6 results for 'judge:"Waite"'.
J. Waite finds defendant was not deprived of a fair trial on a murder charge based on the lack of a black individual on the jury panel. The process used to select the pool was entirely random and involved sending 500 summons to residents without any knowledge of their race, while no prospective juror was dismissed because of their race. Meanwhile, the trial court properly allowed two witnesses to testify about injuries to the victim consistent with domestic violence because defendant's claim the injuries were caused by an accident allowed for the use of the "absence, mistake, or accident" exception to prior bad acts evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waite, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1543, Categories: Evidence, Jury, Murder
J. Waite finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea because the previous remand from this court was for the purpose of a limited resentencing and had affirmed his convictions, which prevented any consideration of his plea agreement. Meanwhile, the trial court made all necessary findings before it imposed consecutive sentences that were less than the maximum defendant could have received, and because he had an extensive criminal record before the heinous crimes at issue in this case - including the murder and dismemberment of his girlfriend - the sentences were not unreasonable. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waite, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3595, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, Plea
J. Waite finds the trial court improperly denied defendant's motion to suppress drugs found in defendant's hotel room because bodycam footage from the arresting officer clearly shows his entry into the room is unlawful and was completed without the consent of defendant, who went inside to obtain his driver's license. Additionally, the officer's commands to the woman in the room and his warrantless seizure and search of her purse, which turned up more drugs, was also unconstitutional and requires the case be remanded for the state to determine if it has sufficient evidence to try defendant. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waite, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3587, Categories: Drug Offender, Search
J. Waite finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress testimony of the officer who discovered a key in the backseat of his car and then used the key to open a door at his residence. Although the insertion of the key into the door could be considered a warrantless search, suppression of the testimony would not have excluded the key from evidence, as it had DNA that matched defendant's and was also seen on defendant's person in a picture, both of which tied him to the crime. Meanwhile, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion for acquittal on attempted murder charges because three different types of shell casings were found at the scene of the shooting, while DNA evidence also linked him to that location despite his claim he was not one of the individuals who fired a gun. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waite, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3585, Categories: Dna, Search, Assault
J. Waite finds the trial court properly determined an 1896 royalty assignment constituted a perpetual royalty interest in the mineral rights of the property at issue. The assignment included definitive language about future leases, while the "floating one-half interest" language was also properly interpreted by the court as a requirement to recalculate the royalty interest with each successive lease. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waite, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3653, Categories: Property, Real Estate, Contract
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J. Waite finds that evidence supports defendant's murder and related charges for a car shooting that killed three people, including a 3-month-old baby and his mother. Defendant admitted to being at the scene of the crime, it was proven through text messages he and a co-defendant planned to kill the victim to collect a $10,000 bounty, and text messages sent after the killing could reasonably be interpreted by the jury to mean the "job" had been completed. Meanwhile, the trial court properly granted the state's motion to try both defendants together because their defenses were very similar and they did not blame each other or act as an extra prosecutor during proceedings. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waite, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2375, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Murder