31 results for 'judge:"Welbaum"'.
J. Welbaum finds legislation to legalize recreational marijuana and allow individuals to cultivate marijuana plants at their homes did not de-criminalize conduct that occurred before it was put into effect and, in any case, defendant's conviction for possession of several plants was based on plants visible from the outside of his home, conduct still prohibited under the new laws. Meanwhile, defendant's consent to allow police to search his home negates any claim for ineffective assistance of counsel because a motion to suppress the results of the search would have been unsuccessful. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1609, Categories: Drug Offender, Ineffective Assistance, Search
J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to sever various criminal charges to allow for separate trials as to each of his victims. The evidence for each victim was simple and direct and would have been admissible as other acts evidence if separate trials had taken place. Meanwhile, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to merge kidnapping for the purpose of sexual assault and rape convictions because his prolonged seizure of the victim was a separate and distinct animus from the rape of the victim, which allowed each conviction to carry its own sentence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-684, Categories: Sentencing, Sex Offender, Kidnapping
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Welbaum finds that although no one, including the victim, witnessed defendant remove the victim's breast from her jacket and grope her while she slept, his conviction for gross sexual imposition was supported by sufficient, circumstantial evidence, including the victim's testimony she woke up several times after feeling someone grope her and eventually woke up to defendant having vaginal intercourse with her. Meanwhile, the trial court was not required to give a curative instruction to the jury following an emotional outburst by the victim after defendant's mother made faces and reacted inappropriately to her testimony at trial. The statements made by the victim were consistent with her testimony and did not affect the outcome of the trial. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-481, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Jury Instructions
J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly dismissed the fire captain's employment case against the city for a failure to prosecute because the nearly 5-year delay between the initial filing and dismissal clearly indicated a lack of compliance with the court's schedule and a complete disregard for procedural standards. Although the captain's attorney cited ongoing medical issues as the root cause of various delays, it was the client's responsibility to obtain new counsel if his current attorney could not adequately represent him, while the court also encouraged the attorney to hire co-counsel - advice that was not followed. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-365, Categories: Civil Procedure, Employment Retaliation
J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly allowed statements made by defendant during a police interrogation to be admitted into evidence during his trial on unlawful sexual conduct arising from defendant having a 13-year-old perform fellatio on him in exchange for a vape pen. The statements were not the result of coercive tactics and defendant was read his Miranda rights at the outset of the interview and affirmed on several occasions he understood the rights and agreed to waive them. Meanwhile, Google records that used GPS to show defendant's location were also properly admitted into evidence because the records were self-authenticated via a certificate provided by Google. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-361, Categories: Miranda, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Welbaum finds the trial court erroneously denied the husband's motion to require an even split of a tax debt owed by the couple. Although the wife's wages had been garnished by the IRS, evidence in the record clearly indicates this garnishment was related to a separate, nonmarital debt; therefore, the case will be remanded to allow for proper division of debts. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-276, Categories: Family Law, Tax
J. Welbaum finds the joint property owner was able to bring a contract action against his partner despite no formal accounting of the parties' joint venture. Under Ohio law, a simplistic venture like the one at issue here, which involved a single real estate transaction, does not require accounting procedures before litigation. Meanwhile, a previous judgment against the partner precluded him from bringing claims related to a "quit letter" against the property owner because that issue had already been decided and, therefore, was barred by res judicata. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-24, Categories: Civil Procedure, Real Estate, Contract
J. Welbaum finds the lower court properly dismissed the driver's counterclaim against the city after she was issued a citation for speeding. The proceedings were quasi-administrative and there was no legal argument for the driver to counter with such a filing. Meanwhile, the driver's failure to rebut evidence she was the registered owner of the vehicle captured on the red light camera required the court to uphold the fine. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: December 22, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4685, Categories: Evidence, Vehicle
J. Welbaum finds the lower court properly granted the car seat manufacturer's motion for summary judgment in products liability. The mother failed to prove a defective buckle on her son's car seat was the proximate cause of death for either of her children. The daughter, who ultimately died of burn injuries, was able to exit the vehicle while the mother was attempting to remove her son from the car, while expert testimony and the mother's own recollection of events established the son likely suffered fatal injuries from smoke inhalation even before the mother's attempts to extricate him from the seat. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: December 15, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4561, Categories: Product Liability, Experts, Wrongful Death
J. Welbaum finds that defendant's murder and assault convictions were supported by sufficient evidence, including his DNA and blood on the car driven during the drive-by shooting. Even if the state failed to establish he was the shooter, he could still have been found guilty under a theory of complicity. However, the trial court erroneously imposed a firearm specification on both the assault and murder convictions because the crimes involved the same course of conduct; therefore, the case will be remanded to remove one of the firearm sentencing enhancements. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4445, Categories: Firearms, Murder, Sentencing
J. Welbaum upholds defendant's murder convictions based on sufficient evidence. Cell phone data showed he and the victim in the same location on the day of the shooting, while testimony showed defendant tried to sell a 9mm handgun - the same caliber used to kill the victim - the day after the killing. Furthermore, the trial court properly allowed numerous photos of the victim's body to be admitted into evidence because each photo served a distinct purpose, including the angle of the body in relation to bullet holes in an adjacent wall and where blood pooled after the shooting. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: November 22, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4204, Categories: Evidence, Murder
J. Welbaum finds the Puss in Boots DVD and Minecraft UNO card game found in defendant's vehicle were sufficient for the lower court to find he violated the condition of his community control sanction that prohibited him from owning children's games or toys and allowed it to revoke his original sentence and impose a prison term. However, because the lower court relied on inaccurate information when it imposed its 30-month sentence, including that defendant had a prior felony sex conviction, that sentence must be vacated and the case remanded for proper analysis of the sentencing factors. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4157, Categories: Evidence, Sentencing, Sex Offender
