Middletown v. Goldberg, 2017 Ohio 788

Michael Goldberg was arrested after an altercation at his wife Kia’s apartment where Kia’s estranged son, Ryan, alleged Goldberg pushed him, grabbed his throat, and threatened to kill him; Ryan called 9-1-1 and officers responded.
Officer Jordan Wagers signed a Record of Arrest complaint charging Goldberg with domestic violence and menacing; the complaint was witnessed and sworn before the deputy clerk but was not notarized.
At a bench trial the state withdrew menacing; Goldberg was found guilty of the lesser-included offense of disorderly conduct (Middletown Mun. Code 648.04-1) and was fined.
Goldberg appealed, raising three assignments: (1) invalid complaint/subject-matter jurisdiction due to lack of notarization; (2) insufficiency and manifest-weight challenge to the disorderly-conduct conviction; and (3) trial court failed to afford allocution prior to sentencing.
The trial court heard testimony from Ryan and Officer Wagers supporting the prosecution’s account; Goldberg and his wife and brother offered contrary testimony. Goldberg also made threatening, belligerent statements while being transported to jail.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of complaint / subject-matter jurisdiction	Complaint was a sworn statement invoking court jurisdiction (sworn before deputy clerk)	Complaint invalid because it was not notarized	Complaint valid: sworn before an authorized deputy clerk satisfied Crim.R. 3; court had jurisdiction.
Sufficiency / manifest weight of evidence for disorderly conduct	Evidence (Ryan + officer testimony + threats in custody) supported reckless threatening/violent behavior	Defense witnesses disputed touching/threats; argued evidence insufficient/against manifest weight	Conviction upheld: evidence sufficient and not against manifest weight; credibility resolved by trial court.
Right of allocution before sentencing	Court asked if anyone had anything to say, affording allocution to counsel and defendant	Goldberg argues court failed to provide opportunity for allocution	No reversible error: court asked twice; Goldberg waived allocution by arguing innocence and counsel did not speak (invited error/harmless).

State v. Mbodji, 129 Ohio St.3d 325 (2011) (complaint sworn before authorized official satisfies jurisdictional requirement)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Campbell, 90 Ohio St.3d 320 (2000) (trial court must afford allocution; failure requires resentencing unless harmless or invited error)