State v. McKinney

2013 Ohio 5394
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided December 10, 2013·No. 13AP-211·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

[Cite as State v. McKinney, 2013-Ohio-5394.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO

TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

State of Ohio, :

Plaintiff-Appellee, : No. 13AP-211 v. : (C.P.C. No. 11CR-6607)

Danny L. McKinney, : (REGULAR CALENDAR)

Defendant-Appellant. :

D E C I S I O N

Rendered on December 10, 2013

Ron O'Brien, Prosecuting Attorney, and Laura R. Swisher, for appellee.

R. William Meeks Co., LPA, and David H. Thomas, for appellant.

APPEAL from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas

O'GRADY, J.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Danny L. McKinney, appeals from a judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas convicting him of gross sexual imposition. For the following reasons, we affirm appellant's conviction. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY {¶ 2} On December 20, 2011, appellant was indicted on four counts of rape, in violation of R.C. 2907.02, one count of gross sexual imposition, in violation of R.C. 2907.05, and one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, in violation of R.C. 2907.31. The charges stemmed from events that purportedly happened when the victim, S.K., was five to six years old. No. 13AP-211 2

{¶ 3} The jury ultimately found appellant guilty of gross sexual imposition and not guilty of the remaining charges. The trial court sentenced him to four years in prison and notified appellant of his classification as a Tier II sex offender. II. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR {¶ 4} On appeal, appellant presents this court with three assignments of error for review. Assignment of Error No. 1: The trial court abused its discretion and erred in overruling Appellant's motion for mistrial and permitting the prosecuting witness to testify via closed circuit television in absence of a timely motion, thereby violating § 2945.481 of the Ohio Revised Code and Appellant's right to a fair trial, right to due process of law, and right to confront witnesses against him, as guaranteed by the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and comparable provisions of the Ohio Constitution.

Assignment of Error No. 2: The trial court abused its discretion and erred in overruling Appellant's motion in limine and hearsay objection to the video recording of [S.K.] being interviewed by Jennifer Westgate being shown to the jury, thereby violating the evidentiary rules on hearsay and Appellant's right to a fair trial, right to due process of law, and right to confront witnesses against him, as guaranteed by the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and comparable provisions of the Ohio Constitution.

Assignment of Error No. 3: The trial court abused its discretion and erred in suppressing impeachment evidence showing that the alleged victim had made prior false accusations of rape and thereby violated § 2907.02 of the Ohio Revised Code and Federal Rule of Evidence 608(B) and Appellant's right to a fair trial, right to confront witnesses against him, as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United Sates Constitution, and comparable provisions of the Ohio Constitution. No. 13AP-211 3

III. DISCUSSION {¶ 5} In his first assignment of error, appellant contends the trial court erred by permitting S.K. to testify via closed-circuit television in the absence of a timely motion, in violation of R.C. 2945.481, and by overruling his motion for a mistrial. We disagree. {¶ 6} Initially, appellant complains the prosecution failed to file a motion for S.K. to testify via closed-circuit television at least seven days prior to trial as required by R.C. 2945.481(C), and the prosecution failed to show good cause for the belated motion. Appellant also contends the trial court failed to inquire into the validity of the prosecution's excuse for the delay and make an explicit finding of good cause. Because appellant did not object on these grounds at the trial level, he has forfeited all but plain- error review. See Crim.R. 52(B). Under Crim.R. 52(B), "[p]lain errors or defects affecting substantial rights may be noticed although they were not brought to the attention of the court." For an error to be "plain" within the meaning of Crim.R. 52(B), it " 'must be an "obvious" defect in the trial proceedings.' " State v. Payne, 114 Ohio St.3d 502, 2007- Ohio-4642, ¶ 16, quoting State v. Barnes, 94 Ohio St.3d 21, 27 (2002). To affect the defendant's substantial rights, the error must have " 'affected the outcome of the trial.' " Id., quoting Barnes at 27. A reviewing court notices plain error " 'with the utmost caution, under exceptional circumstances and only to prevent a manifest miscarriage of justice.' " Barnes at 27, quoting State v. Long, 53 Ohio St.2d 91 (1978), paragraph three of the syllabus. "The burden of demonstrating plain error is on the party asserting it." Payne at ¶ 17. {¶ 7} R.C. 2945.481(C) provides: In any proceeding in the prosecution of any charge of a violation listed in division (A)(2) of this section * * * the prosecution may file a motion with the judge requesting the judge to order the testimony of the child victim to be taken in a room other than the room in which the proceeding is being conducted and be televised, by closed circuit equipment, into the room in which the proceeding is being conducted to be viewed by the jury, if applicable, the defendant, and any other persons who are not permitted in the room in which the testimony is to be taken but who would have been present during the testimony of the child victim had it been given in the room in which the proceeding is being conducted. Except for good cause shown, the prosecution shall file a motion No. 13AP-211 4

under this division at least seven days before the date of the proceeding.

{¶ 8} This proceeding involved the prosecution of charges listed in R.C. 2945.481(A)(2). The parties agree, and the record confirms, the prosecution did not file a motion for closed-circuit testimony at least seven days before trial. Instead, the prosecution made the motion at a hearing outside the jury's presence after S.K. expressed a desire to stop testifying during direct examination. The prosecution argued the state had good cause for the motion, explaining: I recognize that we did not file this motion within seven days of trial. This was not an issue that we had anticipated. We had met with [S.K.] multiple times prior to this. She's seen the courtroom. She had been in the courtroom. She was with us back in chambers or back in the conference room and there were no -- there was no way of knowing that this would be the reaction.

(Tr. 102-03.) {¶ 9} Appellant argues that the prosecution made "conflicting statements" that show "their violation of procedure was due to their own lack of foresight and preparation." (Appellant's brief, at 13.) We disagree with this characterization. The statements merely imply on the multiple occasions when the prosecution met with S.K. she exhibited no behavior that led the prosecution to believe she would have difficulty testifying in open court. {¶ 10} Appellant is correct the trial court did not conduct further inquiry into the "good cause" issue and did not explicitly enter a "good cause" finding on the record. The record contains a reasonable explanation for the belated motion, and we see no reason for the trial court to disbelieve or make further inquiry into that explanation, particularly when defense counsel did not.

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