 39 Ohio Misc. 19, 68 Ohio Op. 2d 182, 1973 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 170 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1973).

Opinion

Pekkihs, J.

On April 5,1971, the defendant was found guilty of the crime charged. An appeal was prosecuted to the Supreme Court of Ohio, which upheld the trial court. A motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence was filed October 27, 1972, pursuant to R. C. 2945.80.

The motion is accompanied by three affidavits and a polygraph test taken by the defendant, dated October 26, 1972.

The defendant moves for a new trial based upon the three affidavits and the polygraph report. The state opposes the motion.

First, the motion is filed more than 120 days after April 5, 1971. Therefore, the court is bound by that part of R. C. 2945.80, which reads as follows:

“If it is made to appear by clear and convincing proof that the defendant was unavoidably prevented from the discovery of the evidence upon which he must rely, such mo[20]*20tion shall be filed within three days from an order of the court finding’ he was unavoidably prevented from discovering the evidence within the one hundred twenty day period.”

The three affidavits have to do with prospective witnesses Vladimir Pellich, Stephen Hawryluk, and Marie Tomazewski. The court reviewed the testimony in the trial of the case and finds that all of the above named potential witnesses were known to the defendant and his counsel and their names were mentioned in other testimony. Therefore, as to the potential witnesses for whom the three affidavits were filed, the court is of the opinion that the defendant was not unavoidably prevented from the discovery of their evidence.

The polygraph test is dated October 26,1972, and so the court must make a judgment as to whether the defendant was unavoidably prevented from the discovery of this evidence within 1201 days after the date of the verdict.

The defendant’s counsel argues that at the time of the trial, in April 1971, the law of Ohio precluded the introduction of the results of polygraph tests. Therefore, he concludes, it would have been a vain act of the defendant to seek to introduce a polygraph test at that time. The defendant, through his counsel, claims further that as a result of two United States District Court cases, the results of a polygraph test can now be admitted. The court is vested with a large amount of discretion in the application of this statute. It also feels that statutes should be construed in their practical and not in their technical sense.

If the defendant at the time of trial had sought to introduce the results of the polygraph test to prove his innocence, the court would not have allowed the introduction because, in the court’s opinion, the law of Ohio does not permit such evidence. The defendant now claims that because of two United States District Court opinions such evidence is admissible. The court will discuss whether this is so or not, later. However, it would have been a vain attempt for the defendant to have tried to introduce the evidence at the time of trial.

[21]*21Therefore, the court is of the opinion that the defendant was unavoidably prevented from presenting the evidence — namely, the conclusion of O. B. Wilkinson as to the results of the polygraph test — within the 120 days period required by B. 0. 2945.80.

The exact question at issue here is as follows: What is the law of Ohio as to the admission of the polygraph test by the defendant to prove his innocence¶

Because of the importance of the question, the court requested of and received from the Ohio State Bar Association’s Automated Beseareh Corporation a complete printout of all the reported cases in Ohio in which a polygraph was involved. The printout contained 33 citations. Three were cases where the Supreme Court simply decided without an opinion that there was no debatable constitutional question. Twelve were civil cases and therefore not in point. Eighteen were criminal cases.

Of the eighteen criminal cases, only 4 were opinions of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

State v. Dobbins (1960), 171 Ohio St. 40, deals with a case where the state, in rebuttal, offered testimony concerning a lie detector test given to the defendant, and- the defense attacked such reference. The syllabus turned on another matter, but the court said, at page 43:

“The defendant has raised a question concerning the propriety of testimony given on behalf of the state in rebuttal concerning the giving of a lie detector * * * test to the defendant. We have read the record of this testimony resulting from a question raised by the defendant himself during the course of the trial, and we find nothing in it prejudicial to the defendant.”

So, this case does not deal with the question outlined here.

State, ex rel. Sheppard, v. Koblentz (1962), 174 Ohio St. 120 (the famous Sheppard case), was not a criminal ease, but one in mandamus, for an order requiring the Chief of the Division of Correction to allow Sheppard, already convicted and incarcerated, to take a polygraph test. The court stated, at page 122, the following:

[22]*22“There is no clear legal duty on the part of the Chief of the Division of Correction of the Department of Mental Hygiene and Correction to permit a prisoner to subject himself to hypnosis or a polygraph test in order to demonstrate his innocence of a crime for which he was convicted; and, the allowing of snch tests being strictly within the discretion of such officer, a writ of mandamus does not lie to compel such tests.”

The court decided in this case that the Chief of Correction had sole discretion in determining whether or not he would allow such a test.

State v. Holt (1969), 17 Ohio St. 2d 81, was a case in which a detective volunteered that the defendant had taken a lie detector test and had failed. The trial court immediately stopped the testimony and instructed the jury to disregard the remark. The Supreme Court held that the remark was not prejudicial — agreeing, apparently, that it was not admissible.

In McMullen v. Maxwell (1965), 3 Ohio St. 2d 160, the plaintiff sought a writ of habeas corpus because of a suppression of evidence by the state, at his trial. The results of a polygraph test, which he failed, were introduced at trial, but he had voluntarily agreed to take the test and this was not an issue in the case.

Therefore, it is clear to this court that the Supreme Court of Ohio has not directly ruled on the question raised here — the admissibility of polygraph test results offered by a defendant.

There were twelve cases in the Court of Appeals in the printout. In only two cases do we find some clear authority on the specific question raised by this case. The first is State v. Hegel (1964), 9 Ohio App. 2d 12. The syllabus reads as follows:

“The admission of testimony pertaining to a defendant’s refusal to submit to a polygraph test constitutes 'prejudicial error.’’'’ (Emphasis added.)

At page 13, the court stated:

“It is universally recognized that results of lie detector tests are not admissible in evidence by either a defend[23]*23ant or the prosecution for the purposes of establishing the innocence or guilt of the accused. 23 A. L. R. 2d page 1308.”

In the Hegel

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Related

Commonwealth v. Patterson
341 N.E.2d 287 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1976)
State v. Jaroszyk
315 N.E.2d 521 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
315 N.E.2d 516, 39 Ohio Misc. 19, 68 Ohio Op. 2d 182, 1973 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jaroszyk-ohctcomplcarrol-1973.