Walker v. Stokes
| Court | United States Court of Appeals (Ohio) |
| Writing for the Court | KRENZLER |
| Citation | 45 Ohio App.2d 275,344 N.E.2d 159 |
| Decision Date | 10 April 1975 |
| Parties | , 74 O.O.2d 402 WALKER, Appellee, v. STOKES, Appellant. |
Page 275
v.
STOKES, Appellant.
[344 N.E.2d 160] Syllabus by the Court
The State of Ohio having granted by statute (R.C. 3111.16) to all defendants in bastardy proceedings, which are 'quasi criminal' in nature, the right to a blood test to determine paternity, cannot deny this right to those defendants who are unable to pay the required fee in advance, without violating the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution, because such a defendant's
Page 276
ability to pay in advance bears no rational relationship to his guilt or innocence and, to discriminate upon this basis constitutes that type of invidious discrimination which is constitutionally prohibited. It is mandatory that the trial court tax as costs the expense of a blood test requested by appropriate motion by an indigent in a bastardy action.Thomas E. Frye, Cleveland, for appellee.
Cornelius A. Manly, Cleveland, for appellant.
KRENZLER, Chief Judge.
On May 18, 1973, the plaintiff appellee, Janice Walker, filed a complaint in bastardy against the defendant appellant, Keith Stokes, in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. A preliminary examination was held on October 31, 1973. On November 29, 1973, the defendant appellant filed a Motion for Blood Grouping Test pursuant to R.C. 3111.16. Filed with the motion was a prayer that the costs of said blood test be taxed as costs because the defendant appellant was indigent. Affidavits of indigency also accompanied the motion. On December 19, 1973 the trial court granted the motion for the blood test, but denied the request to tax the test as costs. The defendant appellant was unable to pay the $101 as required by Rule 11* of the Rules of Juvenile Court of Cuyahoga County and
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no blood test was taken. A jury trial was held and on May 17, 1974 the jury found the defendant appellant guilty and he was adjudged by the court to be the reputed father of the plaintiff-appellee's illegitimate child born on October 25, 1971.[344 N.E.2d 161] The defendant appellant filed a notice of appeal and presents one assignment of error:
'It is a denial of due process of law and equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States to deny an indigent defendant's timely motion for costs of a blood grouping test to be taxed as court costs in a...
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Holland v. Holland
...court's support order is punishable by imprisonment under Conn.Gen.Stat. §§ 46b-171, 46b-215, and 53-304 (1981). Cf. Walter v. Stokes, 45 Ohio App.2d 275, 278, 344 N.E.2d 159, 161 (1975); People v. Doherty, 261 App.Div. 86, 87, 24 N.Y.S.2d 821, 823 (1941)." Id. 10, 101 S.Ct. 2207. The plain......
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Little v. Streater, 79-6779
...court's support order is punishable by imprisonment under Conn.Gen.Stat. §§ 46b-171, 46b-215, and 53-304 (1981). Cf. Walker v. Stokes, 45 Ohio App.2d 275, 278, 344 N.E.2d 159, 161 (1975); People v. Doherty, 261 App.Div. 86, 87, 24 N.Y.S.2d 821, 823 (1941). Moreover, the defendant in a Conne......
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Faulkner v. Mayfield, 1851
...long after the crime and the fine are forgotten. A classification based on wealth is constitutionally suspect. Walker v. Stokes (1975), 45 Ohio App.2d 275, 74 O.O.2d 402, 344 N.E.2d 159. See, also,In re Jackson (1971), 26 Ohio St.2d 51, 55 O.O.2d 45, 268 N.E.2d 812, which cites and follows ......
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State ex rel. Graves v. Daugherty, s. 14517
...for an indigent be made at county expense. See also People v. Doherty, 261 App.Div. 86, 24 N.Y.S.2d 821 (1941) and Walker v. Stokes, 45 Ohio App.2d 275, 344 N.E.2d 159 (1975). These courts held that when a state grants the right to blood tests to [164 W.Va. 735] a paternity defendant, that ......
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Holland v. Holland
...court's support order is punishable by imprisonment under Conn.Gen.Stat. §§ 46b-171, 46b-215, and 53-304 (1981). Cf. Walter v. Stokes, 45 Ohio App.2d 275, 278, 344 N.E.2d 159, 161 (1975); People v. Doherty, 261 App.Div. 86, 87, 24 N.Y.S.2d 821, 823 (1941)." Id. 10, 101 S.Ct. 2207. The plain......
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Little v. Streater, 79-6779
...court's support order is punishable by imprisonment under Conn.Gen.Stat. §§ 46b-171, 46b-215, and 53-304 (1981). Cf. Walker v. Stokes, 45 Ohio App.2d 275, 278, 344 N.E.2d 159, 161 (1975); People v. Doherty, 261 App.Div. 86, 87, 24 N.Y.S.2d 821, 823 (1941). Moreover, the defendant in a Conne......
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Faulkner v. Mayfield, 1851
...long after the crime and the fine are forgotten. A classification based on wealth is constitutionally suspect. Walker v. Stokes (1975), 45 Ohio App.2d 275, 74 O.O.2d 402, 344 N.E.2d 159. See, also,In re Jackson (1971), 26 Ohio St.2d 51, 55 O.O.2d 45, 268 N.E.2d 812, which cites and follows ......
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State ex rel. Graves v. Daugherty, s. 14517
...for an indigent be made at county expense. See also People v. Doherty, 261 App.Div. 86, 24 N.Y.S.2d 821 (1941) and Walker v. Stokes, 45 Ohio App.2d 275, 344 N.E.2d 159 (1975). These courts held that when a state grants the right to blood tests to [164 W.Va. 735] a paternity defendant, that ......