Cleveland v. Thompson, 2015 Ohio 412

Thompson was convicted of domestic violence after a January 8, 2014 bench trial following a December 8, 2013 incident where he argued with Baldwin and Carter; Baldwin testified that Thompson kicked her (she was pregnant) and was aware of the pregnancy.
Thompson was represented by a public defender who later claimed unpreparedness; defense argued Carter was not subpoenaed.
The trial court denied Thompson’s motion for a new trial alleging irregularity and misconduct (Carter not subpoenaed).
Thompson was sentenced to 180 days in jail with 45 days credit and 135 days suspended plus one year of probation.
On appeal, Thompson argues ineffective assistance of counsel for not moving for a continuance to allow discovery and for not subpoenaing Carter; the appellate court reviews under Strickland/Bradley standards.
The court affirms, holding no deficient performance or prejudice demonstrated and finds Thompson received a fair trial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was there ineffective assistance for failure to move for a continuance due to counsel’s unpreparedness?	Thompson	Thompson’s counsel was unprepared and should have sought a continuance	No reversible error; no prejudice shown; trial fair
Was there ineffective assistance for not subpoenaing Carter when her testimony could have helped?	Thompson	Carter’s testimony would be necessary to prove defense; failure to subpoena prejudicial	No reversible error; lack of proof of significant testimony that would have altered outcome

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (standard for ineffective assistance review)
State v. Brooks, 25 Ohio St.3d 144 (1986) (two-prong standard for ineffectiveness in Ohio)
State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136 (1989) (prong two required; no automatic prejudice inquiry)
Cleveland v. Graham, 2014-Ohio-3413 (8th Dist. Cuyahoga) (unpreparedness alone not enough to show prejudice)
State v. Hester, 45 Ohio St.2d 71 (1976) (fair trial and substantial justice standard)
State v. Varner, 1998 Ohio App. LEXIS 4707 (5th Dist.) (witness must provide significant assistance to impact outcome)
State v. Reese, 8 Ohio App.3d 202 (1st Dist.) (testimony must be significant for reversal when no subpoena)