State v. Morris

8 Ohio App. Unrep. 244
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 26, 1990
DocketCase No. CA-8088
StatusPublished

This text of 8 Ohio App. Unrep. 244 (State v. Morris) 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. Morris, 8 Ohio App. Unrep. 244 (Ohio Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

PUTMAN, P.J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction and sentence entered upon a jury verdict of guilty of involuntary manslaughter with a gun specification, a violation of R.C. 2903.04.

Defendant-appellant, Willie Preston Morris, Jr., (appellant) assigns the following as error:

"ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. I "THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY REFUSING TO INSTRUCT THE JURY ON THE LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE OF NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE, R.C. 2903.05.

"ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. II "THE TRIAL COURT ERRED AND ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY FAILING TO GRANT A MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL, MADE PURSUANT TO CRIMINAL RULE 33, BASED ON JUROR MISCONDUCT AND IRREGULARITIES IN DELIBERATIONS."

For the reasons stated below, appellant's first assignment of error is overruled and his second assignment of error is sustained.

On April 4, 1989, Jerry Card entered the Stage Door Lounge, a tavern located at 236 Market Avenue North, Canton, Ohio. Appellant was the manager of the Stage Door.

Card sat down at the bar and ordered a beer. Shortly after 9:00 p.m., appellant entered and sat down next to Card. The two men had known each other for about forty years. They proceeded to engage in friendly conversation that was periodically punctuated with loud or argumentative talk.

[245]*245At one point during their conversation, Card leaned over to talk to appellant. Appellant testified at trial that when Card leaned over, Card pulled a butterfly knife and said, "I got this for punks." T.(V) 647. Appellant's chair collapsed from the weight of Card leaning on appellant. Appellant then got another chair, resumed his conversation with Card, and the two men continued to drink.

The conversation between the two men periodically became loud. At one point, both men stood up and Card grabbed appellant in a bear hug around appellant's shoulders. Appellant pushed Card away. Card lost his balance and then stumbled forward toward appellant. Appellant testified that he thought he "saw a flash" and when Card kept coming at him, appellant pulled a gun from his waistband and fired one shot at Card's lower abdomen.

Card then folded his arms and walked out of the bar. He was later found on an outside ledge in front of the Credit Bureau Building on North Third Street. Card was taken to the hospital and died later that night from extensive bleeding caused by the bullet wound.

Appellant was arrested, indicted, and tried for involuntary manslaughter. Counsel for appellant requested an instruction on the lesser included offense of negligent homicide. The trial court refused to give the jury this instruction. The jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged and the trial court entered a judgment of conviction and sentence.

Appellant timely moved for a new trial pursuant to Crim. R. 33. The matter came on for oral hearing before the trial court, and appellant presented evidence of alleged juror misconduct and irregularities during deliberations. After hearing this evidence, the trial court overruled appellant's motion for a new trial.

We turn now to appellant's assignments of error.

I

Appellant argues by his first assignment of error that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of negligent homicide.

The Ohio Supreme Court has set forth a three-part test to determine when an offense may be a lesser included offense of another offense:

"An offense may be a lesser included offense of another if (i) the offense carries a lesser penalty than the other; (ii) the greater offense cannot, as statutorily defined, ever be committed without the lesser offense, as statutorily defined, also being committed; and (iii) some element of the greater offense is not required to prove the commission of the lesser offense." (State v. Kidder [1987] 32 Ohio St. 3d 279, 513 N.E.2d 311, modified.)

State v. Deem (1988), 40 Ohio St. 3d 205, 533 N.E.2d 294, paragraph three of the syllabus.

Additionally, a charge on the lesser included offense is required only where the evidence presented at trial would reasonably support both an acquittal on the crime charged and a conviction on the lesser included offense. State v. Thomas (1988), 40 Ohio St. 3d 213, paragraph two of.the syllabus.

The two offenses at issue are involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. R. C. 2903.04 defining involuntary manslaughter provides:

"(A) No person shall cause the death of another as a proximate result of the

offender's committing or attempting to commit a felony.

"(B) No person shall cause the death of another as a proximate result of the

offender's committing or attempting to commit a misdemeanor."

R.C. 2903.05(A) defining negligent homicide provides:

"No person shall negligently cause the death of another by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code."

Applying the Deem test to the offenses in this case, we conclude that the second prong is not met. Negligent homicide is not a lesser included offense of involuntary manslaughter because one can cause the death of another as a proximate result of committing a felony or misdemeanor by means other than a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance. The use of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance is not an element of involuntary manslaughter. Thus, it is possible for one to commit involuntary manslaughter without committing negligent homicide. See State v. Tyler (1990), 50 Ohio St. 3d 24, where the Ohio Supreme Court applied the same reasoning in holding that negligent homicide is not a lesser included offense of aggravated murder.

[246]*246Additionally, there is no reasonable view of the evidence on which the jury could have found appellant guilty of negligently causing Card's death by means of a deadly weapon. Appellant admitted to shooting Card intentionally in self-defense. There is no evidence in the record on appeal that appellant's gun was fired accidentally, or that appellant did not intend to shoot Card. The evidence, construed most favorably to appellant, was that appellant shot Card in self-defense to prevent Card from harming him.

Accordingly, the trial court did not err in refusing to give the requested instruction on negligent homicide and appellant's first assignment of error is overruled.

II

By his second assignment of error, appellant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in not granting his motion for a new trial. Appellant's motion was based on alleged juror misconduct. Specifically, appellant argued that Juror No. 85 knew three of the witnesses who testified at trial on behalf of the State and did not reveal this knowledge when asked during voir dire. Appellant also alleged that Juror No. 85 communicated with certain witnesses and members of Jerry Card's family.

Appellant's new trial motion was also based on alleged irregularities in the jury deliberations, specifically the selection of a different foreman during deliberations, and Juror No.

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Bluebook (online)
8 Ohio App. Unrep. 244, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-morris-ohioctapp-1990.