State v. Combs, 2013 Ohio 3159

Combs was convicted of felonious assault and assault, merged, and sentenced to five years in prison after a jury trial in Hamilton County.
The incident occurred on April 16, 2012, when Combs allegedly attacked his girlfriend at their apartment, resulting in a head wound and other injuries to the victim.
Two police officers testified that they observed no injuries on Combs and that the victim had a visible head wound and bruising on several parts of her body.
The state presented blood evidence and a pair of scissors found on a tray table, while the victim testified to being choked, struck, and dragged to the hallway.
Combs testified in his defense, alleging the victim poked him with scissors and that he acted in self-defense; the jury acquitted him of the A-2 felonious assault count but found him guilty of A-1 felonious assault and the lesser-included offense of assault.
On appeal, Combs argued prosecutorial misconduct, admission of post-arrest silence, and ineffective assistance of counsel; the court affirmed, finding no reversible error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Did prosecutorial misconduct require reversal due to vouching?	Combs	Combs	No plain error; not clearly outcome-determinative
Was Combs's post-arrest silence improperly admitted and stressed as guilt-related evidence?	State	Combs	No Doyle violation; no error
Did defense counsel render ineffective assistance regarding evidentiary objections and other trial conduct?	State	Combs	No ineffective assistance established

Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610 (1976) (precludes using post-arrest silence to impeach)
Wainwright v. Greenfield, 474 U.S. 284 (1986) (post-arrest silence cannot be used as guilt evidence)
State v. Long, 53 Ohio St.2d 91, 372 N.E.2d 804 (1978) (plain-error standard and plain-error review)
State v. Jones, 135 Ohio St.3d 10, 2012-Ohio-5677 (2012) (prosecutorial vouching and witness credibility concerns)