State v. Driftmyer, 2017 Ohio 4016

On Aug. 29, 2015, Daniel Driftmyer and his wife S.C. returned to their camper after he had been drinking; an altercation occurred in which S.C. testified Driftmyer dragged her, choked her, and banged her head on the floor.
S.C. left the camper, spent time at a laundromat, went to her father’s house, and waited about 19 hours before reporting the incident to the sheriff; Deputy Gandee photographed extensive bruising on S.C.’s body.
Driftmyer was charged with one count of domestic violence (R.C. 2919.25(A)), tried by jury, and found guilty.
The trial court sentenced Driftmyer to 180 days in jail, to be served consecutively to suspended prior sentences, yielding a 270‑day total; Driftmyer timely appealed.
On appeal, Driftmyer raised two issues: (1) his conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence; and (2) he received ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to call witnesses and for being prevented from testifying.
The Sixth District affirmed the conviction, rejecting both assignments of error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence	S.C. testified to physical assault and evidence (bruising) supports conviction	Driftmyer argued injuries could be self‑inflicted and witnesses who saw S.C. earlier would have contradicted her (but were not called)	Court held evidence (victim testimony + photographs) supports conviction; not an exceptional case warranting reversal
Whether trial counsel provided ineffective assistance (failure to call witnesses; denial of right to testify)	N/A (prosecution relied on record and evidence)	Driftmyer argued counsel erred by not calling witnesses and by preventing him from testifying	Court applied Strickland, found counsel’s witness decisions were tactical and appellant presented no proof he sought to testify or was prevented; no ineffective assistance shown

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (established two‑prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Lang, 129 Ohio St.3d 512 (Ohio 2011) (standard for manifest‑weight review)
State v. Thompson, 141 Ohio St.3d 254 (Ohio 2014) (defendant’s fundamental right to testify; waivable only by the accused)
State v. Bey, 85 Ohio St.3d 487 (Ohio 1999) (discusses defendant’s right to testify)
State v. Pickens, 141 Ohio St.3d 462 (Ohio 2014) (debateable trial tactics do not ordinarily constitute ineffective assistance)