State v. Marshall

2021 Ohio 816
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 17, 2021
DocketC-190748, C-190758
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 2021 Ohio 816 (State v. Marshall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Marshall, 2021 Ohio 816 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Marshall, 2021-Ohio-816.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO

STATE OF OHIO, : APPEAL NOS. C-190748 C-190758 Plaintiff-Appellee, : TRIAL NO. B-1806939C

vs. :

ANTHONY MARSHALL : O P I N I O N.

Defendant-Appellant. :

Criminal Appeals From: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Judgment Appealed From Is: Affirmed in Part, Reversed in Part, and Cause Remanded in C-190748; Appeal Dismissed in C- 190758

Date of Judgment Entry on Appeal: March 17, 2021

Joseph T. Deters, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, and Alex Scott Havlin, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Plaintiff-Appellee,

Timothy J. McKenna, for Defendant-Appellant. OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

CROUSE, Judge.

{¶1} Defendant-appellant Anthony Marshall was convicted of nine counts

related to possession of and trafficking in various drugs and having a weapon while

under a disability. On December 20, 2019, Marshall’s counsel filed a notice of appeal

in the case numbered C-190748. On December 31, 2019, Marshall, acting pro se, filed

a notice of appeal in the case numbered C-190758. Both appeals arose from

Marshall’s convictions for the offenses described above in the trial court case

numbered B-1806939C. Therefore, the appeal numbered C-190758 is dismissed.

{¶2} In the appeal numbered C-190748, Marshall presents six assignments

of error for our review. He contends: (1) the state failed to disclose evidence in a

timely manner, depriving him of his due-process rights under the United States

Constitution and Ohio Constitution; (2) the court erred in denying his motion for a

mistrial; (3) he was denied the effective assistance of trial counsel; (4) his convictions

were based upon insufficient evidence; (5) his convictions were against the manifest

weight of the evidence; and (6) the record does not support the sentences imposed by

the court.

{¶3} We sustain the sixth assignment of error as it relates to the imposition

of consecutive sentences and remand for a new sentencing hearing on that issue

alone. All other assignments of error are overruled, and the remainder of the trial

court’s judgment is affirmed.

Factual Background

{¶4} Sergeant Pitchford, the supervisor of a team of law enforcement agents

with the Regional Narcotics Unit (“RENU”), testified that RENU obtained a search

2 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

warrant for a home on the west side of Cincinnati after receiving complaints from

neighbors about drug-trafficking activities. He and other RENU agents surveilled

the home and observed a vehicle, later discovered to belong to Marshall, pull into the

home’s garage. Pitchford ordered the agents to execute the search warrant. Upon

entering the house they observed two women sitting at the kitchen table with drugs.

The women informed the agents that Marshall was downstairs.

{¶5} Agent Kassem testified that he was the first to enter the basement,

where he observed Marshall walking away from one of the back rooms. He arrested

Marshall and then observed several little baggies of drugs approximately ten feet

away, lying on the basement floor, and near one of the back rooms. The agents

searched Marshall and discovered a cell phone and $900 in cash. They searched

Marshall’s car and discovered a firearm hidden in the door jamb between the driver’s

seat and the rear seat and a second cell phone.

{¶6} Agents Kassem and Davis testified that Marshall orally waived his

Miranda rights and agreed to be interviewed. They chose not to record the interview.

Kassem and Davis testified that Marshall admitted the drugs and the firearm were

his.

First and Second Assignments of Error

{¶7} We address the first and second assignments of error together. In his

first assignment of error, Marshall argues that the state failed to disclose evidence in

a timely manner, depriving him of his due-process rights under the Fifth, Sixth,

Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I

of the Ohio Constitution. In his second assignment of error, he argues that the trial

court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial.

3 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

{¶8} Two exhibits and the failure to record the interview form the basis of

Marshall’s argument. The state did not provide the defense with Agent Davis’s

interview notes (exhibit seven) until 11:00 a.m. on September 24, with voir dire

beginning that afternoon. At the top of the interview notes, it was written that the

interview began at “11:08,” which was crossed out and replaced with “11:26.” The

Miranda rights waiver form (exhibit six) stated that Marshall was advised of his

Miranda rights at 11:23. Marshall did not sign the rights waiver form. Kassem and

Davis testified that Marshall orally waived his Miranda rights, but did not want to

sign the form and create a “paper trail” that might allow people to find out that he

was talking to the police.

{¶9} Defense counsel did not notice the time discrepancy on the interview

notes until September 25, after opening statements and the state had already begun

its case-in-chief. On the morning of September 26, counsel moved for a continuance

so that he could file a motion to suppress Marshall’s incriminating statements, or, in

the alternative, a mistrial. Counsel argued that if the agents had interviewed

Marshall prior to advising him of his Miranda rights, then any incriminating

statements should be excluded. The problem was, Agent Kassem had already

testified to some of Marshall’s incriminating statements.

{¶10} The court found that a motion to suppress would be inappropriate at

that point, because Marshall’s incriminating statements had already been presented,

and denied the motion for a continuance. The court also denied the motion for a

mistrial. It stated that defense counsel would have the ability to question Davis on

the time discrepancy between exhibits six and seven and object to their admission.

Ultimately, the court admitted both exhibits without objection.

4 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

{¶11} Regarding the decision to not record the interview, Agent Fangman

testified that the purpose of the interview was not to gather evidence against

Marshall, but to gather evidence about others in Marshall’s criminal organization.

He explained that the interview went unrecorded for Marshall’s safety since he was a

potential informant and the agents did not want to create a recording that could later

end up in the hands of anyone he informed on.

{¶12} First, Marshall contends that the state’s failure to timely provide the

interview notes violated the Brady rule, which requires the prosecution to disclose

exculpatory evidence to the defense. See Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83

S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963) (“[T]he suppression by the prosecution of evidence

favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is

material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of

the prosecution.”). But, there can be no Brady violation when the exculpatory

information was provided to the defense before or even during the trial. State v.

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Bluebook (online)
2021 Ohio 816, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-marshall-ohioctapp-2021.