State v. Anderson, 944 N.E.2d 1224

Defendant Brandon Anderson was convicted of murder with a firearm specification and weapon under a disability after an incident May 7, 2009 in Cincinnati.
The victim, Jeremy Nelson, was shot following an argument between Nelson and Turner, Turner being Turner’s sister, whom Anderson was connected to.
Anderson was indicted on two murder counts with firearm specifications and one weapon-under-disability count; the firearm specifications and one murder count were merged for sentencing.
The trial court sentenced Anderson to 21 years to life; all sentences ran consecutively.
Anderson appealed asserting prosecutorial misconduct, improper recall of a witness to change testimony, hearsay admission, and sufficiency/weight challenges.
The court reversed and remanded for a new trial on all issues due to the recalled-witness testimony issue.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Prosecutorial misconduct in closing arguments regarding alibi	Anderson argues improper reference to alibi burden implied by silence.	Anderson contends remarks implied he bore no alibi proof and reflected on silence.	Remarks not improper; not a comment on silence; overruled.
Admission of Epps’s testimony after recall	State contends recall was within court discretion.	Recall allowed deliberate manipulation; violated court order and prejudiced.	Trial court abused its discretion; remand for new trial granted.
Hearsay exception for coconspirator's testimony	Jones’s testimony suggested conspiracy to cover up murder.	No independent proof of conspiracy; testimonial hearsay objection.	No hearsay error; testimony not shown to be coconspirator-based hearsay.
Sufficiency/weight of the evidence	Convictions supported by sufficient evidence.	Evidence weak or inconsistent; weight challenging.	Convictions supported by sufficient evidence; however, reversal on recall issue yields new trial.

State v. Smith, 130 Ohio App.3d 360 (Ohio App. 1998) (standard for sufficiency and prosecutorial conduct cited)
State v. Smith, 14 Ohio St.3d 13 (Ohio 1984) (testimony and evidentiary rules cited)
United States v. Dorr, 636 F.2d 117 (5th Cir. 1981) (conspiracy evidence admissibility guidance)
United States v. Hastings, 461 U.S. 499 (U.S. 1983) (prosecutorial conduct and due process)
State v. Carter, 72 Ohio St.3d 545 (Ohio 1995) (limits on hearsay and confrontation considerations)
State v. Sims, 3 Ohio App.3d 321 (Ohio App. 1981) (evidentiary rulings cited)
State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172 (Ohio App. 1983) (Evid.R. 611 considerations)