State v. Nelson

701 N.E.2d 747, 122 Ohio App. 3d 309
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 6, 1996
DocketNo. 95AP070051.
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 701 N.E.2d 747 (State v. Nelson) 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. Nelson, 701 N.E.2d 747, 122 Ohio App. 3d 309 (Ohio Ct. App. 1996).

Opinions

William B. Hoffman, Presiding Judge.

On November 24, 1994, appellant, Seth Nelson, was arrested and charged with attempted murder in violation of R.C. 2903.02 and 2923.02. The charge stemmed from the knifing of Clifford Sinclair. The New Philadelphia Municipal Court conducted a preliminary hearing on December 2, 1994. By journal entry filed on the same date, the municipal court bound appellant over on the charge of felonious assault in violation of R.C. 2903.11(A)(1) and (2).

On December 22, 1994, the Tuscarawas Grand Jury indicted appellant on one count of attempted murder. A jury trial was set for January 31,1995.

On January 19, 1995, appellant filed a motion to continue the trial date and a waiver of time. By judgment entry filed January 30,1995, the trial court granted the motion, and continued the trial to February 28, 1995.

On February 6, 1995, appellee, the state of Ohio, filed a motion to continue the trial date. By order filed February 23, 1995, the trial court granted the motion, and continued the trial to April 25,1995.

On April 24, 1995, appellant filed a motion to dismiss for lack of speedy trial. The trial court denied the motion and journalized its decision on May 2, 1995.

A jury trial commenced on April 25, 1995. At the end of appellee’s case, appellant made a motion to dismiss pursuant to Crim.R. 29. The motion was denied. Upon completion of the testimony, the trial court instructed the jury on *311 attempted murder and felonious assault. The jury found appellant not guilty of attempted murder, but guilty of felonious assault. By judgment entry filed June 29, 1995, the trial court sentenced appellant to a definite term of five to fifteen years.

Appellant filed a notice of appeal, and this matter is now before this court for consideration. Appellant’s assignments of error are as follows:

I
“The trial court erred in failing to dismiss the indictment since appellant had not been brought to trial within the time limits established by R.C. 2945.71.”
II
“Trial court erred in overruling defendants [sic] motion for acquittal under rule 29.”
Ill
“The trial court committed prejudicial error by submitting felonious assault to the jury as a lesser included offense.”
IV
“Defendant was denied his right to due process by not having sufficient notice of the charge against him in preparing for trial in violation of the sixth amendment to the U.S. and Ohio constitutions.”
V
“Appellant Nelson was deprived of his right to effective assistance of counsel in violation of the fifth and sixth amendments to the United States constitution and Article I, Section 10 of the Ohio constitution.”
VI
“Other errors were committed at trial not raised herein but apparent on the record.”
A
Appellant claims the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss for violating R.C. 2945.71. We disagree.

*312 Appellant argues that even though he requested a continuance on January 19, 1995 to the January 31, 1995 trial date and signed a time waiver, the second continuance granted by the trial court because an appellee’s witness was unavailable should not have been counted against him. R,C. 2945.72 provides for extension of the statutory time frame set forth in R.C. 2945.71 and states:

“The time within which an accused must be brought to trial, or, in the case of felony, to preliminary hearing and trial, may be extended only by the following:

66 % * *
“(H) The period of any continuance granted on the accused’s own motion, and the period of any reasonable continuance granted other than upon the accused’s own motion[.]”

The matter on continuances is documented thoroughly in the record. The first journalization on January 30, 1995 was on appellant’s motion and for good cause shown. Seven days following the setting of the new trial date, appellee notified the trial court of a witness’s unavailability. By order filed February 23, 1995, the trial court found the request to be good cause and rescheduled the trial for April 25, 1995. The resetting of the trial to April 25, 1995 was done on the record and before the expiration of the ninety-day trial limit given the extension necessitated by appellant’s January 19, 1995 motion. State v. Mincy (1982), 2 Ohio St.3d 6, 2 OBR 282, 441 N.E.2d 571.

Assignment of Error I is overruled.

B

Appellant claims the trial court erred in denying his motion for acquittal pursuant to Crim.R. 29. We disagree.

Crim.R. 29 states as follows:

“(A) Motion for Judgment of Acquittal. The court on motion of a defendant or on its own motion, after the evidence on either side is closed, shall order the entry of a judgment of acquittal of one or more offenses charged in the indictment, information, or complaint, if the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction of such offense or offenses. The court may not reserve ruling on a motion for judgment of acquittal made at the close of the state’s case.”

The standard to be employed by a trial court in determining a Crim.R. 29 motion is set out in State v. Bridgeman (1978), 55 Ohio St.2d 261, 9 O.O.3d 401, 381 N.E.2d 184, syllabus:

“Pursuant to Crim.R. 29(A), a court shall not order an entry of judgment of acquittal if the evidence is such that reasonable minds can reach different *313 conclusions as to whether each material element of a crime has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Appellant argues that appellee failed to produce evidence of his “purpose” to attempt to cause the death of another. In our review of the record, the testimony was that appellant got out of the vehicle and approached or ran to Sinclair’s vehicle, reached in to punch Sinclair, and cut him, causing his head to flop back. The evidence established that appellant was the aggressor and started the confrontation.

Dr. Steve Schilliger testified the cut was not trivial, but a “deep laceration”; the wound “was as close as you can get to being a lethal injury without actually being so”; and the nature of the wound was consistent with what Sinclair said happened, beginning at the side of the face and down as if reaching around the head and pulling down.

We find the evidence to substantiate that reasonable minds could reach different conclusions as to whether each material element of the crime had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Related

Nelson v. State
2010 Ohio 1777 (Ohio Court of Claims, 2010)
Nelson v. State
2009 Ohio 3231 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2009)
Nelson v. State, 2006 Ap 10 0061 (11-16-2007)
2007 Ohio 6274 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Higgins, Unpublished Decision (9-29-2006)
2006 Ohio 5220 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2006)
State v. Blasdell
801 N.E.2d 853 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2003)
State v. Evans
792 N.E.2d 757 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2003)
State v. Barnes
2002 Ohio 68 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
701 N.E.2d 747, 122 Ohio App. 3d 309, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-nelson-ohioctapp-1996.