9 results for 'judge:"Sheehan"'.
J. Sheehan finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to sever the menacing by stalking charge from his trial on murder charges. The evidence related to the charge was simple and distinct, most of it coming from a single witness, the victim. Additionally, the evidence from the menacing charge was necessary to provide background and motive in the murder case, and so it would have been admissible as "other acts" evidence if separate trials had been conducted, which allowed the court to join all the charges in a single indictment. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1587, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Murder, Menacing
J. Sheehan finds the lower court properly granted permanent custody of the child to family services. The agency made significant efforts to find a family member willing to care for the child on a permanent basis, but by the time a suitable relative was found, the child had been in a supportive foster home for more than two years, and it was in her best interest to remain there. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1164, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Sheehan finds defendant's drug possession charge was supported by sufficient evidence. Although he did not have the baggie of cocaine on his person when he was arrested, it was found in the driveway where his vehicle was parked immediately before he was pulled over and had been "freshly dropped," according to the testimony of the arresting officer, who noted the baggie was dry while the ground was wet. Furthermore, the lack of an estimate for repair costs to the police vehicle does not require a reversal of defendant's conviction for vandalism. The pictures showing the damage to the vehicle after defendant reversed into it in an attempt to escape clearly showed damage in excess of $1,000, all that was required for the jury to convict him. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-839, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Vandalism
J. Sheehan finds the trial court erroneously instructed the jury during defendant's trial on rape and gross sexual imposition charges that the element of force could be proven by evidence the victim's "will was overcome by fear or duress alone." Although defendant was the victim's stepfather, she was 18 at the time of the sexual assault and was not, by definition, a child. The victim admitted during her testimony that defendant did not force her to do anything when he assaulted her in the shower, and although there is other evidence in the record that could satisfy the heightened force standard - including that the victim urinated on herself when defendant initially touched her - the jury instruction deprived defendant of a fair trial and his convictions must be vacated. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-471, Categories: Fair Trial, Sex Offender, Jury Instructions
J. Sheehan finds defendant's domestic violence charge was properly elevated to a third-degree felony. Although his prior assault cases did not include any reference to victims who were family members, the victim in this case had been in a relationship and lived with defendant since 2017, and testified she was the victim from the previous cases. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3972, Categories: Assault, Domestic Violence
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J. Sheehan upholds a jury finding for a contractor because even though written changes were never made to its contract with the homeowners when additional work became necessary to connect the home's septic system to the city sewer system, the owners never requested a quote for the additional work and told the contractor to "do what had to be done" to finish the job, which waived any challenge to the contract's "no oral modification clause." Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3363, Categories: Construction, Contract
J. Sheehan finds the trial court erroneously granted the city of Cleveland's motion for summary judgment because the city of Brook Park's claims regarding Cleveland's failure to buy certain residential properties as part of its airport expansion project is based on the parties' development contract, not eminent domain proceedings; therefore, it is subject to and within the 10-year statute of limitations. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3365, Categories: Civil Procedure, Real Estate, Contract
J. Sheehan finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant for two counts of gross sexual imposition of a minor. The trial court improperly allowed the victim's mother to submit hearsay evidence in the form of the conversations between her and her sister about the accused, as that contains character evidence. Also, the victim's mother's opinion that her daughter is telling the truth cannot be used as evidence to vouch for the daughter's credibility. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 111935, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Witnesses
J. Sheehan finds that while the victim admitted her memory was spotty because she drank alcohol on the day of the rape, her version of events, including that defendant drugged and raped her, was bolstered by text messages from defendant asking about pills taken on the day of the assault. Furthermore, defendant was properly sentenced for each count of rape because the victim's testimony clearly indicated separate instances of rape occurred after she fell asleep or passed out several times throughout the night. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: May 18, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1670, Categories: Evidence, Sentencing, Sex Offender