State v. Wright, 2004 Ohio 2931 (OH 6/4/2004)
| Decision Date | 04 June 2004 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 01 CA 202. |
| Citation | 2004 Ohio 2931 |
| Parties | State of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Warren Wright, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Supreme Court |
{¶1} This timely appeal comes for consideration upon the record in the trial court and the parties' briefs. Defendant-Appellant, Warren Wright, appeals the decision of the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas which found him guilty of felonious assault and sentenced him to more than the minimum possible prison term, but less than the maximum possible prison term. On appeal, Wright makes four arguments.
{¶2} First, Wright argues counsel was ineffective for not moving both to suppress the eyewitness identifications and for discovery sanctions. An eyewitness who identifies a defendant after an impermissibly suggestive pretrial lineup may be prevented from identifying the defendant in court. But an in-court identification is admissible if it is sufficiently reliable after a review of the totality of the circumstances surrounding the pretrial and in-court identifications. In this case, two eyewitnesses had ample opportunity to observe the defendant while he was committing the criminal act. One of those witnesses was acquainted with the defendant. And each witness identified the defendant by nickname and picture four days later. There are discrepancies between the description of the crime and suspects contained in the initial police report compiled on the night in question. But given the totality of the circumstances, these two witnesses would have been able to identify Wright in court even if counsel had moved to suppress their identifications. Accordingly, Wright was not prejudiced by counsel's failure to move for acquittal.
{¶3} In his second assignment of error, Wright argues counsel was ineffective for failing to adequately investigate and timely move for a new trial based on the fact that one of the jurors was acquainted with a defense witness. But the fact that a juror is acquainted with a witness does not demonstrate that the juror is prejudiced against the defendant. Wright cannot demonstrate a reasonable possibility that the trial court would have granted the motion for a new trial if counsel had further investigated the nature of the relationship between the juror and the witness or had timely made that motion.
{¶4} In his third assignment of error, Wright claims that he was prejudiced by the fact that trial counsel did not move for acquittal immediately after the close of the State's case and that the trial court delayed ruling on the motion for acquittal until the defense had already put on some of its witnesses. But Wright was not prejudiced by any error since the trial court could not have granted a timely motion for acquittal. The State presented sufficient evidence on each element of the offense in its case-in-chief.
{¶5} Finally, Wright's fourth assignment of error argues that the trial court erred when it sentenced him. In that assignment of error, Wright argues that since the trial court made the findings required by R.C. 2929.14(B) but sentenced him to less than the maximum possible prison term for the charged offense, he cannot effectively challenge his sentence. But the statutes give an offender multiple ways to challenge a sentence for a felony sentence on appeal. Since Wright fails to clearly and convincingly prove that the facts do not support the trial court's findings or that the sentence is otherwise contrary to law, it must be affirmed. For these reasons, the trial court's decision is affirmed.
{¶6} On March 16, 2001, Maurice Willis was at the Pour House, a bar in Youngstown, Ohio. At trial, he testified that he was approached by a man that looked familiar but he could not remember who the man was. The man spoke to him for fifteen to twenty minutes. Maurice later identified this man as Wright. Maurice then went outside to call his wife, Rachelle, on a cell phone. He had plans to go out with Rachelle, her best friend, Shawnna Moore, and another couple, Gerald Baker and Karla Harvey. As he stood outside trying to call Rachelle, the group pulled up in a truck driven by Gerald. Maurice went back inside to return his drink, tell the bartender he was leaving, and grab a tracksuit jacket.
{¶7} Maurice left the bar and walked toward the truck where his group was waiting. On the way there, he heard someone say, "What is Beamo doing up here?" Although Maurice, Rachelle, and Shawnna did not know Wright or his name, both Karla and Gerald knew Wright as "Beamo". "Beamo" has been Wright's nickname since childhood. Maurice then heard someone say, "He got a gun." He turned around and saw a man pointing a gun at his head from about an arms-length away. Maurice, Rachelle, Shawnna, and Gerald all testified at trial that Wright was the man with the gun. Maurice then pushed Wright and ran away. Wright shot at Maurice multiple times and hit him once in the leg. Eventually, Wright ran away, Maurice's group all got into the truck, and Maurice was driven to the hospital. There was some discussion on the way to the hospital that "Beamo" shot Maurice.
{¶8} Conversely, Wright testified he was at the bar with two of his friends celebrating a birthday. He said that the whole time he was at the bar he played pool with his friends and that he did not speak with Maurice. His friend corroborated this testimony.
{¶9} A Youngstown police officer interviewed some of the witnesses at the hospital. The police report he compiled as a result of these interviews stated that Maurice was chased in the parking lot outside the bar by two dark-skinned African-American males. No one told the officer that "Beamo" shot Maurice. This report was turned over to a detective in the Youngstown Police Department.
{¶10} Four days after the shooting, the five eyewitnesses all came to the police station to speak with the detective. The detective spoke with Maurice first. Maurice told him "Beamo" was the shooter. The detective was familiar with the nickname "Beamo" and went to his desk to compile a photo array. He found five photos, including one of Wright. One of the photos contained a picture of a man in a jail inmate's uniform, but that picture was not of Wright. Maurice identified Wright as the shooter. Subsequently, each of the other witnesses also identified Wright. But the detective did not clear the room as each person reviewed the photo array, so by the time the last two reviewed the photos, all of the witnesses were in the room. After the witnesses all identified Wright, Maurice swore out a complaint against him.
{¶11} The Mahoning County Grand Jury subsequently returned an indictment charging Wright with felonious assault in violation of R.C. 2903.11(A)(2) and a firearm specification. Sometime prior to trial, defense counsel received a photocopy of the pictures used in the photo array. But at trial, counsel stated that the copies he received were so bad that he could not see the faces on the pictures. Although defense counsel apparently made some effort to obtain the pictures, he never did. Counsel did not move for discovery sanctions. Counsel also did not move to suppress the eyewitness identifications of Wright as the shooter.
{¶12} The matter proceeded to a jury trial. During trial, Wright's counsel moved for acquittal under Crim.R. 29(A), but that motion was not made on the record at the first possible opportunity. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned a verdict finding Wright guilty of both the felonious assault and the firearm specification. Wright then moved for a new trial, claiming that one of the jurors was a caseworker for one of the defense witnesses. After a hearing, the trial court denied that motion.
{¶13} The trial court sentenced Wright to seven years imprisonment for the felonious assault and the mandatory three years for the firearm specification.
{¶14} In the first two of his four assignments of error, Wright argues:
{¶15} "The Appellant's convictions and sentences are in violation of the state and federal constitutions because Appellant was denied the effective assistance of counsel when counsel failed to file a motion to suppress identification evidence and demand production of the photograph array."
{¶16} "Appellant was denied the effective assistance of counsel when counsel failed to properly investigate, research, and timely file a motion for new trial."
{¶17} Thus, he contends his trial counsel was ineffective for these two reasons. Although these issues are separate and distinct, we must employ the same standard when judging whether counsel was ineffective.
{¶18} To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must demonstrate counsel's performance was deficient and that deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Strickland v. Washington (1984), 466 U.S. 668, 687. A properly licensed attorney is presumed to execute his duties in an ethical and competent manner. State v. Smith (1985), 17 Ohio St.3d 98, 100. In order for a court to conclude counsel was ineffective, the defendant must overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the allegedly ineffective action might be considered sound trial strategy. Strickland at 698.
{¶19} Ineffectiveness is demonstrated by showing that counsel's errors were so serious that he or she failed to function as the counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. State v. Hamblin (1988), 37 Ohio St.3d 153. The defendant must demonstrate more than...
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