2019 Ohio 5290
Ohio Ct. App.2019Background:
- Dennis Briggs, homeless, was charged in four separate criminal-trespass complaints for incidents at Humboldt Square (dates in Dec. 2017).
- Property manager Stephen Landers and individual tenants (including Becky Macar of Family Pools & Spas) signed no-trespass letters addressed to Briggs on June 29, 2017; police served Briggs with the letters.
- Macar later testified she signed under duress and verbally permitted Briggs to stay in front of her store; she produced a later letter stating she would not support trespass orders against Briggs.
- Two bench trials were held (Feb. 23 and Mar. 23, 2018); Briggs was found guilty on all four counts and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
- On appeal Briggs argued (1) insufficient evidence / manifest-weight error, and (2) a Confrontation Clause/hearsay violation from Officer Coe’s testimony about Landers’ call; the court affirmed.
Issues:
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency and manifest weight of evidence that Briggs acted without privilege (R.C. 2911.21(A)(3)) | State: No-trespass letters signed and served; officers observed Briggs in common areas and in front of specific businesses; no evidence tenants rescinded letters (except Macar’s unsupported claim). | Briggs: Macar was coerced into signing and verbally rescinded; lack of direct testimony from some business owners about revocation/authority. | Court: Convictions affirmed. Evidence (letters + officer observations) sufficient; weight challenge fails—trier of fact did not lose its way. |
| Confrontation / hearsay from Officer Coe recounting Landers’ call | State: Officer Coe relayed that dispatch notified him of Landers’ complaint; Landers later unavailable; prosecution sought but did not obtain judicial notice of prior testimony. | Briggs: Testimony about Landers’ statements violated his Sixth Amendment confrontation rights and was inadmissible hearsay. | Court: Briggs did not object at trial and refused to argue plain error on appeal, so claim forfeited; assignment overruled. |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio 1991) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
- State v. Otten, 33 Ohio App.3d 339 (9th Dist. 1986) (standard for reviewing manifest-weight claims)
- State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (appellate role as "thirteenth juror" when reviewing weight claims)
- Tibbs v. Florida, 457 U.S. 31 (U.S. 1982) (discussing appellate review when weighing conflicting evidence)