State v. Chandler, 2013 Ohio 2903

Defendant Willie D. Chandler was indicted for carrying a concealed weapon (R.C. 2923.12(A)(2)) and having a weapon while under disability (R.C. 2923.13(A)(2)); Count 1 tried to a jury, Count 2 to the bench. He was convicted on both counts and sentenced to 21 months.
Police responded to a 2:00 a.m. crash; Chandler was a passenger in the Ford Taurus and had a cut on his right hand. Officers found a loaded .357 magnum under the front passenger seat where Chandler had been sitting.
A dried substance consistent with blood was on the gun cylinder. BCI tested one swab from that cylinder and matched the DNA to Chandler; BCI did not test swabs from the gun grip or trigger for touch DNA.
Chandler testified that his co-passenger, Torriano Brown, produced the gun, it discharged during a struggle, and Chandler was injured; he claimed not to recall details immediately after the crash and did not tell police about the struggle when first interviewed.
The jury rejected Chandler’s account, and the trial court found Chandler guilty of having a weapon while under disability based on a prior felony-violence conviction involving a firearm.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for carrying a concealed weapon	Prosecution: DNA on gun and gun found under passenger seat where Chandler sat supports conviction	Chandler: Investigation incomplete; additional touch-DNA testing and testing against Brown might have shown gun belonged to Brown	Court: Evidence sufficient; DNA match and location of gun support conviction
Manifest weight of the evidence for carrying a concealed weapon	Prosecution: testimony and forensic results credible	Chandler: jury should have credited his account that Brown had the gun and shot himself	Court: No manifest miscarriage; jury reasonably rejected Chandler’s story
Having a weapon while under disability	Prosecution: Chandler’s prior felony-violence conviction made possession unlawful	Chandler: challenges factual basis of possession	Court: Conviction affirmed because possession finding and prior conviction satisfied statute
Ineffective assistance of counsel	State: counsel’s choices were reasonable tactical decisions	Chandler: counsel failed to request touch-DNA testing and did not have Chandler give a statement when providing a cheek swab	Held: Counsel not ineffective; allegations speculative and not shown to undermine confidence in outcome

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (standard for sufficiency review)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (manifest-weight standard and rare use of new trial power)
State v. Thomas, 70 Ohio St.2d 79 (1982) (distinguishing sufficiency and manifest-weight inquiries)
State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St.2d 230 (1967) (credibility and weight of evidence for jury determinations)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136 (1989) (definition of reasonable probability in ineffective assistance claims)
State v. Sanders, 94 Ohio St.3d 150 (2002) (application of Strickland in Ohio)