Washington v. Department of Rehabilitation & Correction

166 Ohio App. 3d 797
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 16, 2006
DocketNo. 05AP-738
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 166 Ohio App. 3d 797 (Washington v. Department of Rehabilitation & Correction) 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
Washington v. Department of Rehabilitation & Correction, 166 Ohio App. 3d 797 (Ohio Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

Deshler, Judge.

{¶ 1} Plaintiff-appellant, Beatrice Washington, appeals from a judgment of the Ohio Court of Claims in favor of defendant-appellee, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (“ODRC”).

{¶ 2} This matter is before this court for the second time, and the facts and procedural history as set forth in our prior decision, Washington v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. & Corr., Franklin App. No. 03AP-912, 2004-Ohio-4651, 2004 WL 1945675 (“Washington I ”) will be reiterated only to the extent necessary to address the issues raised in the present appeal. The case arises out of an allegedly unlawful strip search of appellant by an officer of the Ohio Adult Parole Authority (“OAPA”) in the course of an arrest of appellant’s husband, Robert Washington, for a parole violation. Appellant filed a complaint in the Court of Claims alleging a violation of Ohio’s statute governing strip searches, R.C. 2933.32, and a common-law claim for invasion of privacy. After a bench trial in the Court of Claims, the court rendered a decision and judgment finding that although the evidence supported that a strip search had taken place, the search was permissible under the relevant statutory subsection, R.C. 2933.32(B)(2), and that the elements of the common-law claim for invasion of privacy were not met.

[799]*799{¶ 3} Appellant then filed her initial appeal to this court, asserting that the trial court had incorrectly applied a reasonable-suspicion standard rather than the probable-cause standard required by R.C. 2933.32(B) for strip searching. ODRC cross-appealed from the trial court’s determination that a strip search had in fact occurred.

{¶ 4} In Washington I, we overruled ODRC’s assignment of error and affirmed the trial court’s finding that the evidence supported that a strip search of appellant had in fact occurred. We sustained appellant’s assignment of error, finding that the trial court had applied the incorrect standard of determination of whether the strip search was lawful, and remanded the cause to the trial court with instructions to apply the correct probable-cause standard.

{¶ 5} Upon remand, the Court of Claims again considered the evidence it had heard at trial, this time applying the probable-cause standard set forth in Bell v. Wolfish (1979), 441 U.S. 520, 559, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447. Based on the officers’ concern over whether appellant was concealing a weapon, the trial court found that it was reasonable for the officers, after subjecting appellant to a clothed pat-down search, to continue with a strip search for a concealed weapon. The Court of Claims accordingly again found in favor of ODRC in the case.

{¶ 6} Appellant has once again appealed and brings the following assignments of error:

First Assignment of Error

The trial court erred by finding that the APA was not liable for the strip search

of Washington.

Second Assignment of Error

The trial court erred by failing to award attorney’s fees to Washington.

{¶ 7} We will note ab initio that the trial court’s disposition of appellant’s common-law claim for invasion of privacy was not appealed in Washington I, and that that claim is no longer in the case. Likewise, the trial court’s determination that a strip search of appellant actually occurred was affirmed by this court, and that factual determination has become the law of the case. As the case now stands, therefore, the question is whether the trial court’s determination that probable cause existed for a strip search under R.C. 2933.32(B)(2) is supported by the manifest weight of the evidence.

{¶ 8} When reviewing a trial court’s decision on a manifest-weight-of-the-evidence basis, we are guided by the presumption that the factual findings of the trial court were correct. The weight to be given the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses are primarily for the trier of fact. State v. DeHass (1967), 10 Ohio St.2d 230, 39 O.O.2d 366, 227 N.E.2d 212, paragraph one of the syllabus. The rationale for this presumption is that the trial court is in the best [800]*800position to evaluate the evidence by viewing witnesses and observing their demeanor, voice inflections, and gestures. Seasons Coal Co. v. Cleveland (1984), 10 Ohio St.3d 77,10 OBR 408, 461 N.E.2d 1273. Likewise, documentary evidence is best viewed in the context of the entire scope of evidence heard at trial, and the trier of fact is in the best position to assess the global weight of all evidence heard. Thus, judgments supported by some competent, credible evidence going to all the essential elements will not be reversed by a reviewing court as being against the manifest weight of the evidence. C.E. Morris Co. v. Foley Constr. Co. (1978), 54 Ohio St.2d 279, 8 O.O.3d 261, 376 N.E.2d 578.

{¶ 9} The testimony heard by the trial court established the following. On November 1, 2000, OAPA Officer Jennifer Tibbetts, in company with two other OAPA officers and two Middletown police officers, arrived at the home appellant shared with her husband to arrest Mr. Washington for a parole violation. A sweep of the home revealed drug paraphernalia, crack cocaine, a night stick, two knives, handgun ammunition, and pornographic tapes and photographs. Officer Tibbetts testified that during the initial entry into the house and subsequent arrest and search, appellant sat calmly in the living room, made no furtive movements, and exhibited no other suspicious behavior. Based upon discovery of the weapons, particularly the handgun ammunition without a corresponding firearm, Officer Tibbetts, as the only female officer present, led appellant to a bathroom in order to secure a secluded location for a pat-down search for weapons. After patting appellant down, Officer Tibbetts requested that appellant lift her shirt and “shake out” her bra. No weapons or drugs of any kind were found either during the pat-down or subsequent strip search. Although appellant was subsequently arrested on an outstanding warrant for passing a bad check, Officer Tibbetts testified that at the time of the pat-down and strip search, appellant was not in custody nor charged with any offense. The Middletown police officers present took the crack cocaine and paraphernalia found in the house, but appellant was never charged with any crime arising out of the items. Officer Tibbetts emphasized in her testimony that the pat-down and strip search were both undertaken in furtherance of the security of the officers present, out of concern that appellant might be harboring a weapon on her person, particularly a handgun associated with the previously found ammunition.

{¶ 10} R.C. 2933.32 defines the circumstances under which authorized persons may conduct a cavity search or strip search in Ohio, providing as follows:

(B)(1) Except as authorized by this division, no law enforcement officer, other employee of a law enforcement agency, physician, or registered nurse or licensed practical nurse shall conduct or cause to be conducted a body cavity search or a strip search.
[801]

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Bluebook (online)
166 Ohio App. 3d 797, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/washington-v-department-of-rehabilitation-correction-ohioctapp-2006.