State v. Kareski

2013 Ohio 4008, 998 N.E.2d 410, 137 Ohio St. 3d 92
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 19, 2013
Docket2012-1242
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 2013 Ohio 4008 (State v. Kareski) 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. Kareski, 2013 Ohio 4008, 998 N.E.2d 410, 137 Ohio St. 3d 92 (Ohio 2013).

Opinions

Pfeifer, J.

{¶ 1} In this case, we address the implications of a trial court’s error in taking judicial notice of a fact when that error results in the reversal of a conviction. Specifically, we determine whether the fact that the court erroneously judicially noticed cán be considered as evidence by the appellate court in deciding whether sufficient evidence exists such that retrial is permissible under the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the Ohio and United States Constitutions. We hold that the fact that was judicially noticed in error in this case should not have been considered evidence as part of the appellate court’s sufficiency analysis.

Factual and Procedural Background

{¶ 2} A confidential informant and two Ohio Department of Public Safety (“ODPS”) agents walk into a bar. The bar, the Rubber City Grille, is in Akron, and defendant-appellant Matthew Kareski was bartending there on the evening of August 19, 2010. Mychael Kimbel, the confidential informant, was a 19-year-old employee of the ODPS.

{¶ 3} Kimbel approached the bar and asked Kareski for a Bud Light. Kareski told Kimbel the price, grabbed a bottle of Bud Light, opened it, and placed it before Kimbel. Kareski testified that he then noticed that Kimbel’s hands did not have the stamp showing that he had provided proof of his age at the door. He told Kimbel that he could not give him the beer until he showed proper age identification. At that moment, Kimbel pretended that a call was coming in on his cell phone. He passed the money to Kareski, said he would return with identification, and walked away from the bar without the beer.

[93]*93{¶ 4} Kareski was charged with violating R.C. 4301.69(A), which prohibits the sale of beer to an underage person. R.C. 4301.01(B)(2) contains the statutory-definition of beer, defining it as “all beverages brewed or fermented wholly or in part from malt products and containing one-half of one per cent or more, but not more than twelve per cent, of alcohol by volume.”

{¶ 5} ODPS Agent Keenan Reese had watched the transaction and retrieved the opened Bud Light as evidence. He sent a sample of the contents of the bottle to a state lab to be analyzed, and a report was generated.

{¶ 6} At Kareski’s trial, however, the state had difficulty proving that what Kareski had sold to Kimbel was, in fact, beer as defined by statute. The particular bottle’s label itself did not disclose an alcohol content; a portion of the label was covered or obscured by the state’s evidence label, but it is unclear whether the bottle stated an alcohol content at all.

{¶ 7} Kareski objected to the admission of the lab report regarding the contents of the bottle on the basis that no foundational witness testified as to its contents and that the report was hearsay and not properly authenticated. The court took the matter under advisement, and after some research, concluded, “I don’t think the report comes in. I think that I can take judicial notice that beer is an intoxicating liquor.” After further discussion, the state asked, “Is the court taking judicial notice that Bud Lite [sic] is beer?” The judge responded, “I’ll do that, but it seems to me the argument is going to be was there any testimony about what percentage of alcohol it contained.” When the jury returned, the judge stated to the jury, “I will take judicial notice that Bud Light is in fact beer.” The state then rested its case.

{¶ 8} The jury found Kareski guilty of a violation of R.C. 4301.69. Kareski appealed, arguing that the trial court had erred in taking judicial notice that Bud Light is beer pursuant to R.C. 4301.01(B)(2), that is, that it is a malt product containing “one-half of one per cent or more, but not more than twelve per cent, of alcohol by volume.” The Ninth District Court of Appeals agreed and reversed the conviction. State v. Kareski, 9th Dist. Summit No. 25705, 2012-Ohio-2173, 2012 WL 1717976. The court held that the trial court should not have taken judicial notice of an element of the crime Kareski was charged with; further, it held that the court erred in taking judicial notice of a fact — the alcohol content by volume of Bud Light — that was not something that was “generally known.” Evid.R. 201(B). The state did not appeal that decision.

{¶ 9} The issue before us is whether, given the trial court’s error, the appellate court properly ordered a new trial. In particular, we must determine whether the fact that the trial court judicially noticed in error should have been considered as evidence in the appellate court’s determination of whether there was sufficient evidence against Kareski to allow a retrial. Citing this court’s holding [94]*94in State v. Brewer, 121 Ohio St.3d 202, 2009-Ohio-593, 903 N.E.2d 284, the court of appeals held that although the taking of judicial notice of an element of an offense was trial error, a reviewing court may consider the fact of which judicial notice was taken when determining the sufficiency of the evidence against the defendant. 2012-Ohio-2173, 2012 WL 1717976, ¶ 12-13. Using this approach, the court found that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the conviction and that therefore double jeopardy did not bar retrial.

{If 10} Kareski filed an application for reconsideration in the court of appeals, requesting that the appellate court apply this court’s decision in State v. Lovejoy, 79 Ohio St.3d 440, 683 N.E.2d 1112 (1997), a case involving a trial court’s error in taking judicial notice. Kareski argued that because the trial court took judicial notice of an element of the offense in error, the absence of any evidence on that element meant that retrial was barred by the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States Constitution and the Ohio Constitution. The appellate court denied Kareski’s motion for reconsideration.

{¶ 11} Kareski has appealed to this court, arguing that his case should not have been remanded to the trial court for retrial. He alleges that the appellate court erred in its determination of whether the state had offered sufficient evidence to convict him at trial. Specifically, he argues that the appellate court should not have included within its sufficiency consideration the information regarding the alcohol content of Bud Light that the trial court had judicially noticed in error.

{¶ 12} The cause is before this court upon the acceptance of a discretionary appeal. State v. Kareski 133 Ohio St.3d 1422, 2012-Ohio-4902, 976 N.E.2d 913.

Law and Analysis

{¶ 13} The issue before us is how an appellate court should treat a trial court’s judicial-notice error when analyzing the sufficiency of the evidence to determine whether the case should be remanded for retrial after reversal. Our analysis hinges on whether this case is a Brewer case or a Lovejoy case.

{¶ 14} The Double Jeopardy Clauses of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 10 of the Ohio Constitution protect criminal defendants against multiple prosecutions for the same offense. However, a retrial of a defendant after the reversal of a conviction does not necessarily constitute a double-jeopardy violation. In general, if the reversal is based on an error that occurred at trial, a retrial is appropriate. Lockhart v. Nelson, 488 U.S. 33, 38, 109 S.Ct. 285, 102 L.Ed.2d 265 (1988).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2013 Ohio 4008, 998 N.E.2d 410, 137 Ohio St. 3d 92, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kareski-ohio-2013.