[Consolidated.] J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly admitted the siblings' settlement negotiations into evidence during their dispute regarding disinterment of their parents' remains. The sister only raised objections when the evidence cut against her, while she took no issue when the testimony favored her, and the testimony was also probative to the parties' intent, which is especially important in such proceedings. Meanwhile, the court properly granted the applicants' motion for disinterment because testimony in the record established the parents wished to be placed in a mausoleum with their children, which was only possible in a new building and different cemetery. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3509, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Welbaum finds that while there were some inconsistencies between the identification witness's testimony at trial and what she told police at the scene of the crime, her familiarity with defendant rendered her identification reliable, especially considering she identified his picture without being prompted by police and recognized his voice at the scene of the crime. Meanwhile, the identification evidence, which also included details about defendant's clothing and glasses on the night of the murder, and his decision to barricade himself in his girlfriend's home for over two hours when police arrived to arrest him, was sufficient to convict defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2376, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Identification
J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly denied defendant's request for a false confession expert witness during his trial on murder and endangering children charges. He failed to indicate why such an expert would help his case, other than general statements claiming the witness would produce exculpatory evidence. Furthermore, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress statements made during a police interrogation because he was not under the influence of any drugs at the time of the interview, which was conducted without any coercion and did not involve requests for an attorney or for his Miranda rights. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3277, Categories: Murder, Experts, Child Victims
J. Welbaum finds the lower court erroneously denied defendant's motion for a hearing on postconviction relief claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. He was not required to provide definitive proof of deficient performance; rather, a defendant must only make a plausible claim based on evidence outside the trial court record to be entitled to a hearing, and because defendant met this threshold, the case will be remanded for an evidentiary hearing. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2895, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress during his trial on DUI charges. The arresting officer had probable cause to initiate a traffic stop after he saw defendant exit a gas station with beer and drive without a rear license plate, while the strong odor of alcohol on defendant's breath gave him probable cause to initiate the search. Furthermore, the trial court properly refused to exclude a blood sample, as defendant's expert witness failed to say with any degree of certainty how much the level of ethanol in defendant's blood sample would have increased as a result of a one hour delay before it was refrigerated. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2788, Categories: Search, Dui, Experts
J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to exclude several Snapchat videos from evidence during his trial on vehicular manslaughter and assault charges. The witness's testimony about how she "screen captured" the videos of reckless driving on her iPhone was specific enough to authenticate the evidence. Meanwhile, the videos were sufficient to confirm defendant as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the fatal accident, while testimony from witnesses he had consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana earlier that night was sufficient for the jury to convict on all charges. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2799, Categories: Evidence, Dui, Vehicular Homicide
J. Welbaum finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of felony kidnapping with a firearm specification and misdemeanor assault. The outcome of the trial wouldn’t have been any different had the state “timely disclosed” DNA evidence, as that evidence supported the conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2508, Categories: Evidence
J. Welbaum finds that the trial court improperly denied the estate administrator's motion for a new trial for the medical malpractice and wrongful death complaint, which alleges that the home health care service's medical treatment to decedent caused his death. The trial court improperly gave instructions disqualifying jurors from further participation in deliberation. "The fault was in prohibiting the full jury from considering both negligence and proximate cause, and that deprivation was not harmless because it involved the right to have a full jury deliberate the case." Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 29652, Categories: Jury, Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice
J. Welbaum finds the lower court properly terminated the mother's parental rights and granted permanent custody of her children to family services. She failed to complete numerous objectives of her case plan, including visitation, parenting classes, and maintaining steady employment, and also failed several drug tests after the children were initially removed from her care. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2082, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Welbaum finds the lower court properly terminated the mother's parental rights and granted permanent custody of her children to family services. She failed to maintain her sobriety throughout her case plan, continued to engage in relationships that exposed her and the children to domestic violence, and could not provide a safe environment for the children, all of whom thrived in foster care. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2000, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Welbaum finds that because the subject of a civil stalking protection order failed to object to the trial court's decision to grant the petitioner's request for the order, he cannot challenge the ruling in this court and his appeal must be dismissed. Although criminal cases without an objection can be reviewed under a plain error analysis, there is no analogous rule in Ohio's rules of civil procedure. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: June 9, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1911, Categories: Civil Procedure, Family Law
J. Welbaum finds a victim's statement to police he was shot by "Mont," a nickname used by defendant, and defendant's admission in a jail phone call he was at the address of the shooting immediately before it happened was sufficient to convict him of murder, even though the state provided no DNA evidence to link him to the murder weapon. Furthermore, the prosecution's mention of several items that were moved by police when they searched defendant's residence was not prosecutorial misconduct because the miscellaneous items were not integral to the case, while the police officer who moved them admitted as much during his testimony. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1834, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Identification
J. Welbaum finds the trial court properly refused to merge defendant's weapon charges for sentencing purposes because the carrying of a concealed weapon and the possession of a weapon while under disability involve separate animi and were committed with different purposes. Therefore, the trial court properly imposed a separate sentence for each charge. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1765, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
J. Welbaum finds the victims' injuries, including broken bones, abrasions, and severe bleeding that required treatment at a hospital, satisfied the serious physical harm element of defendant's assault charges and were sufficient to convict him. Meanwhile, the trial court made all required findings before it imposed consecutive sentences, and because defendant showed no remorse for his actions and injured numerous people, including two police officers, the seriousness of his crimes support the sentences. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1766, Categories: Evidence, Sentencing, Assault