State v. Brooks, 2023 Ohio 846

Defendant Jason Lamont Brooks was indicted for four counts of felonious assault with firearm specifications and one count of improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation after shots were fired at his former girlfriend Nakaya Walton’s home; a bullet grazed Dondre Hudson.
Occupants at the home (Nakaya, her mother Tiffany, sister Anaya, and brother-in-law Dondre) and a 911 call described Brooks with a gun and shots fired; photos showed bullet damage and officers recovered .45 casings.
The case was scheduled for jury trial but was continued at Brooks’s request; defense counsel indicated readiness for a bench trial on the morning it began.
The written jury-waiver form was not in the record before trial proceeded; the next morning the court presented the signed waiver on the record, conducted a colloquy with Brooks, and journalized the waiver.
The state presented victim testimony, 911 recording, and scene evidence; defense presented an alibi through Brooks’s father. The trial court found the victims credible, convicted Brooks, and imposed an aggregate five-year sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of jury waiver	Waiver was effective: defendant orally waived pretrial and later executed a written waiver in open court that was journalized	Waiver was invalid because the written waiver was not filed before trial; not knowing, intelligent, voluntary	Court: Waiver valid—defendant orally waived pretrial, then signed/confirmed written waiver in open court and it was journalized, satisfying R.C. 2945.05/Crim.R. 23(A) principles
Sufficiency of evidence for convictions	Evidence (victim IDs, 911, photos, casings) permits a rational trier of fact to find elements of felonious assault and discharging into a habitation beyond a reasonable doubt	Evidence insufficient: no physical link to defendant, alibi testimony, inconsistencies in victim statements	Court: Evidence sufficient—testimony and physical scene damage supported convictions when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution
Manifest weight of the evidence	Victims’ testimony was credible and corroborated; court properly weighed credibility against alibi	Convictions against manifest weight: victims provoked incident, testimony inconsistent, father’s alibi more credible	Court: Not against manifest weight—the trial court did not clearly lose its way; it found victims more credible than the alibi testimony

State v. Lomax, 114 Ohio St.3d 350 (2007) (recognizes accused’s constitutional right to jury trial)
State v. Pless, 74 Ohio St.3d 333 (1996) (strict compliance with R.C. 2945.05 required for court to try defendant without jury)
State v. Harris, 48 Ohio St.2d 351 (1976) (post-trial execution of written waiver in open court can satisfy procedural requirements when record shows intent to waive)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (standard for sufficiency review: view evidence in light most favorable to prosecution)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (standard for manifest-weight review and reversal only for a manifest miscarriage of justice)
State v. Phillips, 75 Ohio App.3d 785 (1991) (firing a weapon where people are at risk supports inference of knowing intent to cause harm)
State v. Gregory, 90 Ohio App.3d 124 (1993) (same: shooting in direction of persons supports knowing conduct)