2015 Ohio 5504
Ohio Ct. App.2015Background
- Dakota Doss was indicted after his girlfriend’s eight‑month‑old daughter (C.P.), left in his care on June 2, 2013, was found with brain edema, bilateral retinal hemorrhages, subdural blood collections, a human bite mark, and bruising; injuries consistent with abusive head trauma.
- Prior caregivers and the child's mother testified C.P. had no injuries before being left with Doss; Doss sent a video earlier showing C.P. appearing well.
- Doss gave varying accounts: that the child choked while feeding, that he burped and hit her back, that he shook her, that he accidentally hit her head on a column, and that he tripped and dropped her; he did not disclose all these details when calling 9‑1‑1.
- Medical experts at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital testified the injuries were nonaccidental and inconsistent with a routine household fall; imaging showed both old and new subdural blood.
- At a bench trial the court convicted Doss of two counts of child endangering (R.C. 2919.22), merged counts, proceeded on the second‑degree felony count, and sentenced him to three years in prison.
- Doss appealed, arguing the conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence and that the court erred in denying his Crim.R. 29 motion (insufficient evidence / Daubert challenge to expert testimony).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence | State: medical and circumstantial evidence, plus Doss’s inconsistent statements, support nonaccidental trauma and guilt | Doss: experts’ testimony conflicted; state failed to prove causal mechanism; alternative accidental explanations credible | Affirmed — weight of evidence supports conviction; trial court did not lose its way |
| Whether Crim.R. 29 motion should have been granted (sufficiency) | State: evidence presented was sufficient to submit case to trier of fact | Doss: evidence insufficient; expert testimony unreliable under Daubert | Denied — sufficiency established and manifest‑weight ruling dispositive |
| Whether state experts’ testimony required a Daubert hearing / was inadmissible | State: abusive head trauma is an accepted area for expert testimony; testimony admissible | Doss: expert methodology and conclusions unreliable; Daubert requires exclusion/hearing | Denied — court relied on precedent that abusive head trauma testimony is an accepted, non‑novel subject for expert evidence |
| Whether trial court erred by accepting state’s circumstantial/expert evidence over defense expert | State: circumstantial and expert evidence may sustain conviction; trial court may credit state experts | Doss: defense expert presented alternative causes that create reasonable doubt | Affirmed — trier of fact may accept or reject expert testimony; court credited state experts and rejected defense theory |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Franklin, 62 Ohio St.3d 118 (1991) (circumstantial evidence can have same probative value as direct evidence)
- State v. White, 118 Ohio St.3d 12 (2008) (trial court not required to automatically accept expert opinions)
- Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) (standard for admissibility of expert testimony)