State v. Adams, 2019 Ohio 1140

On Sept. 9, 2017 police and medics found Kelly Lynne Adams unconscious in a backyard; she was revived from an apparent opioid overdose.
On a nearby two-foot tree stump officers observed a pink-and-white purse containing items with Adams’s name, a mirror with white powder on it, two syringe caps and an empty syringe; BCI testing identified the powder as less than 0.10 grams of cocaine.
Adams was charged with fifth-degree felony possession of cocaine; she pleaded not guilty and proceeded to jury trial.
Officers testified drugs are typically kept near users, that multiple drugs may be used together, and that users often refuse to cooperate after overdose; no fingerprints, DNA, or testing of the syringe were performed.
The jury convicted Adams; the trial court imposed jail time, continued community control, treatment, community service, and fees. Adams appealed on sufficiency, manifest weight, and ineffective-assistance grounds.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to prove constructive possession	State: proximity of mirror with cocaine to Adams and her purse, setup for immediate use, and officer testimony supporting inference of dominion	Adams: mere proximity; no fingerprints/DNA; no crack pipe; someone else may have placed or removed items	Affirmed — circumstantial evidence (location of drugs, purse with her name, setup for use, lack of other persons) was sufficient to infer constructive possession
Manifest weight of evidence	State: testimony and physical evidence support jury’s credibility determinations	Adams: conflicting inferences (missing syringe, no pipe, incapacitated when found) show verdict against weight	Affirmed — no exceptional miscarriage of justice; jury did not clearly lose its way
Effectiveness of counsel re: 911 Good Samaritan immunity	State: counsel had no duty to advise because statute excludes those on community control	Adams: counsel failed to inform her she could avoid conviction by obtaining screening/referral under R.C. 2925.11(B)(2)(b)	Affirmed — Adams was on community control at time of overdose and thus not a "qualified individual;" counsel not deficient

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio 1991) (standard for sufficiency of the evidence review)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (manifest-weight standard and when reversal is warranted)
State v. Teamer, 82 Ohio St.3d 490 (Ohio 1998) (trace amount of cocaine qualifies as a controlled substance)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-prong ineffective-assistance-of-counsel test)