State v. Young

70 N.E.2d 458, 48 Ohio Law. Abs. 22, 1946 Ohio App. LEXIS 697
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 18, 1946
DocketNo. 460
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 70 N.E.2d 458 (State v. Young) 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. Young, 70 N.E.2d 458, 48 Ohio Law. Abs. 22, 1946 Ohio App. LEXIS 697 (Ohio Ct. App. 1946).

Opinion

OPINION

By MILLER, J.:

This is an appeal on questions of law from the Court of Common Pleas of Clark County, Ohio. The parties will be referred to as they appeared in the Common Pleas Court, where the defendant-appellant was the defendant and the plaintiff-appellee was the plaintiff.

[24]*24The defendant was jointly indicted with one William E. DeWitt and was charged with the receiving of a bribe with intent to influence him with respect to his official duties as Sheriff of Clark County.

The record discloses that the defendant herein was elected Sheriff of Clark County for the term beginning January 1, 1941; that William E: DeWitt was a friend of long standing and acted as the defendant’s campaign manager; and that during the course of the campaign he arranged to meet Leonard F. Donahue, who was one of the owners of a gambling place then in operation within the county and known as the Red Brick Tavern. The first meeting of DeWitt with Donahue was in the presence of Norman Evilsizer whom DeWitt had asked to make the introduction. After this was done DeWitt told Evilsizer to go for a walk while- he talked with Donahue. This conversation lasted for about one-half an hour. Donahue testified that arrangements were made to meet the defendant on a lonely country road at which time he gave- the defendant the sum of fifty dollars as a contribution to his campaign fund. He says he asked the defendant if he would be allowed to operate in case of his election, and the defendant said that he thought it could be arranged. After the defendant was elected Donahue called him on the phone and asked for an appointment to see him, but was told to see DeWitt. He told the defendant at that time that he wanted to talk about gambling activities. In accordance with the defendant’s instructions Donahue and his partner, Mr. Marshall, called on DeWitt at his home, where arrangements were made to pay him $150.00 per month in order to operate the gambling establishment. Later the business was checked by Mr. George Thompson and it was increased to $200.00 per month. These payments were made monthly to DeWitt who told them he was giving the money to the defendant. On occasions when the payments were late, DeWitt told Donahue that the defendant did not like it.

After several months of operation DeWitt asked Donahue to put out a large light that he kept burning in the back of the Red Brick Tavern. After operating the Red Brick Tavern for some time a complaint containing numerous signatures was filed witlji the defendant; the place was raided, but no arrests were made. DeWitt told him to move to another location in the county, which he did, and the payments were continued. Business was evidently not satisfactory at the new location and DeWitt was asked for permission to move back to the Red Brick Tavern and he said, “Not yet.” He did, however, move back at a later date to the Red Brick Tavern without obtaining permission of DeWitt, and as a result the [25]*25place was raided by the deputy sheriffs of Clark County and all of the equipment was broken up. Donahue testified further that DeWitt-had told him at their first meeting that if the defendant were elected he could continue to operate his gambling place.

The record discloses further that numerous deputy sheriffs who served under the defendant were called as witnesses and testified that the defendant told them to stay away from the locality of the Red Brick Tavern, and also the Silver Dollar, another gambling place located in the southern part of .Clark County. They testified that they received complaints about gambling, and when the defendant was informed of this he would tell them to “skip it,” that he was “not running a Sunday School class” and that he was “not a reformer.”

Helen Ellsworth was called as a witness and testified that she was a friend of Mr. Marshall, one of the owners of the Red Brick Tavern; that she helped him count out $960.00, which was placed in an envelope, which Marshall then put in his pocket. They then drove to Springfield in an automobile and blew the horn in front of the defendant’s home. When he came out, Marshall attempted to hand him the envelope, which the defendant refused. The defendant then invited him to come into the house and after both had been in there for approximately five minutes, Marshall returned.

One of the errors assigned is that the Court erred in admission of evidence with reference to the operation of the Silver Dollar. Evidence was offered by the state which tended to show that the defendant knew of the gambling operations there, was told of numerous complaints made to his deputies and that he not only failed to act, but that he ordered his deputies to stay away from the place and not to be seen on the highway on which it was .located. There was no positive evidence that a bribe had been received from the operation of the Silver Dollar, but the evidence was such that the inference could be drawn from it. This evidence was properly admitted under §13444-19 GC, which provides:

“In any criminal case where the defendant’s motive, intent, the absence of mistake or accident on his part, or the defendant’s scheme, plan or system in doing an act, is material, any like acts or other acts of the defendant which may tend to show his motive, intent, the absence of mistake or accident on his part, or the defendant’s scheme, plan or system in doing the act in question, may be proved, whether they are contemporaneous with or prior or subsequent thereto, notwithstanding that such proof may show or tend to show the commission of another or subsequent crime by the defendant.”

[26]*26Undqf this section any like acts or other acts of the defendant are admissible in any criminal case where the defendant’s “motive, intent, the absence of mistake'or accident on his part, or the defendant’s scheme, plan or system” in doing an act, is material. Evidence was offered by the State from which the jury might find that a conspiracy existed between the defendant, Marshall and Donahue, the operators of the Red Brick Tavern, and DeWitt, the alleged go-between, to permit gambling in Clark County, in consideration of the payment of a bribe. The question of the defendant’s motive in acting as he did is directly involved. Likewise, his intent to permit law violation is in issue. There is also the alleged scheme, or the planning between DeWitt, Marshall and Donahue as disclosed by the record. At the time this evidence was offered and also in the general charge, the Court clearly pointed out that it was admitted only for the purpose of showing the intent of the defendant, and was not to be considered as substantive proof of the offense charged in 'the indictment. We think the law in this State on this subject is clearly set forth in the case of State v Davis, 90 Oh St 104, where Wanamaker, J, says:

“The very nature and necessities of the case, the honor and integrity of public officials and public service, demand that the state of Ohio shall have the advantage of the most liberal construction of the rules of evidence in making its proof of guilt. The competency of other similar offenses to show guilty knowledge, corrupt intent, criminal plan, design or system upon the part of the defendant, is very fully considered in a recent case decided by this Court, State of Ohio v Reineke, 89 Oh St 390.

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320 N.E.2d 690 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
70 N.E.2d 458, 48 Ohio Law. Abs. 22, 1946 Ohio App. LEXIS 697, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-young-ohioctapp-1946.