St. Clairsville v. Anderson, 2017 Ohio 7703

Defendant-appellant Jasmine Anderson was charged in municipal court with violating St. Clairsville Ordinance 505.01(c) (dogs running at large) after a large black dog allegedly bit victim Cheryl Vicker on a local bike trail.\
Police report: victim gave a written statement the day of the incident; the initial call was made by the victim’s mother, Carla Vicker.\
Complaint was filed May 13, 2016; Anderson pleaded not guilty and proceeded pro se to a bench trial in the Belmont County Western Division Court.\
Trial court found Anderson guilty, imposed a $100 fine (suspended if probation complied with), $100 restitution, two years non‑reporting probation, and restrictions on taking dogs to the bike trail absent obedience training.\
Anderson appealed pro se raising five arguments: improper complainant, discovery deficiencies, speedy‑trial violation, alleged prosecutor/victim relationship, and inconsistencies in the victim’s testimony. The appellate court considered the arguments despite brief noncompliance with appellate rules.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Procedural defect in who filed complaint	Prosecutor/state relied on the police complaint to proceed	Anderson argued complaint improperly filed by victim’s mother not victim	Dismissed: identity of initial caller irrelevant; complaint signed by police officer was proper
Discovery failure	State produced available materials; only insurance bill appears in record	Anderson requested medical records/photographs and alleged inadequate production	Dismissed: Anderson didn’t move to compel and failed to provide trial transcript to show missing evidence
Speedy trial violation	State: transfer and continuance tolled speedy‑trial time	Anderson: trial not held within 30 days of summons	Dismissed: time tolled by transfer from mayor’s court and by continuance for unavailable witness; trial occurred within tolled period
Alleged prosecutor/victim relationship and bias	State: no record evidence of bias or prejudice from any relationship	Anderson alleged prosecutor was social acquaintance with victim and mother	Dismissed: no record evidence or showing of prejudice
Sufficiency/credibility of victim’s testimony	State relied on victim’s in‑court statement	Anderson argued testimony inconsistent and impossible	Dismissed: appellant failed to provide trial transcript to challenge testimony credibility

Brecksville v. Cook, 75 Ohio St.3d 53 (1996) (transfer from mayor’s court to municipal court constitutes a removal that tolls speedy‑trial time)