15 results for 'judge:"Trapp"'.
J. Trapp finds the trial court properly excluded testimony from defendant's expert witness during his vehicular homicide case. Not only did the expert challenge the state's testing methodology regarding the level of marijuana metabolite in defendant's system - testimony excluded by Ohio law - but the state did not have to prove defendant was actually impaired at the time of the fatal wreck, as his vehicular homicide charge was a per se offense. Meanwhile, the vehicular homicide charge does not violate due process because it is reasonably related to keeping Ohio's roadways and the general public safe from impaired drivers. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1648, Categories: Dui, Vehicular Homicide, Experts
J. Trapp finds the trial court properly denied the Ohio residents' motion to vacate a default judgment obtained against them by the Florida resident in Florida state court. The Florida court had already denied a similar motion; therefore, the Ohio court motion constituted an impermissible collateral attack. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1340, Categories: Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Trapp finds the lower court properly dismissed the employee's age and ancestry discrimination claims because they are identical to those dismissed with prejudice by a federal court and, therefore, are barred by res judicata. Additionally, the employee failed to exhaust her administrative remedies with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission prior to filing her state court suit, which would have resulted in a dismissal regardless of the res judicata issue. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1114, Categories: Civil Procedure, Employment Discrimination
J. Trapp finds the lower court properly granted the former city clerk's motion for summary judgment on claims related to the early termination of her employment contract. The city failed to provide 30 days notice and did not satisfy its burden to provide proof of just cause for termination; therefore, the clerk was entitled the entire amount of severance pay stated in the contract. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: March 4, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-782, Categories: Employment, Government, Damages
J. Trapp finds defendant's fair trial rights were not violated when the trial court denied his motion for a mistrial after two jurors discussed the case during a bathroom break. The snippets of conversation heard by a court employee did not involve any specific facts of the case and, following an instruction from the court, no further instances of misconduct occurred. Meanwhile, the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant of aggravated burglary despite his claims he was invited into the victim's home. That testimony was directly contradicted by the victim, and as this court must view such conflicts in favor of the prosecution, his convictions will be upheld. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-512, Categories: Burglary, Evidence, Jury
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J. Trapp finds the trial court improperly excluded wholesale portions of defendant's evidence regarding intellectual disabilities, including poor performance throughout his school career and various socialization problems, and affirmed his death sentence for a murder conviction. The trial court failed to consider several IQ scores and the results of other intellectual-function tests in direct contravention of Sixth Circuit guidelines and placed significantly more weight on the testimony of a single expert witness that focused mainly on defendant's adaptive functioning in prison, all of which precluded it from accurately assessing his competence. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4373, Categories: Competence, Death Penalty, Cruel And Unusual Punishment
J. Trapp finds defendant's due process rights were not violated when the trial court denied her motion for a continuance when she failed to appear at the start of the trial. She was fully aware of the start time, had attended previous hearings and did not provide a reason why she was involuntarily prevented for arriving on time, other than her "ride fell through." Meanwhile, surveillance footage of defendant at her husband's home, coupled with the husband's 911 call and testimony that she told him she was taking their child, was more than enough evidence to convict her of kidnapping. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4369, Categories: Evidence, Kidnapping, Due Process
J. Trapp finds the trial court properly granted the college's motion for summary judgment on the employee's wrongful termination claim. His contract was for a fixed, 1-year period, which prevented him from bringing such a claim under Ohio law. Furthermore, he failed to rebut evidence the college paid him the full amount of his unused benefits upon the expiration of his contract. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4180, Categories: Employment, Evidence
J. Trapp finds the trial court properly found the buyer liable on conversion claims filed by the seller. Although the deed to the home had been transferred, this transfer did not allow her to exert dominion over personal belongings remaining in the home, which the seller attempted to collect on several occasions - actions that clearly indicated the property was not abandoned. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-0495, Categories: Real Estate, Conversion, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Trapp the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress during his drug case. Eyewitness testimony from a detective who saw a hand-to-hand drug deal by defendant immediately before he left the parking of a hotel and several traffic infractions gave police probable cause to initiate a traffic stop and detain defendant until a K-9 search of his vehicle could be completed. Meanwhile, because each of defendant's drug indictments involved actions taken on different days in separate locations, the trial court properly joined them for a single trial. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4098, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Drug Offender, Search
J. Trapp finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion for acquittal on kidnapping, assault and other charges, all of which were supported by sufficient evidence, including testimony from the victim and defendant's own admission he took the victim's car keys to prevent her from leaving his home. Meanwhile, even though witnesses provided conflicting testimony and the victim contradicted herself at times during cross-examination, the jury was in the best position to determine witness credibility and did not clearly lose its way when it convicted defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3122, Categories: Evidence, Assault, Kidnapping
J. Trapp finds the rental company's failure to object to the jurisdictional factfinding of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission precludes it from challenging the commission's jurisdiction on appeal; therefore, that portion of the appeal is dismissed. However, the commission erroneously found the company violated housing discrimination laws regarding service animals because its conclusions of fact referenced the statute dealing with pets in general, not service animals. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3123, Categories: Civil Rights, Housing, Jurisdiction
J. Trapp finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress because even if the traffic stop for speeding had been illegal, it would not have allowed for exclusion of the evidence regarding his speed, only any evidence seized in a subsequent search. Meanwhile, defendant's discovery request and motion to suppress each tolled the speedy trial clock; therefore, the trial court did not violate his speedy trial rights when it failed to try him within 30 days of the charge for speeding. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3017, Categories: Evidence, Speedy Trial, Vehicle
J. Trapp finds that data from defendant's cell phone that showed he visited several car washes while watching pornographic videos before he attempted to abduct the victim, as well as the victim's testimony about the attack, was sufficient to convict him of attempted kidnapping for the purpose of nonconsensual sexual activity. Meanwhile, the illegal contraband seized from defendant's car following his arrest was plainly visible and was discovered as part of an inventory search of the vehicle; therefore, any motion to suppress would have been denied and defendant's attorney was not ineffective for failing to file such a motion. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2831, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender, Kidnapping
J. Trapp finds the trial court properly declined to adopt the husband's valuation figures in a divorce case. Its valuation of two marital properties in Nebraska was based on credible evidence and calculated through a proper subtraction of the husband's separate interest in the assets, which were purchased before the parties' marriage. Meanwhile, uncontroverted evidence indicates the husband transferred more than $360,000 in cash from a business which he solely owned during the divorce proceedings without his wife's knowledge or consent, and so the trial court properly found he committed financial misconduct. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2349, Categories: Evidence, Family Law