11 results for 'judge:"Forbes"'.
J. Forbes finds the trial court properly terminated the mother and father’s parental rights and granted permanent custody of the child to family services in the best interest of the children. The mother and father completed the case plan services but demonstrated that they did not benefit from the services as they continued their relationship and two more domestic violence incidents happened within a month. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1283, Categories: Family Law, Guardianship
J. Forbes finds the evidence at trial was sufficient for the jury to convict defendant of voluntary manslaughter. His admission he shot the victim even though he claimed he acted in self-defense after being pushed satisfies the mens rea and is sufficient to prove he knowingly killed the victim under Ohio law. Meanwhile, testimony from witnesses that defendant walked toward the victim, who was on the ground, and fired additional shots after their initial altercation showed defendant was the aggressor, was not in imminent danger and was sufficient for the state to disprove his claim of self-defense. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-726, Categories: Evidence, Self Defense, Manslaughter
J. Forbes finds the trial court improperly denied defendant's motion for a new murder trial based on his brother's confession. Although the first confession submitted by his brother was not properly notarized and lacked credibility, subsequent confessions were not tainted by the initial filing and qualified as newly discovered evidence. When combined with the lack of physical evidence used to convict defendant - including the absence of gunpowder residue within eight minutes of the shooting - and the intoxicated nature of the victim at the time he made his identification, the confession renders defendant's convictions against the weight of the evidence and requires his convictions be vacated. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-469, Categories: Evidence, Murder
J. Forbes finds that defendant's double jeopardy rights were not violated by his second trial on an assault charge because even though he was acquitted of unlawful restraint in the first trial, that charge has entirely separate elements from the assault charge and did not require the state to re-litigate facts from the first trial, which resulted in a hung jury on the assault charge. Meanwhile, testimony from the victim that defendant choked and manhandled her after he arrested several of her friends, along with corroborating testimony from another police officer that defendant's hand was on her throat, was sufficient to convict defendant of assault. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-336, Categories: Evidence, Assault, Double Jeopardy
J. Forbes finds that defendant's removal of the victim's clothing prior to and during the sexual assault constituted the use of force and, when combined with the results of the victim's rape kit, was sufficient for the jury to convict him of rape. Meanwhile, even though the prosecutor's questions to defendant about his semen and DNA being found in the victim's vagina were improper because the state did not present any DNA evidence during its case, they did not prejudice the jury or affect the outcome of the trial. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3870, Categories: Evidence, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Sex Offender
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J. Forbes finds the trial court properly convicted the individual for aggravated murder, murder and felonious assault with all counts with carrying a firearm. “It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the common pleas court to carry this judgment into execution.” All bail pending appeal is terminated. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3790, Categories: Firearms, Murder, Bail
[Consolidated.] J. Forbes finds the lower court properly granted the husband's motion to eliminate the spousal support obligation from the parties' divorce decree because evidence in the record indicates the wife consistently spent more than the allowed monthly amount, primarily on luxury items. Furthermore, the lower court properly awarded $3,000 in attorney fees to the husband based on evidence of his attorney's hourly rate. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3355, Categories: Evidence, Family Law, Attorney Fees
J. Forbes finds the lower court was not required to appoint separate counsel for the child after it was determined her wishes for custody conflicted with those of the guardian ad litem. The child only expressed a desire to be placed with her father on a single occasion, while she repeatedly told the court she wanted to remain with her brother in foster care. Meanwhile, the child's strong bond with her brother and foster family, coupled with the father's inconsistent visitation and communication, gave the court a legitimate reason to terminate the father's parental rights and grant permanent custody to family services. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3160, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Forbes finds that the state failed to establish the proximate cause element necessary for defendant's manslaughter conviction that stemmed from the death of the victim's unborn fetus because although he undoubtedly fired two shots at the hood of the victim's car, there was no evidence in the record to indicate he fired the bullets that struck the victim and her fetus. Several other individuals fired guns after defendant's initial shots, but that cannot be used to establish "but for" causation - a requirement for a manslaughter conviction - and, therefore, the manslaughter conviction and sentence must be vacated. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2688, Categories: Evidence, Manslaughter
J. Forbes finds that defendant was properly convicted for violating two South Euclid Codified Ordinances when he caused a motor vehicle accident. Defendant's testimony that he did not realize that he hit the other vehicle is inconsistent with other evidence, including his own testimony that he would not have heard someone attempt to get his attention only to later testify that he would have. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 111962, Categories: Evidence, Vehicle
J. Forbes finds the trial court properly granted four defendants' motion for postconviction relief from their rape convictions on the grounds of judicial bias. The conversation between the trial judge and his wife, who was a supervising social worker at the hospital where the victim was treated, during which he allegedly agreed to his wife's plea not to "acquit those animals," was substantive in nature and appeared to influence the outcome of the trial. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Forbes, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1887, Categories: Evidence, Judiciary, Sex Offender