State v. Barnette, 2013 Ohio 990

Barnette was convicted of murder with a gun specification in Butler County Court of Common Pleas and sentenced to 15 years to life plus 3 years consecutive.
On Oct. 6, 2011, Barnette, Hardy, and Reece went to Fairview Ave to collect a debt; they entered the victim's apartment where a knife was alleged to have been produced; Barnette fired multiple shots from a 9 mm handgun.
Eye-witness Hardy testified the gun was in the car at first, and later shots were fired after an altercation in which the victim allegedly presented a knife.
The jury convicted Barnette of murder with a firearm specification after trial; Barnette claimed self-defense.
Detective Smith described the scene and bullet trajectories using laser measurements showing shots from the living room into the bedroom; coroner Dr. Uptegrove linked gunshot wounds to the death.
Barnette testified that he acted in self-defense after the victim advanced with a knife, and claimed he did not know a gun was in the vehicle until near the residence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Manifest weight of the evidence	State argues evidence supports guilt; weight not against verdict	Barnette asserts the jury lost its way and erred by not crediting self-defense	Not against weight; conviction affirmed
Admissibility of autopsy photographs	Photographs have probative value outweighing prejudice	Photographs were prejudicial and should have been excluded	Not plain error; photographs properly admitted
Failure to give voluntary manslaughter instruction	State would have benefited from lesser-included instruction	Insufficient provocation evidence to support such an instruction	No error; instruction not warranted
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel failed to object to autopsy photos and hearsay	Counsel acted reasonably, objections were made	No ineffective assistance; arguments meritless
Castle doctrine/no duty to retreat	Castle doctrine should have instructed no duty to retreat	Barnette was not the occupant; doctrine inapplicable	Castle doctrine inapplicable; no duty-to-retreat instruction

State v. Wilson, 12th Dist. No. CA2006-01-007, 2007-Ohio-2298 (Ohio 2007) (weight of evidence review guiding manifest-weight standard)
State v. Coldiron, 12th Dist. Nos. CA2003-09-078, CA2003-09-079, 2004-Ohio-5651 (Ohio 2004) (manifest-weight framework; exceptional-weight standard)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 1997-Ohio-52 (Ohio 1997) (established self-defense framework and evaluation of credibility)
State v. Bailey, 12th Dist. No. CA2002-03-057, 2003-Ohio-5280 (Ohio 2003) (weight-of-the-evidence precedent in manifest-weight review)
State v. Guzzo, 12th Dist. No. CA2003-09-232, 2004-Ohio-4979 (Ohio 2004) (credibility and sufficiency considerations in weight review)
State v. Harcourt, 46 Ohio App.3d 52, 55 (12th Dist.1988) (Ohio 1988) (photograph evidence admissibility balancing under Evid.R. 403)
State v. DePew, 38 Ohio St.3d 275, 281-282 (1988) (Ohio 1988) (gruesomeness of photos not per se inadmissible; probative value must outweigh prejudice)
State v. Maurer, 15 Ohio St.3d 239, 265 (1984) (Ohio 1984) (gruesome photos may be admissible if probative value outweighs prejudice)
Rice v. City of Cleveland, 144 Ohio St.3d 299, 2004-Ohio-697 (Ohio 2004) (test for voluntary manslaughter instruction when provocation exists)
Shane, 63 Ohio St.3d 630, 632 (1992) (Ohio 1992) (inferior degree instruction framework)