State v. Cressel, 2014 Ohio 3353

Cressel was convicted by jury of domestic violence against his girlfriend Kristy, a felony of the third degree.
The case followed a Dayton Municipal Court charge, preliminary findings of probable cause, and a Montgomery County Grand Jury indictment.
A pretrial motion in limine restricted Krisy’s prior solicitation conviction from impeachment use.
During trial, Kristy testified to injuries consistent with domestic violence; officer and other witnesses corroborated aspects of the incident and living arrangements.
Defense challenged evidentiary rulings and argued Kristy’s credibility was central; the trial court’s rulings were appealed on weight and impeachment grounds.
The court upheld the conviction, affirming the trial court’s evidentiary rulings and finding the weight of the evidence was not against the manifest weight standard.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Evidentiary rulings on impeachment admissibility	Cressel argues Kristy’s prior inconsistent statements should be admissible to impeach her credibility	State contends 613(B) limitations prevent extrinsic impeachment of a lack of recollection and the statements were collateral	Not reversible; rulings within discretion; lack of recollection treated as denial, not error
Impeachment by Kristy’s prior conviction (Solicitation)	Cressel argues 609 should allow use of prior conviction for impeachment	Conviction is a misdemeanor not involving dishonesty; 609(A)(3) not applicable	Error not shown; 609(A)(2)-(3) favor admissibility only if probative value outweighs prejudice; in this case not admissible
Allowance of evidence of prior altercation by Kristy	Defense would show a nonverbal altercation to explain injuries	Counsel was limited to cross-examination; redirect cannot broaden scope	Not reversible; trial court’s scope rulings within discretion and not prejudicial
Evidence that Kristy is a prostitute to explain relationship	Defense seeks prostitution evidence to contextualize relationship	In limine ruling appropriately barred; not essential to guilt	Not reversible; in limine ruling not final and not error for purposes of appeal

State v. Reed, 155 Ohio App.3d 435 (2d Dist. Ohio 2003) (impeachment via prior statements when memory is lacking)
State v. Grubb, 28 Ohio St.3d 199 (Ohio 1986) (motion in limine termination is interlocutory; preservation required)
State v. Baker, 170 Ohio App.3d 331 (2d Dist. Ohio 2006) (limine ruling not final; preserved by timely objection)
Eastley v. Volkman, 132 Ohio St.3d 328 (2012) (manifest weight standard delineation)
Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (standard for manifest weight review)
State v. Brown, 170 Ohio App.3d 215 (2d Dist. Ohio 2007) (evidence-admissibility discretion reviewed for abuse)
State v. Reed, 2003-Ohio-6536 (2d Dist. Ohio 2003) (impeachment rules under Evid.R. 613)